The best data insights become useless if no-one trusts them

by | Nov 23, 2017 | Culture

At truly data-driven companies, such as Google or Facebook, where the business model relies on customer data to function, there is no question of trusting data, it’s embedded in the DNA of the company. But unfortunately the same isn’t yet true for the wider business world. In a recent KPMG survey of directors, VPs and executives, it was found that only 38% of respondents have a high level of confidence in their customer insights and only 34% had a high level of trust with the data & analytics surrounding their internal business analytics.

This is perhaps not surprising, irrationality around statistics and data is simply a fundamental part of the human decision-making process. Even when it is spelt out clearly for us, data that contradicts our existing held beliefs/assumptions will lead us to unfairly question it or explain it away with glib, irrational arguments.

However, there is hope, making data more readily available throughout the organisation and making it a routine part of the decision-making process at all levels is a great way of instilling the notion that data is there to drive decisions, and not just back-up what we’ve already decided. As well as building familiarity it is important that we strive to develop more transparency around our data.  People are more likely to leave their suspicions at the door if they know the process by which analysis was conducted.

So this week, I’ve rounded up some links that further explore trust building through routine and transparency, as well as other causes and solutions to the lack of confidence in data insights by executives in large organisations.