A well-executed data literacy program is essential to make data-driven operations ‘business as usual’, argues Synchrony Financial VP of Data Analytics Edgar Abreu in this week’s podcast.
Data literacy is the cornerstone of a data-driven culture and facilitates effective communication between both technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels of a business.
That is why Edgar Abreu VP of Data Analytics at retail credit card company Synchrony Financial created the Data Intelligence Academy in his organization as he explains in this week’s episode of the Business of Data Podcast.
“In order to make data and analytics ‘business as usual’ everyone need to not only be on board with it but also speak the same language,” explains Abreu. “So there needs to be a certain level of data literacy in the organization.”
While most enterprise businesses now understand that being data-driven is the way forward many still struggle to instil a truly data-driven culture.
Abreu thinks that this may be driven by a lack of corporate focus on the development of data literacy programs and notes a recent study by market research firm Gartner which found that 80% of businesses are only now rolling out their data literacy programs in 2020.
For Abreu, the key is to develop data literacy at all levels of an organization, including for senior leadership, and to start early to help promote a data-driven culture.
“Start a data literacy program early,” Abreu advises. “It will make the whole data and analytics journey much more successful, impactful, and more efficient.”
Key Takeaways

Start your data literacy program early. Implementing a data literacy program early will enhance your whole data and analytics journey
Formalize the process. Make sure you have a dedicated resource and funding to develop your data literacy curriculum
Close the communication gap. By increasing your data literacy organization-wide you will drive your data-driven culture forward