The global pandemic has hastened the digital transformation of most businesses, with the accumulation of data an important result of this change. That data have come in different forms and volumes, however, and information technology and data teams struggle to package them in such a way that others can understand. This is a lost opportunity—as the proper collation and interpretation of such data could create new business opportunities, optimize processes and produce actionable and value-adding insights. This is where the practice of data storytelling could be useful. We asked Rey Fremista, our resource person on data analysis and visualization, for his thoughts on how data storytelling could help your business. Here are the three ways data storytelling could transform your organization:
It enables better and faster decision-making.
A lot of organizations have been advocating to be data-driven and that’s good since decisions are based on factual data. However, this is how we have been taught in the past: do data crunching, explore what you can based on that data, and then try to make sense of it. This approach however, lacks agility as the company might be losing opportunities long before the insights are generated and communicated. Through data storytelling, your teams will be able to understand the context of the data and structure it in such a way that it can trigger faster appreciation of insights and generate immediate, implementable solutions.
Individuals and stakeholders will gain more understanding about the business.
Through data storytelling, you will be seeing various data in the organization that tell you different contexts. This can enable you to take the relevant data and turn them into an easy-to-understand story that key stakeholders can consume and take appropriate action.
The company can focus on what matters.
Through data storytelling, you will not just understand the data, but also see what’s working, what’s not, and where you might need to invest more of your efforts for improvement. When everyone knows how to read the data and how to read a data-driven story, everyone wins because everyone knows what matters to them every day.
Fremista will conduct a virtual workshop on “Data Storytelling: Ensuring your audience is informed, interested and inspired.” The second batch will be on July 29-30. INQ
For more information about the workshops and schedule of online courses offered by Inquirer Academy, please email ask@inquireracademy.com, or send SMS at these numbers 0945.2158935 / 0998.9641731.
The author is the Executive Director
of the Inquirer Academy.