Do you need a data strategy?

Three "A"s to improve your data management

In previous blog posts I’ve discussed the benefits of creating an L&D dashboard and the need to keep historical data, including training data. But a dashboard is only as good as the data behind it. Bad data with visual impact is still bad data. And worse, it will lead to bad decisions without anyone realising why. 

A well-thought-out data management strategy is the necessary step before reporting. It will save you time, money, and will improve decision-making. 

Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), and departments within large organisations, can all benefit from managing their data in a structured way. A data strategy provides a framework that makes it easier to discuss the costs and benefits of data management. 

In this article, I’m going to discuss how to develop a data strategy to keep your data accurate and trustworthy. 

The basics

There are some basic principles to think about, regardless of what type of business or department you work for. These are the three “A”s of data management:

1. Accurate

2. Available

3. Adheres to the rules

Accurate

Data that doesn’t contain errors sounds simple enough, but mistakes creep into data in all sorts of ways. Incorrect dates, spelling mistakes, the wrong person or the wrong course, etc. Each individual error might not be important, but as you amass more data it all adds up. Whether you are using dashboards to monitor progress, create insights for strategy, or preparing for AI, you need a solid data foundation. 

For data to be accurate it must also be complete. It needs to include all relevant time periods, parts of the organisation, or relevant data. That often means thinking about where data is stored. You are likely to have data in relational databases such as SQL Server, or Oracle, often used as back-end data stores for LMS systems, accounts systems, production systems, etc. Other data will be semi-structured or unstructured, such as data in spreadsheets, Word documents, emails, training evaluation forms, or PDF files. 

Available

Availability means ensuring data is easily accessible to those who need it, when they need it, and in a format they can use. 

1. Granting access to those authorised to use the data and restricting access to those who shouldn’t have access.

2. Providing user friendly data models that can be used to create dashboards or for self-service reporting.

3. Storing data with appropriate redundancy safeguards. Data can be lost either by human error, hardware failures, or other disasters. 

4. Providing training so people know how to access the data, and what they can and cannot do with it.

Adheres to rules

Data rules and regulations come from both inside and outside the organisation. 

Compliance regulations such as GDPR require organisations to safeguard personal information, with heavy penalties for those who do not safeguard sensitive data.

Within your organisation you may have guidelines that define which roles have access to what data to ensure private data stays private. 

Think about who owns the data and who is responsible for safeguarding it. Use metadata (data about data) to identify different types of data within your organisation so you can put policies in place to manage it. 

Creating your data strategy

Get your team together and start the discussion. Identify a project that will provide immediate business benefits, then:

1. Identify your key data sources.

2. Agree who owns and manages each data set.

3. Identify and implement quality control measures.

Data management is the necessary first stage in communicating generating data insights and making data-led decision-making. Azure has a range of data governance, storage, and redundancy options to help you modernize your data management whilst improving accuracy, availability, and adhering to rules. 

If you want to improve your data management let’s talk about how you can get your data in better shape. Get in touch for an initial chat about what you want to achieve. 

6 Reasons you don’t need an L&D dashboard

Creating a learning and development (L&D) dashboard provides many benefits, including getting your data in good shape, getting an overview of L&D activities, and finding insights to help you make better decisions. 

But is it right for you? Here are six reasons you don’t need an L&D dashboard. 

1. You already have an at-a-glance training report (and it's accurate)

If your current system already provides a clear and comprehensive view of completed and planned training, you don’t need an L&D dashboard. But you do need to check that the data is accurate, and up to date. Have employees reviewed their own training data? Can they correct mistakes? Is it complete, or are their gaps in time or for people? Have you verified historical records? 

Data is only valuable if it is correct; otherwise, you risk basing decisions on a shaky foundation. And that’s all the most important if you are considering how to use AI. 

2. Your L&D activities are closely aligned to business goals (and are clear to everyone)

When people understand why the training is important, and what role it plays in achieving organizational goals, you get the greatest bang for your L&D buck. But aligning training with business objectives, and making it visible, isn’t always easy. 

A well-designed L&D dashboard provides this visibility, ensuring stakeholders understand the purpose of what they are doing. If your L&D reporting achieves this level of clarity, you are probably already getting big paybacks for your clear thinking. If not, business goals are a great place to start when thinking about what you want your L&D dashboard to achieve.

3. Your employees are engaged in their learning plans (and can see their training history)

Engaged employees are key to the success of any L&D program. This requires employees having access to their learning plans and a view of what they have already completed. When people understand how their training connects to business strategy, they become more invested in their development and make better decisions.

For organizations with well-designed L&D dashboards, these tools enhance employee engagement. They already know that implementing a dashboard is a game-changer for improving transparency and motivation.

4. Skills gaps are clearly visible (based on today’s and tomorrow’s objectives)

If your systems enable you to identify skills gaps, and prioritize training based on current and future business objectives, you’ve got this covered. 

But for many, a well-designed L&D dashboard can help to identify high-priority areas like onboarding new employees, addressing compliance gaps, or upskilling for emerging technologies. Nothing stands still with L&D.

5. Your L&D data is being linked to employee performance (and metrics are hotly debated)

Organisations that are working on measuring the impact of L&D on employee performance already have a competitive advantage. Metrics such as productivity, quality, and employee retention are being used together with data for training, coaching, and other L&D initiatives. Dashboards help to communicate both data and insights and get everyone thinking about how to improve.

If you’ve started on this journey, you already know the benefits. However, for those ready to explore these connections further, a highly visual dashboard can provide the impact needed to communicate insights effectively to busy stakeholders.

6. Your L&D activities are visible (and everyone is engaged)

Organizations that make L&D activities understandable for all stakeholders tend to achieve better results. Transparency encourages both trust and accountability. 

If your current systems already provide this level of transparency, an L&D dashboard might not be necessary. However, for organizations looking to enhance visibility and collaboration, dashboards can play a vital role.

Conclusion

An L&D dashboard is a valuable tool at every stage of the learning and development journey. With AI helping us make better decisions, accurate and actionable L&D data has never been more important. The key is to evaluate your current capabilities and ensure your data is accurate and up to date.

Whether you need to refine your reporting systems or explore tools like Microsoft Power BI or Microsoft Fabric, the right solution starts with accurate data. Contact us to discover how we can help you build meaningful insights and communicate them effectively.

Should you keep historical training data?

Everything has a price. In a world where people move on and job descriptions evolve, is there really any value in keeping historical training data?

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose." The more things change, the more they stay the same.

While it’s true that storing and analysing data comes at a cost, so does developing and delivering effective training programs. In fact, training programs are significantly more expensive. Not quite as costly, however, as ineffective training—or worse, employees who are not trained at all. That’s probably the most expensive outcome for any business.

The rise of data-led training

Modern data analysis techniques have made data-led education a competitive differentiator. Training is no longer just a “nice-to-have” addition; effective training and workplace learning have become essential for attracting and retaining top talent. Employees who know what they are doing are better equipped to handle customers, deliver competition-beating products, and improve overall operational efficiency.

The value of historical training data

There was a time when historical training data was nothing more than a static snapshot of the past. But today, with the advances in data platform capabilities, training data can be more easily integrated with other data sources, such as HR records, accounting data, and operational data. This enriched view provides actionable insights and helps identify trends that were previously difficult to discern.

Additionally, tools like Microsoft Power BI now include built-in AI capabilities, making it easier to analyse patterns and predict outcomes. The more data you have, the more accurate and reliable your insights become.

AI needs historical data

As we step further into the AI era, retaining historical training data is more important than ever. AI models rely on large datasets for initial training and continuous improvement. Historical data also plays a critical role in benchmarking, allowing organizations to compare the performance of new models against past results to validate improvements.

Keep your data safe 

The Azure data platform offers various solutions for storing data securely and cost-effectively. With options that include data redundancy and “cold” storage tiers, businesses can store infrequently accessed data at a lower cost. Azure also supports structured and unstructured data storage, as well as advanced capabilities like Delta Lake for Microsoft Fabric, which simplifies managing and analysing large datasets.

Make the most of your training data

If your business’s success depends on its education programs, leveraging historical training data is a smart strategy. By combining our expertise in data management with our knowledge of the Microsoft and Azure platforms, we can tailor solutions that align with your specific needs. Reach out to us to explore how you can unlock the full potential of your training data.

Why It Matters

• Improved Training Programs: Historical data helps refine and optimize training approaches over time.

• Employee Performance Tracking: Integrated datasets provide a holistic view of how training impacts employee success.

• Cost Efficiency: Data storage solutions like Azure reduce the cost of retaining valuable data without compromising accessibility.

Ready to future-proof your training programs? Let’s talk.

Measuring training effectiveness

A waste of time and money

In the days when newspapers and magazines were printed on actual paper, advertisers used to complain that half their budget was wasted, but they didn’t know which half. We used to think this very funny - but remember YouTube and cat videos hadn’t yet been invented. It remains a reminder, however, that a lot of time and money can be wasted if you can’t or don’t measure how effective something is. 

But things move on. Paper has gone the way of papyrus, and advertisers can not only measure how effective an advertisement is, but also predict how well a campaign is likely to perform.

In the world of learning and development, things are also changing. Organizations have huge amounts of data that can be used to analyse training effectiveness. The Azure data platform, Microsoft Fabric, and Microsoft Power BI are all accessible and cost-effective ways to manage and analyse data. And AI capabilities help to spot trends that were previously available only to specialists. This means that measuring training effectiveness by matching results to learning activities is now available to all organizations. For companies whose competitive advantage is their people, this is a game-changer.

Where to start? 

Whilst accurate training data is important, it’s crucial to first consider what your people are trying to achieve. Having clear objectives by role provides a roadmap for data collection. 

Some roles are easier to measure than others. Those in sales often have highly measurable objectives including sales closed, or meetings scheduled. In contrast, the output for knowledge workers can be more challenging to quantify. But how can you plan training, or measure its effectiveness, if you don’t know what you are trying to improve?

Data-led training

Modern, data-led organisations no longer see learning and development as different to any other part of the organisation. Data-led training is both possible and valuable. By leveraging tools such as Microsoft Fabric with Power BI, the Azure data platform, together with their AI capabilities, companies can now link learning activities to results. 

With clear role objectives, a well-structured data collection plan, together with learning and development data, the process of measuring training effectiveness starts to take shape. You can then sit back and listen sympathetically as your competitors complain that they don’t know which half of their learning and development budget is wasted. 

We are a Microsoft Partner with a depth of experience in data for learning and development. If you would like to find out more about how Microsoft data technologies can save you time and money, get in touch for an initial chat.