An Effective Data Governance Council is the Bedrock of Operationalizing Your Data Governance Adoption

Fact: Activating a Data Governance without an effective Data Governance Council in place is a number one recipe for failure in any organization.

This is fundamentally one of the biggest hurdles many organizations face today, struggling to operationalize their data governance adoption.

If you're struggling to take your governance adoption from paper to reality, could this be your biggest roadblock? The question to ask then is: Do you have an effective data governance council in place? Is Your Data Governance Council working for you or working against you?

Today, every organization on a data governance journey understands the most challenging part of the journey is in the adoption. i.e. establishing due diligence around data ethics as a fabric of your organization's people and culture. Until this cultural transformation becomes self-evident in your data, you're simply scratching the surface in your data potential and value-add.

The reality of today's data governance adoption is that many organizations are quick on their adoption execution to nominate council members and kick off Data Governance Council without a strategic vision around the intended value they're hoping to drive through this committee.

What are some of the challenges in Data Governance Council Formation?

Many organizations face different challenges with a weak Governance Council. A thorough assessment of your setup is needed to identify opportunities to strengthen the committee and position it as a bedrock for your successful data governance adoption. The following are a few of the typical issues with many Data Governance Councils:

·   Poor vetting and appointment right candidates to the governance council.

·   The make-up of committee members does not reflect an accurate representation of the organization's data landscape and stakeholders.

·   Committee setup without clear mandates on responsibilities and expectations from council members.

·   Poor communication strategy on agenda, meeting minutes and action items.

·   Poor attendance of committee members to meetings

·   Infrequent committee meeting schedule.

·   And More…

What is the 'WHY' of an effective data governance council?

·        The purpose of a data governance council is simply not to chaperon a governance program but to be the bedrock of operationalizing effective data governance in every organization.

·        A data governance council should be set up as a committee to set clear governance directions, monitor progress, build consensus and resolve escalated governance bottlenecks and interdependencies in governance activities.

·        A data governance council is an oversight set up as gatekeeper to changes to data policies and standards, data management methodologies, assignment and ratification of data roles, and prioritization of resources to support governance activities.

·        This is the forum for business unit leaders, data owners, operations, and technology.

·        These are key representatives of data stakeholders to govern the smooth running of a data governance adoption.

·        A governance council is a setup to hold data roles and responsibilities accountable for effectively delivering data governance activities.

·        The council is intended to monitor the continuous progress of governance and stewardship activities and foster cross-functional collaboration between the data governance office, business units, operations, and IT to resolve hurdles and bottlenecks in governance activities.

·        It should serve as the point of escalation for unresolved operational issues.

·        It is the platform for resource planning and engagement planning.

·        This is the forum for collaborative engagement and approval on all things data governance.

The 'How' of An Effective Data Governance Council?

The seriousness of every data governance adoption lies in its leadership and execution of its framework with the right oversight. There are several ways an organization can strengthen its Data Governance Council to activate effective governance. Here are a few tips to consider:

·   A Data Governance Council mandate must be set up at the onset of the journey with a clear vision.

·   The appointment of Council Members must be strategic and well-vetted to include authoritative representatives from all data stakeholders. There must be representation from every business unit and domain.

·   The council charter must highlight members' responsibilities for meeting attendance, representation of their business unit in key decisions, voting rights, approval of data governance vision, goals, and organizational structure. Monitoring of overall program progress and alignment to governance strategy; monitoring of organization structure and governance culture; alignment on data changes, data quality profiling, issues remediations and continuous data quality management.

·   There must be a clear expectation of resolving every issue brought to the council and a clear escalation path for unresolved issues.

·   The council must meet periodically. At least every other week until the governance adoption is well in motion and calibrated well into the enterprise culture.

·   Every nominated member must have a proxy to decide or vote on approvals on their behalf when there's an excused absence.

·   The Data Governance Council must have the data leader or governance leader as the chairperson to oversee and run council meetings.

·   Meeting Agendas and Minutes must be communicated and published to promote transparency and continuous collaboration.

In closing, periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of your Data Governance Council should be one of the most critical KPIs for every organization embarking on a data governance adoption. Having a strong oversight of data champions and stakeholders to help drive the execution and realization of your data governance strategic goal is key to making you win with your data.

Need practical help in operationalizing your Data Governance adoption? Book a Free Call with me to discuss your challenges, and we can explore simple strategies to actualize your governance success.

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