It was found that 67% of senior leaders have been part of at least one underperforming transformation in the last five years. Leaders in 2023 are fighting a multitude of battles, however, including but not limited to inflation, workforce retention issues, and digital transformations that are hard to keep pace with. This has led many in the C-suite hungry for a silver bullet that helps them to make changes that are more consistently successful.

In 2023, data has become one of the main drivers of business. But the trouble is not getting the data, as it comes in through many of our digital devices and subsequent applications. Rather, the challenge is to get the right type of data and then route it to the correct departments—extracting it and then translating it so that leaders can not only understand but utilize it.

Experts estimate, that between 55% to over 80% of a business’s data is dark, or not being used in a way that derives insights for decision-making or accelerates business growth. This shows that data-sharing within business still remains rather antiquated, and there is a need for businesses to expand their artillery of data tools.

Narrowing the Focus

Data and analytics are no longer an independent field but are rather the main catalyst for digital strategy and change. Chief data officers and, increasingly, other leaders, are now broadening their mission to develop data-driven possibilities—coordinating solutions for organization-wide action.

According to Gartner, by 2025 70% of organizations will shift their focus from big to small and wide data, providing more context for analytics that can help to drive better business outcomes. More specific data elicitation means that data can be sourced not only for specific industries but specific departments and even roles within organizations as well.

Every business, and arguably every department within a company has “tribal knowledge” provided by the employees that embody that particular workforce. This know-how is also data and is more technically defined as tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is embedded in the human mind through experience in the form of personal wisdom, insights, and intuitions that are context-driven.

This type of knowledge data is worth its weight in gold, as its the inside scoop on how your company works on the ground floor. Creating the future workforce is the responsibility of the highest levels of an organization because of the complexity and urgency of the challenge and opportunity—but it will require data. Organizations who want to hold on to their most valuable asset, their people, need to start seeing this insight as the most important data they can glean.

The Future of the Workforce

According to Deloitte’s “2023 Global Human Capital Trends” report, “New Fundamentals for a Boundaryless World,” only 23% of workers believe their leaders have the capacity to navigate today’s business landscape full of disruptions. A whopping 94% of the same respondents believe that leadership capabilities and effectiveness are the most important metric for their organization’s success.

This shows a clear call to action for leaders to evolve with their workforces and update their systems. This call to action for business leaders can be broken down into three specific categories: redesigning work to unlock human potential, strengthening the talent pipeline from its source, and understanding the skills that exist within their company’s ecosystem—helping to accelerate their workforces’ development.

Almas Insights’ proprietary fourth-generation solution helps to generate a “Digital Work Sample” for leaders so that they can access objectively demonstrated data on their internal talent. Powered by AI and machine learning, the data is then translated onto an easy-to-use dashboard that can be form-fitted to the needs of the user.

Direct, contextual, and behavioral measurements provide organizations with their talent metrics, ultimately helping companies to identify statistically significant patterns in their workforce. This helps leaders understand how to improve operations at any scale and enhance worker satisfaction within roles—transforming data from deadweight to discernment in the modern work world.

Tune in for our next blog on what kind of employee data businesses truly need, and why.