Data quality carrots

When I want to teach my dog to do something, I generally find it helps to offer her something in return. A small piece of cheese, or other tasty morsel generally does the trick. It doesn't have to be anything big or expensive and, after a short while, when she's learnt what it is I want. she'll respond without the need for anything more than a "good girl" as a thank you.

I'd say the same is pretty much true for my kids (although they respond better to cash than cheese and can generally understand more complex requests). So why is it that some data governance regimes think that everything will be alright if they issue an edict and back it up only with strong-arm tactics - "do it this way, or else."

If you want to encourage the right behaviour from your front-line staff who collect and enter information that other knowledge workers consume, why not start by offering them some incentive to do it. If you only measure their performance by crude measures, such as call volumes, or numbers of records entered, you cannot expect them to worry too much about the quality of the data they're actually typing in.

By measuring the quality of the information they're entering, and rewarding them for doing it right, you'll increase the value of that information, remove costly scrap and re-work and improve the output of the downstream processes that use the data. Just like my dog, the reward doesn't have to be big or expensive and, after a short while, you'll find that the good behaviour becomes second nature, which can be positively reinforced by regular monitoring and a polite "thank you." There's a place for the stick, but it's better to lead with the carrot.

Please note, the author does not recommend the offering of either carrots or cheese as a reward for good data quality.

Comments

[Dylan Jones]

Yes! Yes! Yes!

You're absolutely right Steve, I've seen this countless times in DQ.

Many organisations are unaware that change management as a discipline even exists and pass down edicts from above only to become horrified months later when there is a total lack of progress at the "coal-face" of the business.

Simply engaging the users in the process, asking for their improvement ideas (generally better than anything we consultants can dream up!) and making them feel valued is the only way to guarantee long-term success with DQ in my opinion. Knowledge workers are the single largest untapped data quality resource most organisations completely ignore.

It's also important to remember I feel in this age of DQ techno-wizardry that although tools like dn:Director will hit the ground running and trap those insidious little data defects the eye can't spot, the knowledge workers who use the data are the only ones who truly understand what the data means to the smooth running of the business so you need them onside from day 1.

At the risk of hijacking this thread, there are a couple of great articles on Data Quality Pro right now which focus exactly on the issue of managing cultural change in the DQ process and also an example of a company who not only reward their staff for finding DQ issues but also their customers - with cookies!

Cookies vs carrots? Tough one...

Here are those articles:

http://tinyurl.com/4quvsz (change management in DQ)
http://tinyurl.com/3ojnzq (cookies for defects!)

Great post Steve, it's always the simple ideas that we forget.

Dylan

[Peter Goode]

Are you saying that there is no place for the stick in a data governance regime? From my own experience, the best results come from using the carrot and the stick at the same time. In our case, we awarded shopping vouchers to those that met their data quality KPIs. We still measure performance today and publish a list of the best and worst performers.

[Steve Tuck]

Hi Peter,

No, I'm certainly not saying that there's no place for the stick - just that you shouldn't always lead with it (not if you want a sustainable data governance regime).

It sounds like you put into practice what I'm advocating anyway; modest, but meaningful rewards for compliance. It's also great to hear that you're continuing to monitor things and saying "thank you" to the best performers. Often the naming and shaming of the worst performers is enough, but compliance with data governance and data quality KPIs should all be rolled up into an individual's performance assessment - not seen as something separate.

Regards,
Steve