Don’t let your data go down a black hole. Keeping data clean and useful in CRM’s is usually a tough task for companies. You have multiple departments and users accessing and using the data. We recommend assigning someone at your company to be a Data Steward.

Who are Data Stewards?
Typical data stewards could include employees who are experts for one of the following;  Subject Area, Organizational, Business process, Application level, and Project level. Additionally, they can be categorized into two types; technical or business data stewards. The larger the company the more the roles will be defined and segmented. Also, a formal governance should be established; such as a CIO (Chief Information Officer), CDO (Chief Data Officer) and a governing body that establishes policies and procedures. Sometimes this is as simple as working with your IT department to set the hierarchy.

Why do you need data stewards?
Let's focus on the qualities and skills essential for the Infor CRM data steward combination role needed for most mid-enterprise companies. The role of the data steward is a critical one of watching over and caring for a valuable resource for your firm. Yes, it’s data. It is not a resource that is scarce because it seems that “data” is everywhere. It is a role that is greatly overlooked in most companies as the data is there, right? But there is great potential in managing this data well and how it flows between departments, information systems, organizations, and customers. Accurate data allows accurate reporting to measure company progress, market saturation, user interactions, and to help a company succeed. In smaller to mid-sized companies the data steward(s) is more of a role than a formal title. How should you decide who should own that role and what are they responsible for anyway?

The organizational “thinking” must be ready to be a data-driven culture. There are areas of interest that companies should consider like products and services being offered, the business model and structures that support them, and the business models that need to change and shift with the markets that are being supported to produce new goods and services. In the smaller sense, a good goal is just looking for the consistency and the accuracy to allow timely sharing of data in the form of reports, dashboards, and BI (Business Intelligence) for taking action on the executive level as well as the front lines.

What qualities should a data steward have?
In terms of data stewardship, the roles can be divided or blended. If the roles are divided then the technical is more of the custodian/corrector of the data and the business role is more the coordinator/tracker of the data. The stewardship role leans more towards business, but having the ability to change the data and being technically savvy, is the best combination. For SME’s (Small and medium-sized enterprises), a combination role of both technical and business will increase the cohesiveness of the company and ensure success in data and process accuracy.

The knowledge and skills are mainly organizational first and protecting the integrity of data second. They must understand the business direction, processes, rules, and requirements for getting tasks done. They should be able to influence business directions and gain business area commitments. They must be able to coordinate and create relationships internally to communicate the business rules and definitions. Most importantly, they must then work to make sure the data delivers accuracy for the direction of the company and those system users, integrators, and system admins are trained on how to do that properly.

The data steward role is important to help manage and maintain an important asset to the company, data. The data steward must work together with business leaders, system users, and technical people to be aligned with the direction of the company. It is not an easy job and requires thought before placing people into this role that possess the right mix of skills and personality. You must keep your data clean to effectively utilize Infor CRM.