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Leading Through Change: Designing Standard Data Operations

In 2019, I was contracted with a for-profit subsidiary to a national non-profit to scale their Marketing Data Operational capacity. As a small but mighty team, the majority of team resources were being spent on execution of campaign data pulls, rather than on cutting-edge data science techniques for new offerings. The department therefore needed assistance consolidating its efforts through streamlined and standardized process, clear direction, and tools for tracking their progress of building efficiency.

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Change Management

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Process Improvement

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Team Leadership

The Business Challenge

  • Directors managed their teams independent of one another, even when work was inter-dependent
  • Process that was established was consistently NOT followed
  • Information was hoarded as a source of personal power
  • Projects were not consistently communicated, documented, or executed on the same timeline

  • There wasn’t a project management tool currently in place to use

  • SharePoint was being under-utilized for both workflow automation and documentation archiving

  • What the departmental capabilities and offerings were was not officially defined

    The Solution

    • Individual team member interviews were conducted to document existing processes and empirically understand team culture norms that were inhibiting operational efficiency and organizational effectiveness. The team was then pulled together as a group the facilitate a shared understanding of the end-to-end process and its inefficiencies. Team members were then asked to contribute their ideas for process improvements through collaborative techniques that foster psychological safety and knowledge sharing; resulting in a co-creative solution designed by the team the process was meant to serve.

    Actions Taken

    • In lieu of a project management tool, a comprehensive spreadsheet (known as the Data Science Production Schedule) was designed to consolidate and track all departmental project requests.
    • SharePoint workflows were designed to auto-notify stakeholders of time-sensitive actions
    • SharePoint archives were used to organize all forms, memos, and project documentation into centralized project folders.
    • A [Visio] workflow detailing all current-state incoming departmental work types, decision points, milestones, and deliverables; constructed with and approved by the working teams
    • A recommended future-state [Visio] workflow detailing process improvements for streamlined communication and improved efficiency; constructed with and approved by the working teams
    • A [PowerPoint] pitch for pitching and on-boarding marketing partners and their leadership
    • A comprehensive list of departmental service offerings, capabilities, and definitions

    Results Delivered

    • Project trafficking timelines decreased by 33%.
    • Project expectations, requirements, and communication was streamlined.
    • A co-creative team solution was delivered; setting a precedent for future team project collaboration.
    • Centralized documentation storage was achieved to meet organizational and regulatory standards.