Look around your office, how many posters can you see relating to general health and safety? Are there some that warn of automatically closing doors, building security, and flu prevention? Now, are there any on practicing great data hygiene and safety?
Data hygiene or cleanliness refers to the processes in place that help your data stay accurate, relevant, and easy to use. Three versions of the same data set, saved in three places, being worked on by three staff members independently is an example of bad data hygiene.
Cleaner data means better strategic decisions. Below you will find 6 steps on how you and your staff can create cleaner data.
Explain and Prioritize Integrity
As important as cybersecurity, the first step towards data cleanliness relies entirely on training and awareness.
First off, bring data integrity forward as an important discussion point. Express that data is integral in making important strategic decisions within the company. Therefore, data with bad integrity can lead to bad decisions. The repercussions of these bad decisions can affect everybody within the company in both the short and long term.
Keep these basic practices in mind when explaining the importance of data integrity:
- Possible data risks include human error, transferring data, and malfunctioning hardware.
- Numbers should be double checked for errors before they are used.
- In the case of compromised hardware, a manager or leader should be notified immediately.
- If an alteration in data is detected which resulted in inaccurate or incomplete data, a manager or leader should be notified.
Establish Standardized Practices
Standard practices will depend largely on your company and day-to-day operations. Ideally, you should have standardized practices for every aspect of your data, including levels of permission for data sets. Upholding these standards of practice is a great first step to eliminating potential data mishandling.
Standard practices may include:
- Database permissions are only given to relevant staff members. These permissions could be either ‘Edit’ or ‘View’ depending on their use of the data set.
- Data extraction is limited to a designated team.
- All changes to databases are tracked.
- Use a specified font and size to make improperly inputted data obvious.
- Regular audits are scheduled.
Make It Easy
Accidents can happen, and mistakes need to be corrected. To prevent potential errors, keep your data entry as simple as possible. Introduce drop-downs or limited entry possibilities. If large numbers are involved, copy and paste functions are a must.
If a large change to a database is needed e.g. a new field, there should be a process to request this from an assigned member of staff.
Remove Duplicates
Allowing duplicates of files opens a wide window of opportunity for poor data hygiene. As each duplicate is edited and saved in their respective areas, there is no longer a master file. Instead, there are duplicate files, each differing from the last.
A cloud based system can eliminate this risk. Instead of multiple, you now have one file, accessible and editable by key staff members, all updated in real time. Train your staff in this new procedure, and remove the temptation of duplicating and creating their own individualized version.
Before implementing this, establish how many copies of vital databases you currently have and determine why your staff had the need to duplicate the file in the first place. Implement these factors into the creation of a master version which is added into the cloud based system. Duplicates should not be confused with backups. An IT team member should be tasked with periodically making sure back-ups of important files are created and saved in a specified location. If a mistake does occur, a previous version can be retrieved.
Schedule Regular Audits
Keeping something clean requires an occasional scrubbing. Scrub your data via regular audits.
Audits are already mandatory in some industries, including banking. Even if they are a new concept to your organization, the importance is just the same.
When auditing data, you should depend on a small and tight-knit team to run the audit. This team should understand the job functions of the people inputting the data, the importance of the data, and the purpose it serves in managerial or executive decision making.
Here are a few basics for internal auditing:
- Segregate audit duties by custody, authority and user recording.
- Financial record auditing should rely on experts.
- Encourage auditors to identify errors created by: lack of knowledge, an inability to perform a job function, or unintentional input.
- Document all auditing activities.
- Allow the audit findings to support change initiatives and influence policies, practices, and procedures.
Apply Filters and Controls
Any data that can be cleaned, should be cleaned. Filters and controls can help you identify and clean up your existing data, which is preferable to starting over.
Use data connectors such as account numbers or email addresses to help you cross-analyze the data and determine which records are inaccurate or incomplete.
Conclusion
The long term benefits of keeping clean data go far beyond good practice, cleaner data means better strategic decisions. You can start today by creating an overview of your data records and scheduling your first discussion meeting with relevant staff members.
