What do you do if your Business Intelligence (BI) project lacks employee engagement?

Getting individuals to buy into processes that don't impact their daily lives will always be an uphill battle. This sentiment extends to BI projects as well, team members need to be given a reason to care. This is where you need to be super focused on clearly explaining why your BI project adds tangible value. Organizing regular sessions to discuss your BI project's "north star" will help tremendously in keeping team members bought in throughout the implementation process. If people are shrugging their shoulders or simply nodding along in meetings, chances are you haven't uncovered the true needs of the employees just yet.

When people don't seem particularly enthusiastic about your projects, far and away the most likely explanation is that it doesn't add any value to the things that they personally care about. In psychology (my background), we talk about egocentrism as the mistaken belief that other people literally see what you see, but also that they know what you know and they value what you value. (This is not to be confused with being egotistical, which is being vain.) If your BI project isn't providing actionable insights to problems people are invested in, then it's more important to evaluate where the project fell short, not what's wrong with the people who don't see its value the way that you do.

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." — Helen Keller Address lack of employee engagement in BI projects by involving team members from inception to implementation. Foster a sense of ownership by aligning project goals with individual and team objectives. Provide training and support to build necessary skills and confidence. Encourage open communication and feedback loops to ensure continuous improvement and relevance. Recognize and celebrate milestones to sustain motivation and commitment throughout the project lifecycle.

Quando meu projeto de BI perde engajamento, a primeira coisa que fa?o é entender as causas subjacentes. Pode ser a falta de clareza nos objetivos, treinamento inadequado ou a percep??o de que o projeto n?o traz valor. Ent?o, envolvo minha equipe para obter feedback e identificar problemas específicos. Com isso, ajusto a estratégia, priorizando a comunica??o clara e a demonstra??o dos benefícios. Também organizo workshops para melhorar as habilidades da equipe e crio dashboards mais intuitivos. A chave é manter a equipe informada e engajada, mostrando resultados tangíveis e destacando como o BI pode transformar decis?es e resultados.

Tackling lack of engagement in a BI project starts with understanding the root causes. It often stems from unclear goals, insufficient training, or a perception that the project doesn't add value. Engage with your team to gather feedback and pinpoint specific issues. This insight is invaluable; it shapes your strategy to rekindle interest and participation. Clear goals aligned with business objectives provide clarity. Comprehensive training ensures confidence. Communicating the project's value through regular updates can shift perceptions. Implementing these steps leads to a motivated team, better outcomes, and stronger alignment with business goals.

A healthy line of communication during any BI project is critical for success, even more so when there's a lull in engagement from stakeholder teams. As a BI lead, try to position yourself as a head coach trying to get players to buy into your gameplan/vision. Each team member is unique and may react differently to various methods of communication. It's incumbent upon us as BI project leaders to highlight the benefits of the vision for each team member so that they feel some level of attachment to the project's success.

One of the first principles of sales is that you don't convince people by listing all the positive features of your product or service (or BI project), but by directly addressing their pain points, or problems that are preventing them from accomplishing what they want to do. That, of course, requires that you understand their view, and that you can fluently address their pain points. And remember that this will vary according to your audience: an employee will use a BI solution for different things than a manager or owner will. Because the problems they face will be different, it may be difficult to come up with a single line of reasoning that persuades them all. Take more time to listen and have empathy.

Quando trabalho em Business Intelligence, fa?o quest?o de transmitir o valor dos nossos projetos. Mostro para a equipe como cada contribui??o influencia diretamente o sucesso da empresa. Explico como o BI facilita suas tarefas, oferece insights importantes e melhora a tomada de decis?es. Por exemplo, com o BI, conseguimos identificar padr?es de comportamento dos clientes que ajudam a criar campanhas de marketing mais eficazes. Também uso dados para prever tendências de vendas, o que nos permite ajustar as estratégias rapidamente. Quando os funcionários percebem esses benefícios, se sentem mais motivados a dedicar tempo e esfor?o ao projeto.

By emphasizing how BI tools streamline workflows and enhance productivity, you can foster a sense of ownership and motivation. Regularly share different pain points and use cases then follow it up with success stories and tangible outcomes from the BI project to illustrate its positive impact. This approach not only boosts engagement but also encourages a culture of data-driven decision-making, ultimately driving the organization towards greater success.

I would say here the top down encouragement plays a major role or provides a good method, a manager encouraging his team to pick up a new skill, let`s say power BI by completing the Microsoft certification and a company supporting them by providing company-sponsored coupons to cover the cost of such exams in case they are successful and celebrating such certifications. I have seen such an approach succeed first-hand as the encouragement by the leader to the team and benefit of being certified even in the long run and how the company is supporting them for it. Following this activity we saw a dramatic improvement in the performance as the familiarity and understanding of tool had been improved due to the training done for the exam.

By providing a well structured training program, you empower your team to leverage BI tools to their fullest. This not only boosts their confidence but also fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Accessible support resources ensure that help is always available, further encouraging exploration and innovation. Ultimately, well-trained employees contribute to the overall success and impact of the BI project, driving better decision-making and business outcomes.

The sense of ownership can be a powerful motivator for a BI project or anything else. The challenge is that it has to be real ownership with real benefits and not a pretend version like "select one of the three goals that we're offering you." Is it possible to tie the employees compensation to the company's or division's performance? Can the employee use the data from the BI project to get a promotion? Can they use it to argue that they have met all their quarterly performance goals and can take another week of paid vacation? Those would all be massively motivating, but they require a genuine commitment from company owners and managers.

Quando gerencio projetos de Business Intelligence, uma das minhas abordagens é atribuir responsabilidade aos colaboradores. Isso significa confiar a eles certas partes do projeto e incentivá-los a tomar a iniciativa. Quando meus colegas sentem que s?o donos de seus setores, eles ficam mais motivados e comprometidos. Pe?o para estabelecerem metas pessoais que se alinhem aos objetivos gerais do projeto, incentivando a inova??o e a criatividade. Dessa forma, transformo equipes passivas em protagonistas ativos. Também promovo um ambiente de feedback constante e celebra??o de conquistas, o que refor?a a motiva??o e o engajamento contínuos. Por exemplo, um analista pode liderar uma nova abordagem de visualiza??o de dados.

By fostering a culture of ownership, you not only boost engagement but also encourage creativity and initiative. Employees who feel accountable for their contributions are more invested in the project's success. This approach can lead to innovative solutions and continuous improvement, ultimately enhancing the project's impact and driving the organization forward.

Consider followings - Clearly define the project's purpose and benefits: Explain how the BI project will improve their work & the company's success. - Involve employees in decision-making: Give them ownership by seeking input on data sources, report formats, & functionalities. - Provide training and resources: Ensure employees have the skills & tools needed to understand & utilize the BI system. - Recognize and reward contributions: Acknowledge achievements and celebrate milestones to keep motivation high. - Focus on communication & transparency: Regularly update your team on progress, address concerns, and be open to feedback. Those may be the points one can apply to the team to get a good turn-up ratio from your team.

By consistently celebrating achievements, you reinforce the importance of each team member's efforts. This recognition can boost morale and inspire others to strive for excellence. A culture that values and appreciates contributions encourages ongoing dedication and commitment, driving the BI project and the organization a better outcome.

Continuously optimizing your BI project based on feedback and performance data is essential for maintaining relevance and driving success. Take the example of Meijer, a major retail chain in the U.S. Meijer implemented Power BI to streamline its retail operations and enhance decision-making processes. By consistently collecting feedback from store managers and analyzing performance data, Meijer identified areas where adjustments were needed. They updated their data integration tools, refined their inventory management processes, and revised sales strategies based on real-time insights. These changes led to a 15% reduction in stockouts and a 10% increase in sales within the first year of implementation.

Iterative improvement will enable employees to have an open line of input into the BI process. This feedback helps settle the development process and ensures that high-visibility integrations are being prioritized. Taking employee suggestions and implementing them is also one of the greatest ways to build trust going forward by recognizing the user's voice throughout the entire process.

If a BI project lacks employee engagement, start by communicating the project's value and aligning it with their goals. Provide training to enhance their understanding and involvement. Foster a collaborative culture by seeking their input and feedback, and recognize their contributions to increase motivation and commitment.