Your organization is struggling with data governance. How can you get stakeholders on board at all levels?
To ensure your organization adopts effective data governance practices, it's crucial to get buy-in from stakeholders at every level. Here’s how you can achieve this:
How have you successfully engaged stakeholders in your initiatives?
Your organization is struggling with data governance. How can you get stakeholders on board at all levels?
To ensure your organization adopts effective data governance practices, it's crucial to get buy-in from stakeholders at every level. Here’s how you can achieve this:
How have you successfully engaged stakeholders in your initiatives?
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I'd turn on the only data governance radio station people listen to: WIIFM. This stands for What's In It For Me? You see, senior management will only engage when the data governance initiative supports the delivery of business objective. Middle management will engage when the initiative improves operational efficiency, grows the bottom line and protects the interests of their line of business. The rest of the workforce will engage when the initiative helps them do their jobs effectively enough for them to be able to go home early every day and want to come back the next. So, I'd put these benefits in front of people and viola!
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Securing stakeholder support for data governance requires thoughtful strategies. A balance between inclusion and clarity ensures that governance is seen as an enabler rather than a bottleneck, promoting alignment and long-term success... Communicate the business benefits: Demonstrate how governance improves decision making, reduces risk and aligns with business objectives. Avoid jargon - focus on results. Involve all levels early on: Involve senior management, IT and end users in discussions to highlight the shared benefits and avoid resistance. Demonstrate quick wins: Introduce small governance improvements that deliver visible results, building confidence and momentum for larger initiatives.
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There are multiple methods to involve. Few of them are 1. Define the problem clearly - identify the pain problems and quantify the impact. 2. Align with organisation goals - I mean connect to business objectives and show value creation 3. Present a business case to secure executive sponsorship. 4. Stakeholders involvement in early stages- collaborate and address the pain points (active listening will help) 5. Provide required training and resources- educate and equip teams 6. Start small and show results- gain more confidence on the metrics 7. Show your genuine accountability 8. Create continuous engagement
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Engage stakeholders in data governance by aligning objectives with organizational and departmental goals through workshops to identify shared priorities like compliance, efficiency, and innovation. Use tailored, data-driven examples to illustrate benefits. Build a governance framework with clear roles, accountability, and decision-making structures. Provide role-specific training and integrate user-friendly tools. Address resistance with change management, feedback loops, and early wins. Promote collaboration through governance champions and knowledge-sharing forums. Sustain engagement by linking metrics to business outcomes, sharing progress, and involving leadership as advocates for alignment and scalability.
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Stakeholders care about DG when they see how it directly affects what they value most. Instead of talking about DG in abstract or technical terms, frame it as a tool for solving their most pressing challenges. To get buy-in, align governance objectives with your organization’s strategic priorities. Stakeholders are more likely to embrace DG when they hear its benefits from their peers. Identify champions in key departments who can advocate for DG practices and bridge the gap between leadership and their teams. Establish a DG committee with representatives from diverse teams, ensuring every department has a voice in shaping policies. Keep stakeholders informed about advancements, obstacles, and potential enhancement areas on a regular basis.
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Soon Joo Gog
Chief Skills Officer @ SkillsFuture SG | Senior Fellow @ LKYSPP | Transformation Leader
To kickstart a data-driven organisation takes time. It will be messy at first. Getting colleagues to think of data pipelines from administrative and operational perspective. Helping them to understand how the organised data can support their decision-making. Having sufficient numbers of trained-users on data competency is essential too.
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Governance is tough to turn into an “atomic habit”—consistent, repeatable—because it takes time to show results, like starting a diet or exercise. To succeed, tie governance to value-driven initiatives, such as analytics or machine learning use cases, where quick wins highlight its role in value creation. Simplify governance with a clear value proposition: go from bureaucracy into agility to make it easy to adopt, and impactful. Clearly explain roles, policies, and tools like the data catalog benefits users while aligning with company goals. Finally, implement tailored training programs to make governance part of daily routines. Focus on simplicity, usability, and linking governance to value, so it becomes a habit that drives success.
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Getting stakeholders on board requires aligning data governance with their specific goals and challenges. • Align with business goals: Show how it drives revenue, efficiency, or compliance. • Secure executive support: Highlight risks of inaction and benefits of governance. • Start small: Pilot in a high-impact area to demonstrate value. • Engage teams: Involve key stakeholders to build collaboration. • Communicate results: Share updates and celebrate wins to sustain momentum.
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Communicate the strategic value of data governance through ROI-focused presentations. Align policies with business objectives and regulatory requirements. Appoint champions at different levels to advocate for governance practices. Provide training to demystify technical aspects and celebrate quick wins to foster commitment across all organizational tiers.
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The value of data governance is often better understood than many realize, but the real challenge for boards and the C-suite lies in execution: implementing governance in a way that is practical, cost-effective, and timely. Start with a practical strategy anchored by critical use cases for each department to align governance with operational priorities. Select a data risk platform that uses automation to bring policies, procedures, and controls to life, supported by interactive visual analytics to make governance actionable. Pilot with an interested department to validate the platform’s capabilities with measurable outcomes. Share the results of real risk reductions with real cost savings with execs and the board. Rinse and repeat.
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