The importance of data cohesion across departments
The cost of decisions based on unreliable or false data can be considerable for a business. In the absence of the complete picture, assumptions inevitably have to be made and so may not always be correct. But, such costs can be avoided by improving inter-departmental data cohesion.
Oftentimes, departments store data in different formats with other departments not having any visibility. When the need arises, the different formats need to be collated to form a bigger picture. Even in that case, the possibility of incorrect collation exists due to incompatibility of the formats. This would impact the integrity of the data, rendering the resulting data unfit for purpose.
The best way to defeat the problem is by creating centralised databases that hold data pertinent to all the departments in the organisation. Transparent data-sharing ensures that accurate information is available at any given time and that nobody is left out of the loop. Departments are also more likely to be collaborative if they all have visibility of the same data. This builds trust from the top-to-bottom and across departments.
Transparency and trust are instrumental in successful collaboration between departments. When departments trust the reliability and accuracy of the data being shared, inter-departmental collaboration becomes quicker and smoother. However, it is important not to overlook the fostering of trust amongst individuals, as they are the building blocks of departments. Data cohesion would minimise finger-pointing and conflict, resulting in better relationships amongst individuals and departments.
Data cohesion does not only come into play when making executive decisions, either. Everyday tasks and processes can also be adversely affected by unreliable data. If the core business departments doing all the groundwork do not share complete data with the Accounts department, for example, it could cause a gap in the financials that would go all the way to the executives and investors for key decision-making.
For instance, in the case of employee expense claims, if the bookkeepers are unaware of the exact department, team, projects or cost centres that specific expenses pertain to, there could be a data gap in the financials, rendering them inaccurate. Incomplete costing data would skew the true performance of projects and any decisions made on the basis of the inaccurate data could potentially be wrong. To avoid data gaps in the financials, the bookkeepers may have to go back and forth to gather the required information. Not only would it waste time, but it could also cause annoyance and resentment, which is never good for the work environment.
Such instances can be easily avoided by making use of an electronic expense system or app, wherein all the required information is filled in by the employee prior to the submission of the expense claim and flows into the financials automatically after review by line managers or department heads. Not only would using an expense system save time, but it would also ensure that the data flow is transparent with an indisputable audit trail. After all, improving interdepartmental data cohesion is the least of many wonderful things an expense system can do!
