Do you need a data steward, or do you want to become one? First of all, you have data, which is undoubtedly a blessing. However, instead of the holy grail of usable customer information that marketing, sales, and service teams desire, your staff frequently encounters messy and unreliable data in numerous databases, platforms, and spreadsheets.
Data governance focuses on broad data policies and regulations, whereas data stewardship emphasizes day-to-day coordination and implementation. A data steward connects users with IT departments to manage organizational data.
What is a data steward?
A data steward ensures that an organization’s data is high quality, secure, and well maintained. Defines data elements, creates rules and procedures for data collection and accuracy checking, and executes tests on data systems. Being a steward assures that good data quality is maintained so that they may support the business process. Typically requires a bachelor’s degree in addition to experience or training and has other responsibilities, such as reporting to a manager.
A steward is involved in moderately complex aspects of a project. In general, the work is autonomous and collaborative. Typically, it takes four to seven years of experience to become one.
Companies find that a steward is becoming an essential asset in better managing their data.
Data stewardship is active duty in data management and governance, ensuring that data policies and standards are implemented within the steward’s area. Data stewards aid the company in optimizing domain data assets.
Data steward job description
Data steward job descriptions vary depending on their clients’ demands.
They are often seen as the:
- Data stewards can be business experts in any area of data. They are in charge of ensuring that the data is of good quality and trust, developing organization-wide standards for data usage, and keeping track of all company resources.
- Trusted resources keep the firm in line with evolving data laws locally, regionally, and nationally to dodge penalties or fines.
- Education and training advocates, thought leaders of data, monitoring new best practices and technology, and keeping a pulse on current trends.
But in general, what is this job stands for?
What is data stewardship?
Data stewardship is the process of keeping track of data assets to ensure that they are accessible, functional, safe, and reputable. It covers all aspects of the data lifecycle, from creation to usage through storage and deletion. Data stewardship must provide high-quality data that can be readily accessed regularly.
It assures data quality and consistency as part of an organization’s data governance principles. It comprises the following:
- Knowing everything about the business’s data.
- Make sure that data is accessible, user-friendly, secure, and reliable.
- Understanding where data is stored.
- Keeping data transparent and accurate.
- Setting standards and requirements for utilizing data.
- Enabling the organization to utilize business data to gain a competitive advantage.
- Calling for the use of trustworthy statistics.
Comparison: Data steward vs data analyst
Data stewards collaborate with data analysts and data scientists to interpret data to reveal past trends, detect current patterns, and forecast future outcomes within an organization. Although all of these jobs deal with data, the job responsibilities of a steward vs a data analyst are quite distinct.
Data analysts and data scientists are professionals who use data analysis to extract, organize, and evaluate data to reach conclusions and insights. They create reports on the organization’s past and present performance based on the data retrieved, allowing company leaders to make data-driven decisions. Predictive data analytics is also determined using the collected information.
Data steward and data analyst salary
A data steward’s primary responsibility is to ensure that existing data structures are used effectively by users and run smoothly. They play a secondary role in developing new policies and procedures. They assist with data analytics planning.
In terms of pay, the two occupations are close. Data stewards and data analysts in the United States can earn a yearly salary of about $71,580 and $78,644, respectively.
Abilities needed for data steward and data analyst positions
The most frequent abilities needed for the two employment positions are as follows:
Data Steward
Data analysis, data modeling, data management, and DBMS, Microsoft Excel, technical writing, and presentation skills
Data Analyst
Machine learning, data analysis, statistical analysis, Python, R, SQL, math skills, data visualization
Importance of data steward
They are the quiet, unseen ones behind the scenes who construct automated systems that ensure your company’s data is accurate and up to date, resulting in improved efficiencies.
They are the company’s data management’s public face. Data stewards have a greater sense of security and trust in their data since they create a data-oriented culture and push for effective utilization of and attention to data.
Stewards begin to make greater use of their data over time as a result of dedicated data managers.
Customers are more satisfied. Fewer mistakes are made. Customers who have been misdirected are reached out to first. Thanks to them, leaders with the best closing potential are given the highest priority.
The payoffs might add up quickly. Despite this, the immediate need for a steward may be debatable, while the hard ROI value of the data itself is not readily measurable.
Data stewardship programs
A data steward may be a single individual or a team of individuals, depending on the size, industry, or organization and the importance of data demands and the data program’s maturation.
Creating a new data stewardship program or assessing an existing one may take several months. It begins with the following steps:
- Clarifying objectives and success metrics.
- Examine the present situation and gaps to achieve this.
- Developing, implementing, and maintaining a program are all necessary components of the process.
- Assuring buy-in from stakeholders
- Creating a precise plan.
- Executing the program.
- Maintain the data stewardship program and monitor it.
Oversight and management of the information lifecycle is critical in data stewardship initiatives. It might include, but isn’t limited to, the following:
- The primary drivers are the business data efforts and operations, particularly data lifecycle management, that govern and enforce how long data is kept.
- Quality assurance programs such as the development and use of quality metrics, verification, and correction procedures.
- Various security functions, such as risk assessment and management based on data governance rules, the security unit, legal department, and risk function – all of which consider control implementation and monitoring.
- Procedures and policies that enable data access to ensure authorized users unrestricted access to necessary data at the right time and format while maintaining data confidentiality and integrity.
- Data stewardship programs are designed to identify data required by their respective functions and understand how the function will utilize data to achieve business goals following data governance rules and the company’s data owners.
A modern business requires data management. As a result, careers in this field are desirable. Whether you wish to work in data stewardship or data analytics, you must devote time to studying statistics, develop your abilities, and acquire competencies that will assist you to succeed in job interviews and obtaining a lucrative position with a top recruiter in the field.
If you’re an employer, you’ve already determined that a data officer is required. Now it’s time to create a job advert and find a steward to fulfill your organization’s needs.
