Managing data effectively is essential for businesses to remain competitive in today’s fast-paced world. In the digital age, data has become one of the most valuable assets for any organisation, requiring a team of experts who can collect, organise, and analyse data for maximum benefit. Without proper data management, data can quickly become a serious concern for your organisation’s security. This is where metadata comes in.
Metadata is the information that describes the content, context, and structure of data, providing critical information that can help an organisation’s users understand data and make informed decisions. Effective metadata management is imperative for organisations that want to make the most out of their data assets. A strong metadata team consists of high-performing individuals who can share valuable skills and expertise to help resolve data challenges that organisations face. Therefore, building a team of proficient metadata analysts is crucial to ensuring that your data is managed and used in the most efficient way possible.
Why is metadata management important?
Before delving into how to build a strong metadata team, let’s talk about the ways in which metadata and metadata management can help organisations remain competitive. An efficient metadata management system can help with:
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Better data governance: Metadata management ensures that data is consistent and standardised across the organisation. Data governance is all about simplifying the data management process by making data assets more accessible for employees. This results in improved collaboration between teams and departments which inevitably enhances data accuracy and reliability.
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Improved data quality: Metadata management improves data quality by enabling organisations to better understand data and identify errors, inconsistencies and redundancies that may be present so they can be addressed accordingly.
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Compliance and risk management: Metadata management can help organisations comply with industry regulations and manage risks associated with data privacy and security. Well-managed metadata can help organisations meet regulatory requirements such as data privacy laws and ensure that the data is properly labelled and classified.
How to build a strong metadata team
Now that we understand the importance of metadata and metadata management, let’s look at how you can find the right people to make it all happen. One of the key roles in a metadata team is that of a Metadata Analyst. These professionals are responsible for collaborating with clients to understand their data management challenges and help them implement best practices for the organisation. Their role also involves mapping client data dictionaries and assets to metadata standards, and documenting client data governance details within metadata registries.
Our clients often ask us how we have recruited a team of metadata analysts, the answer for which is not that simple. Metadata management is a multi-disciplinary skillset that requires deep knowledge of data, communication, and documentation skills. Building a strong and cohesive metadata team involves careful planning and consideration of the necessary skills and expertise required. When shortlisting your next metadata analyst candidate, these are the skills you should look out for:
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Excellent communication: As metadata management and governance involve data analysis and reporting, a professional level of writing, reading, and oral proficiency is required, with permission to work in the country of operation being essential. A metadata analyst must possess clear communication skills and the ability to work both independently as well as with the different stakeholders within the organisation. Analysts with experience using Google Stack Overflow or Exchange are likely to be strong candidates.
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Technical and critical thinking: Proficiency across Microsoft Office tools such as Word and Excel are a prerequisite. This will help when tasked with creating detailed spreadsheets, documenting data dictionaries, metadata standards and client data assets. Additionally, critical thinking skills are crucial for metadata analysts as they consistently need to assess complex relationships between datasets.
Its important to note that critical thinking skills may be visibile in diverse ways. For example, a client of ours has observed that a love of complex board games is indicative of a keen interest in concepts and critical thinking skills.
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Prior experience and qualifications: Having previous experience in data management or with metadata registries such as Aristotle Metadata Registry, Confluence or Zendesk can provide an analyst with a solid foundation for understanding metadata standards, governance frameworks and best practices. A relevant certificate, tertiary qualification or equivalent experience can be highly beneficial to an organisation, especially in training the analyst with business processes and systems.
In today’s dynamic workforce environment, inclusion and neurodiversity are also key factors in determining whom to hire. Diversity and equal opportunity within your workforce can allow candidates from different backgrounds to share unique learning styles, insights, and perspectives to the team. If you already have staff members who are familiar with metadata and data dictionaries, leverage their expertise and provide them with additional feedback and resources to strengthen the team. Note that metadata management, like any other skill, requires ongoing training and development. Regardless of whether you already have an ardent team, or are in the process of hiring new recruits, ensure that your employees have access to regular training and professional development opportunities. This will help them stay updated with the latest trends and best practices in metadata management.
Conclusion
Building a metadata team is essential for managing data effectively. By following the points outlined in this blog post, you can build a strong and proficient metadata team that will help your organisation manage its data more efficiently, improve data quality and meet regulatory requirements.
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