In a world where collaboration leads to growth and transparency in an organization, data silos and information silos can be detrimental to a company’s success. However, many people get the two confused. After all, “data” and “information” are used interchangeably in common speech, but in terms of silos, they have very different meanings. In this article, we’ll reveal the differences between data and information and how to resolve the silos that occur in your contact center.
The Difference Between Data Silos and Information Silos
It’s important to know the difference between data versus information silos so you can better determine whether you have a technology problem or a cultural problem in your contact center. A data silo deals with technology. Data silos occur when organizations have different groups of people looking at different sets of data that are not shared between platforms/channels or easily accessible.
An information silo occurs when a certain group of people feels they are the only ones who need access to certain information. They keep this data to themselves regardless of whether or not the capability to share with their team exists.
When considering data silos and information silos, they certainly have one major thing in common. They are both detrimental to a contact center operation. The good news is there is technology out there to combat both data silos and information silos.
However, it’s much easier to fix a data silo with technology than it is to fix an information silo. The common events that trigger an information silo are usually technology issues and company growth. After all, the larger your organization, the more people you have working on initiatives and ideas.
Breaking Down Data Silos
Identify the Information Breakdown Early and Fix It Quickly
If a company is growing quickly, it can be months before you realize someone across the hall is doing something groundbreaking or important. What’s worse is you might realize you are working on a similar initiative. As you can see, data silos can lead to a lack of collaboration and a lot of wasted time.
This is where management comes in – more specifically contact center leaders. Great leaders promote an environment rooted in collaboration and transparency from the top down. Leaders quickly recognize the root of the problem and take action to correct the issue before it snowballs.
For example, when two teams realize they are working on the same thing and never communicated that to each other a good leader recognizes a communication breakdown occurred and will put a plan in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Growth is great, but without collaboration and transparency, small issues quickly become large ones.
Foster a Collaborative Company Culture
The key to ridding your organization of information or data silos is getting the right people on board. The amount of time and resources it takes depends on the complexity of your data. The first thing you need to do is complete an internal audit. Is the contact center culture a problem? Does your company encourage collaboration? Who needs what data and when do they need it?
Once you determine what you need, you can then find the technology that will help you accomplish those needs. Keep in mind, implementing new systems or software can be a big task for any organization, but it’s worth the effort. Implementing the right data reporting tools improves your company culture by offering full transparency and encouraging collaboration. In short, it’s time to knock down those silos.
Make Data-Driven Decisions
Contact centers today are mainly using data to make decisions. This means the data coming into the contact center needs to be accurate, easily shared, and readily available to anyone who needs it. By centralizing and combining your data from multiple sources, teams can now make informed decisions much faster. This level of detailed data is crucial and provides a clear competitive advantage.
Centralize Your Contact Center Data with Aceyus
At Aceyus, we understand the importance of promoting a healthy company culture with sustainable growth by providing accurate multi-channel data that is easily accessible for those that need it. We pride ourselves on providing our customers with contact center intelligence at their fingertips. Reach out to schedule a personalized demo to see how our data reporting tools can improve your customer and employee experience.
