The main responsibilities for a data steward include:
Ensuring data quality
They are in control of processes that guarantee that any data collected is validated and routinely checked to ensure correctness. Data is constantly monitored to maintain its quality, which then allows decision makers to make better, informed decisions.
Establishing data governance
Data stewards develop and maintain comprehensive data governance policies, standards and procedures. This includes defining data ownership, ensuring data accessibility, and monitoring compliance with established data policies.
Bridging communication gaps
A data steward cooperates with business stakeholders and technical teams to translate complex technical terms into actionable business insights.
Promoting data literacy
Given the importance of data, data stewards must educate those within their organisation in order to improve data literacy, ensuring that data is used correctly in their daily operations in line with data governance processes.
Remediation strategies
Data stewards constantly monitor the data ecosystem to quickly recognise any anomalies and come up with a remediation plan. It is important that data is tracked from its origin in order to allow for quicker detection of the source of an error, leading to faster resolutions.
A data steward should have good problem-solving skills in order to be able to detect issues in the data and come up with ways to remedy them in the most efficient way possible. It is also beneficial for such personnel to have knowledge of the processes undertaken by the different departments within the organisation to gain a better understanding of the type of data being collected, what its use is and how best to maintain it.
To sum up, although the data steward role is somewhat a newer concept, it is becoming indispensable in today’s digital landscape. Given the array of responsibilities, from ensuring data quality to communication with stakeholders, any organisation that truly invests in its data stewardship is in a much better position to truly unleash the potential of its data, and maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving market.
