Bhavna Mehta, AVP of Data and Analytics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, speaks with Mike Kaiser, Data and Analytics Practice Lead at Centric Consulting, in a video interview about transitioning from siloed to federated operating models, implementing the organizational data and analytics ecosystem, creating a self-service platform, impact of new technology shifts, strategies to implement change, and the future of Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

At the onset, Mehta discusses the approach to implementing an organizational data and analytics ecosystem as an aspect of transitioning from a siloed to a federated operating model. She considers it to be one of the biggest organizational changes led by her.

Delving further, Mehta talks about implementing a data fabric and a data mesh. She mentions positioning the analytics team as a center of excellence.

Mehta further mentions that being a part of the corporate IT group, she ensures the team’s responsibility towards the platform infrastructure and processes. She mentions deploying infrastructure available for self-service, allowing analysts in different divisions to leverage the platform.

Working on one platform also gives mass scalability as the analysts can share when they come together, says Mehta. She notes that the process started with the initiation of an organizational data governance program, creating a community of practice for data stewards to share definitions and concepts.

However, Mehta maintains that with the new shift in technology and modernization initiatives over the past year, the organization announced the decommissioning of old technology. According to her, this would mean that there is a timeline to learn new things, but there also must be a balance around meeting operational obligations while making up time for the new.

Moving forward, Mehta stresses the need for organizational commitment and communication to implement the change. She mentions drafting the strategic value first, then going to roadshows, and putting the message across through leadership and team meetings for impact.

Moreover, Mehta mentions having one-on-one meetings, enabling newsletters, getting feedback from different forums, and acting on the feedback, which is critical for change. Often in a change management scenario, people do not understand the value of change or are unable to move beyond the barriers during implementation, she adds.

Therefore, Mehta believes that listening to feedback and leading with empathy and transparency is crucial and she affirms that the organization has seen early success in scalability.

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