VIDEO | Data Governance Should Not Be Diminished for HR — Navy Federal HR Analytics AVP

(US and Canada) In this engaging video interview, Katie Cassin, Business Unit Data Steward, and Zach Jenkins, AVP, HR Analytics from Navy Federal Credit Union, speak with Robert Lutton, Vice President at Sandhill Consultants and Editorial Board Vice Chair at CDO Magazine, in a video interview about weaving data governance into processes across the organization, successful HR analytics strategies, improving decision-making, and creating a system that saves time.

Jenkins declares at the outset that he is fortunate to have a senior leadership at Navy Federal that understands the necessity of taking a long-game approach. He adds that it is possible due to not being shareholder-owned and for-profit, but rather a not-for-profit member-owned entity, which allows maximizing benefits without worrying about their share price.

Next, Jenkins states that the principal advantage has been collecting vital data points from human resources (HR) and non-HR sources, such as space planning. Bringing all this information together applies new perspectives, enabling the ability to answer questions from the business while remaining careful about how work is handled.

Further, Jenkins emphasizes that enterprise data governance should not be diminished for HR or other areas. He reckons that having an enterprise strategy securely joins HR and non-HR data and produces richer insights and more data-driven decisions. However, it requires massive investments in terms of money and time, which can be hard to gain approval from senior leaders.

Moving forward, Cassins finds herself in a fortunate situation at Navy Federal. She has supportive leadership that deeply understands data governance and has invested heavily in data literacy and change. She acknowledges the HR analytics team for completing many of the goals she had planned for her first few years at the company.

Emphasizing the successful HR analytics governance strategies, Cassins states that the challenge now is to take these best practices and apply them across the entirety of HR. She notes that data governance is still an emerging field within enterprises, necessitating monitoring of changing standards and resources while implementing new software. For change to be successful, it must become an integrated part of the process, she asserts.

Furthermore, Cassins declares that Navy Federal has an enterprise data governance team responsible for setting the policy throughout the whole organization. She serves as a business unit’s data steward, ensuring organizational compliance with the established policies and procedures for record retention. In addition, she has created a strategy to ensure that the organization follows the standards, meets its HR needs, and incorporates the rules into applicable processes.

Following up, Jenkins refers to Cassins as the liaison who keeps in touch with enterprise principles and looks outward for best practices in data governance. Through her connection to HR, she can understand the data associated with the organization as different business areas may have their unique quirks.

Jenkins applauds Cassins for creating a system that gathers answers to similar questions about applications. This ensures the organization has a solid list when considering new applications or renewing contracts. The system saves time, and with a solid list of questions and answers, the organization can make more informed decisions.

He concludes that the enterprise structure and an initiative to create a comprehensive list of questions and answers, bring many benefits to the organization.

CDO Magazine appreciates Katie Cassin and Zach Jenkins for sharing their insights and data success stories with our global community.

See more from Katie Cassin and Zach Jenkins

Adding Value to End User Drives Successful Change Management