Bricks, Mortar and Bytes: Building a Data-Led Culture in the Housing Sector

On Wednesday 12th February, our Founder and CEO, Greg Freeman had the pleasure of chairing an exciting panel session called ‘How to create a data-led culture’ at the Housing Innovation Show at the ICC in Birmingham. As data continues to become an integral part of decision-making, the social housing sector stands at a pivotal moment to revolutionise how information is managed.

In this panel session, Dr Laura Wales (Head of Data at Raven Housing Trust), Colin Sales (CEO at 3C Consultants) and Adam Cresser (Director of Data & AI at Notting Hill Genesis) discussed the latest trends, challenges and opportunities in data management tailored for social housing professionals. This blog reveals all the advice and insights from this insightful panel.

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Defining Data Culture: Perspectives from the experts

The question “what is a data culture?” always generates a plethora of different perspectives. But the most important thing to remember is that data culture is not separate from the wider business culture. Data should be integrated into decision-making across a business.

“A strong data culture isn’t about the technology, it’s about the people, processes and culture.” - Adam Cresser, Director of Data & Analytics at Notting Hill Genesis

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The first step to a strong data culture is securing executive buy-in. Every data leader is aware that a lack of active support from the C-Suite means that very often data initiatives are destined to fail. Buy-in is achieved by demonstrating data as a driver of business value, not just a business expense. Once stakeholders are locked into the importance of data culture, the focus shifts towards sharing the “why” with the broader organisation. By enabling teams to understand the importance of data in the workplace, they will naturally want to embed it into their workflows, rather than feeling forced to. A strong data culture is one which inspires curiosity, encouraging individuals to explore and leverage data in new and innovative ways, without the fear of doing it wrong.

But it's not just about creating understanding. What also matters is putting foundations in place so people fully trust and value the data, as this is what underpins confidence in leveraging it for outcomes. Colin notes that it is this trust that will enable employees to feel like their job is getting easier, instead of harding, and that it feels like a rewarding experience.

Data is one of a company’s most valuable assets and leaders need to start acting like it. It needs to be valued, maintained and used effectively in order to demonstrate impact. And while there is a place and time for gut instinct, using data to support and validate decision-making needs to become the norm. But this all starts by waking people up to this reality, and helping them know how they fit into the data value chain to collectively make this shift.

The state of Data Culture in Housing today

"Housing associations are starting to recognise the value of data, but the challenge is cutting through the noise of day-to-day operations." — Dr. Laura Wales, Head of Data at Raven Housing Trust

The housing sector is on a journey and is making advancements. But there is still a lot of work to do. With customer expectations constantly increasing, the business case for data is stronger than ever and regulatory pressure is pushing for change.

It’s important to celebrate the small wins along the way.

• Leadership are more engaged and we are seeing more data representation at board level.
• Most organisations have a data strategy, which wasn’t the case five years ago.
• Investment in data initiatives is increasing, albeit may need some redirecting.

Data investments are often focused on upgrading data tools and systems as opposed to fostering long-term cultural change. But that message needs to be reinforced from the top, with leaders becoming role models of having a data-driven mindset, regardless what area of the business they work in. Data needs to be seen as tool that makes life easier rather than an extra burden. This is easier said than done, and it’s important to note that there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” solution.

The ultimate goal is to gain a collective understanding of the value of data from the whole executive team and empower an organisation from the top-down. However, don’t underestimate the power of an internal data champion. In many cases, it only takes one member of in a senior leadership position to appreciate the value of data and advocate for data initiatives in the boardroom.

“There isn’t a universal playbook, but finding an internal evangelist—someone who genuinely believes in the initiative and will advocate for it—can be really powerful." - Adam Cresser, Director of Data & Analytics at Notting Hill Genesis

There is a varying spectrum of leadership buy-in across the housing sector. Organisations such as Raven Housing Trust are leading the charge, with the majority of their executive team already onboard with data initiatives. For Raven Housing Trust, buy-in has not been an issue, the real test has been ensuring the data initiatives work operationally and positively impact the services they provide to their residents.

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Key barriers to data transformation in Housing

As we’ve established, a lack of executive buy-in is a major barrier to achieving a data-driven culture. But beyond that, what are the biggest obstacles facing the housing sector right now when it comes to advancing data culture?

The skills gap

"One of the biggest challenges is definitely the skills gap. Many people entering the sector don’t necessarily have the digital and data literacy skills that are becoming essential." — Dr. Laura Wales, Head of Data at Raven Housing Trust

A key challenge is making data relevant for employees who don’t see it as part of their job. For example, asking frontline staff who manage day-to-day operations to also focus on data collection and usage can feel like an added burden. This magnifies the disconnect between the importance of data and their daily responsibilities. Showing how better data can make their jobs easier can help bridge the disconnect between the importance of data and their daily responsibilities and encourage people to want to improve their skills.

When developing a data strategy, a common error is to focus on the “data experts” who are responsible for managing and servicing the data while ignoring the fact that 80% of the value derived from data typically comes from the people actually using it. Shifting mindsets and behaviours and upskilling the wider organisation with data literacy skills is crucial to bridging the skills gap and connecting the importance of data to employees’ daily responsibilities.

The value proposition of data

“The challenge is ensuring that data doesn’t become just another technology-driven initiative. If we don’t start with a clear business problem and work backward, we risk getting lost in technical solutions that don’t actually move the needle.” - Adam Cresser, Director of Data & Analytics at Notting Hill Genesis

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Establishing the business “why” behind your data initiatives is imperative to their success. Not only is executive buy-in heavily reliant on the business value of you data projects, but org-wide adoption relies on this too. By strategically aligning your data initiatives with corporate goals, it is easy to see, track and measure the ROI of these investments. Because after all, if data initiatives don’t drive the bottom line, they are unlikely to gain the support they need to succeed.

Taught fear

One of the biggest barriers we see to building a successful data culture and improving data literacy is something called taught fear. It’s a concept from education and change management that describes how people convince themselves they can’t engage with certain subjects. A common example is learning languages as many people believe they will never be able to learn another language. The same mindset often applies to data and new technologies.

It is fairly common for people to internalise the belief that “data isn’t for them” which acts as a blocker to increasing engagement with data programmes. Overcoming this “taught fear” is a key challenge. Once you recognise it in the people you’re working with, you can start to address it. That’s why the right approach to education and change management is so critical.

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Solutions and strategies for advancing a Data-Led Culture

As much as we all love technology, it is not the silver bullet. Success depends on bringing people along on the journey. So how do you make this happen?

To put it simply:

• Focus on small, strategic wins over big-bang transformations
• Embed data throughout performance conversations
• Focus on business impact first, not just reporting metrics
• Identify and support skeptics to turn them into champions
• Use "lighthouse projects" to demonstrate value and sustain momentum

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Solutions should focus on three key areas:

Governance

Everyone, from leadership to frontline staff, need to understand their role in data. But to make this happen, you have the frame data and its importance in a way that resonates with each level. Rather than going straight in with governance frameworks, you need to make it relevant and answer the question of “why is this important to me?”

Skills

Bridging the skills and communication gap between data teams and the wider business is crucial to advance a data culture. It’s not about everyone having a degree in statistics, it’s about providing a solid foundation in key data concepts so that everyone can confidently use data to drive decision-making thus improving the organisations’ overall productivity.

Insight

Business leaders are great at asking for what they want but don’t always understand what they need. It’s not enough to measure the same things over and over, you need to push for deeper insights. Identifying gaps in your data unlocks new opportunities for innovation and transformation.

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“A strong community of champions is the key to long term success yet too many organisations take their champions for granted. They assume that they’ll stay engaged forever—but if you don’t continually recognise and support them, you risk losing them. - Greg Freeman, CEO and Founder of Data Literacy Academy

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Key takeaways for Housing Associations

Culture change doesn’t happen over night - The key is understanding where resistance exists and tailoring your approach to different audiences.

Start small, start now - Focus on small, strategic wins because incremental changes drive long-term transformation.

Invest in people, not just tools - Without data literacy, no tool or system will deliver its expected value.

Position data as an enabler of corporate strategy - Aligning your data initiatives with your corporate strategy will take you further than any tool ever will.

Recognise and nurture data champions - Without internal data champions, initiatives will struggle to take off and drive real cultural shifts.

Leadership matters - Executive buy-in is essential for success.

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What  should Housing leaders do next?

• Assess your organisation’s data maturity: where do you currently stand?
• Find your internal champions: who will drive the data movement in your business?
• Make data relevant to all employees: demonstrate how data will improve teams’ workflows.
• Start investing in data literacy today: Data Literacy Academy are here to support you on your data transformations.

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