In today’s AI-driven era, a skilled workforce equipped with data fluency is essential for business success. Yet, a growing data and analytical skills shortage creates a significant roadblock for companies striving to achieve full potential from data and AI.
Deloitte’s global Insight-Driven Organization (IDO) survey reveals a critical lack of talent in crucial areas like AI, data science, technology, change management, transformation, and communication and storytelling. To achieve their business goals, organizations will need not only robust recruitment strategies but also innovative talent development programs.
The Future of Jobs 2023 Report by the World Economic Forum echoes this concern. It highlights the growing demand for skills that are the least affected by automation, such as analytical and creative thinking. Technology literacy is the third-fastest growing core skill, with AI and big data ranking among the top training priorities for companies over the next five years.
Bridging the gap: From traditional training to effective enablement
It’s imperative that organizations address the skill gap and foster a culture of innovation. Salesforce has been collaborating with Deloitte, the world’s largest professional services provider, to lead the shift from conventional training to effective enablement programs. These programs go beyond basic methods, focusing on upskilling and reskilling the workforce via skills competitions, igniting passion for data and fostering a data-driven culture at scale.
“As technology is moving faster than employers can adapt their training programs, investing in the right enablement programs is crucial for business success. Competitions, such as Deloitte Viz Games, help build effective data communities within organizations, which play a key role in embracing future-ready analytics and AI capabilities.” – Maximilian Schroeck, Global Chief Commercial Officer of Salesforce Alliance, Deloitte
In 2020, Salesforce collaborated with Deloitte to launch its internal data viz competition, drawn on Tableau’s Iron Viz format. This annual event has witnessed tremendous growth within the Deloitte network over the years. In 2024, the Viz Games saw unprecedented engagement, sparking excitement and fostering data skill development on a remarkable scale.
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Beyond the competition: Fostering a culture of creative collaboration with Tableau data
Deloitte runs Viz Games to cultivate a culture of creative collaboration. Participants don’t just compete. They work in teams, tackling real-world challenges while honing their data analytics and visualization skills, storytelling abilities, and proficiency in software like Tableau.
“Tableau is not only a tool that enables fast and easy access to data or analytics at scale. With Tableau, organizations can achieve way more, breaking through their strategic objectives to become data-driven and ignite data and analytics passion among the workforce.” – Beso Elbakidze, Specialist Lead, Deloitte
This engaging competition fosters a vibrant data community, where employees from diverse backgrounds collaborate, learn, and push the boundaries of data storytelling. Competitions can be a great way to motivate employees to learn new skills.
“In a world driven by data, Deloitte’s Viz Games presents an extraordinary opportunity (and some fun) to inspire the development of vital data and analytics skills. Our unwavering belief at Salesforce is that real customer success is fueled by innovation and understanding data’s transformative potential with our partners and our joint customers and their employees. We’re proud to partner with Deloitte on this journey, championing the awareness and unlocking the wealth that data holds for everyone.” – Polly Sumner, Chief Adoption Officer, Salesforce
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Deloitte Viz Games 2024 winning submissions
The competition served as a grand stage for promoting a data-driven culture within and beyond Deloitte. By involving 600 participants from 38 countries, the event showcased the universal language of data, bridging talents and perspectives under the unifying theme of the Olympic and Paralympic movement. The diversity in participation not only highlighted the collaborative spirit of the event, but also underlined the vast potential of data visualization in bringing data narratives to life.
From underdog triumphs to gender inclusivity and diversity, the four finalists were able to make complex data comprehensible and compelling to a broad audience, creating data-driven culture champions along the way.
Lighting the Flame for Change
Maggie Eng, Ryan Soares, and Steven Scott
2024 Deloitte Viz Games Winner
Some of the best moments in sports history happen at the Olympic Games. But the most memorable moments are the personal stories of athletes who’ve overcome odds or who fight for worthy causes. “Lighting the Flame for Change” from Team Canada 2 uses data to explore some of the most inspiring Olympic stories. It shows how athletes can effect change on issues such as gender equality, LGBTQ+ inclusion, representation of disabilities, mental health support, and environmental sustainability.
The Elysium Herald
Elita Menezes, Pranav Narasimhan, and Tuhin Tapadar
2024 Deloitte Viz Games Finalist
The innovative newspaper-style analysis of Team Ireland’s “The Elysium Herald” uses data to show the growing emphasis on gender diversity and inclusion among the Olympic Superpowers. It highlights the pivotal role of female athletes in leading nations to gold medal victories, with a special focus on China as a pioneer in female athletic inclusion. This visual narrative not only celebrates the achievements of athletes across the globe but also serves as a testament to the progressive strides being made in sports equality.
Rise of the Underdogs
James Espanol, Sara Khoo, and Thomas Bok
2024 Deloitte Viz Games Finalist
“Rise of the Underdogs” by Team Canada 1 uses a clever horizontal scroll design to simulate the progress of an athlete on a track. This Viz illustrates how nations with a lower GDP and lower population have been able to compete against the wealthier “top dog” nations and earn Olympic gold. It highlights some of the most memorable underdog moments in Olympic history in events such as football, swimming, and track and field.
Inclusion Wins Gold
Xanthipi Athanasiadou, Daphne Georgiou, and Isidora Vatali
2024 Deloitte Viz Games Finalist
Team Greece’s “Inclusion Wins Gold” uses an interactive visualization, where users can toggle between Olympic and Paralympic datapoints. It illustrates the narrowing gender gap, with women’s participation reaching nearly 48% in the 2020 Summer Olympics and 42% in the Summer Paralympics.
Age inclusivity is also visualized by displaying the age ranges of Olympic athletes over the course of the games since 1896. This Viz focuses on how the Olympic and Paralympic Games establish diversity and inclusion in all genders, ages, races, and abilities.
Data-driven culture makes real-life impacts
The Deloitte Viz Games 2024 is a fantastic example of innovation, learning, and inclusivity in the data-driven world. This event not only showcased exceptional talents, but also how businesses can use a data-driven culture to accelerate digital transformation.
“Deloitte Viz Games stands out as a powerful method to leverage Tableau’s capabilities effectively, fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making. It’s more than just a competition; it’s a catalyst for innovation, fostering collaboration and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with Tableau.” – Southard Jones, Chief Product Officer, Tableau
Learn more about how Tableau can increase data literacy in your organization, and visit our Tableau Trailhead page. Want to supercharge your workforce with data competitions like Viz Games? Visit Deloitte Viz Games.
