Learning About Data Is Easier Than You Think
Here are 7 easy ways to boost your data skills using Trailhead, the free online learning platform from Salesforce.
There is arguably nothing more valuable to your company, and central to its success, than data. According to a 2023 survey, 88% of business leaders are increasing investments in data and artificial intelligence (AI). But only 39% of companies make data training available to all employees. We can help you change that. Learning about data isn’t as hard as you might think.
Here, we’ll share some of our best data skills content on Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform, to help you and your employees get the skills you need.
The case for change
- Data-literate workforces create data-driven companies with higher revenue, better customer service, best-in-class efficiency, and better profitability.
- The job outlook for people with strong data skills will grow between 21-36% through 2031, much faster than the national average.
- Highly data-driven organizations are three times as likely to see big improvements in decision-making.
What you can do now
Democratize data across all stakeholders (not just the analysts) by investing in training and data literacy. Why is this important?
- 80% of employees said they’re more likely to remain with a company if they offer data training.
- Data skills are transferable across departments and organizations, and are applicable to every line of business.
- Technology has made it possible to make data easily shareable, manageable, and interpretable to a much broader pool of stakeholders.
Learning about data makes you data literate
Being data literate means having the ability to analyze data, extrapolate what it means in a business context, and have meaningful conversations with stakeholders about next steps. Someone with data skills does not need to rely on analysts to find data, make a dashboard or automate simple tasks. They can do it themselves. A data-driven organization is one in which all stakeholders, not just analysts or certain departments, have these abilities.
Here are seven essential data learning paths. Some are modules, bite-sized learnings that guide you through specific topics. After you complete each module, you’ll earn a badge for your Trailhead profile. Other learning paths are Trails, which group several related modules together so you can more deeply understand a topic. More modules in a trail means more badges for you!
Build your data literacy
You will learn how to interpret, explore, and communicate effectively with data. You’ll also learn how to recognize good data, how to restructure it, and how to understand variations to make better comparisons between datasets.
Data analytics fundamentals
You will learn the different data analytics types, especially descriptive analytics, and how they are applied to common use cases.
Quick start: Reports and dashboards
In this learning project, you’ll see how to create a data dashboard, and visualize your reports with charts, graphs and other cool widgets.
Get started with data visualization in Tableau desktop
You will learn how to connect your data, create compelling data visualizations (charts, graphs, etc.) and share your insights with others. You’ll also learn how to filter and sort data, and build dashboards.
Salesforce Data Cloud: Quick Look
You will discover Data Cloud, the real-time platform that brings in data from any source, and helps you deliver magical customer experiences.
Customer-centric data strategies
This learning module shows you how to put customers at the center of your data strategy, including creating customer journeys and researching pain points.
Responsible creation of AI
You will learn how to remove bias from your data and algorithms to create ethical AI systems at your company. This includes identifying factors that are excluded or overrepresented in your data.
Learning abut data is for everyone
Data and AI are the new frontiers of competitive advantage, giving you unparalleled insight into customer behavior, trends, challenges, and opportunities.
That’s why it’s never been more important for every person in your organization to have the skills to make better decisions and personalize customer interactions.
You don’t have to be an expert, but with the right training, you can learn how to harness the awesome power of data to make better decisions and serve customers in the ways they demand.
