Leadership Development: A Faster and Smarter Pathway to Building Leadership Capability

Why data literacy matters in contact centres

In the 2023 World Economic Forum jobs report, ‘AI and big data’ ranks third on the list of reskilling-upskilling priorities across all organisations for 2023-2027. This was the biggest mover from last report, shifting 12 places, and only just behind the top two priorities of creative thinking and analytical thinking.

This makes sense when you think about the bigger picture every organisation is facing. For leaders to be truly data literate, they need to think analytically. To take the next step into innovation, leaders need to be equipped with data and AI knowledge analytical skills and creative thinking. Contact centres are on the precipice of this change. Strong data skills are key to every part of a contact centre’s operations – from work force planning to customer experience.

Data literacy requires being able to discern patterns in data and predict future trends, which can significantly influence decision-making processes in various contexts, from business strategy to workforce planning – right down to customer experience.

But it’s not just about knowing what each data point means—data literacy is about understanding how data interconnects, where it originates, and how to transform it into actionable coaching. Leaders must extract meaningful insights from these varied sources to guide agents effectively, ensuring that compliance standards are met and performance KPIs are achieved, while human-centred development thrives.

Additionally, data literacy involves not just understanding data but also clearly and effectively communicating findings. This involves using data visualization tools to present information in a way that is accessible and understandable to diverse audiences. Data literacy is about bridging the gap between data analysis and actionable insights, transforming raw data into knowledge that drives decisions and solutions.

What data literacy looks like today in contact centres

Organisations that prioritise data literacy report up to 79% improvements in decision-making quality and 75% improvements in customer experience (State of Data & AI Literacy Report).

Despite this, many contact centres use data reactively, addressing issues only after they arise, rather than proactively using data for decision-making. Senior leaders often track key metrics like NPS or FCR but may struggle to connect these metrics to actionable behaviours. Similarly, team leaders can find it challenging to move beyond data visualization and performance dashboards and engage data skills to identify root causes of performance issues​.

The result? Leadership conversations tend to focus on end outcomes—such as improving FCR—without addressing the specific behaviours that could achieve this. Without data literacy, performance data is disconnected from what that means for the agent, leaving them feeling unsupported and preventing leaders from driving long-term performance improvements​.

What data-literate leaders will need to do differently

The next generation of data-literate contact centre leaders will need to shift towards predictive and prescriptive analytics to drive performance. They will no longer rely solely on historical reports but will proactively identify patterns and trends that can help predict performance issues before they occur.

Data-literate senior leaders will align operational insights with business objectives, connecting data visualization and patterns in contact centre performance with broader strategic goals. This data literacy shift will enable leaders to act before problems escalate, such as identifying increases in handle times as early indicators of declining customer satisfaction​.

Data-literate team leaders will translate business objectives into what it is that their frontline need to do to achieve them. They’ll use data analytics to guide coaching and development conversations, and data skills to track the effectiveness of their activities so they know what’s working and what’s not. They’ll use data analysis to see where they can improve processes and in time, take this approach to how they solve problems in their team.

A leadership who leverages data literacy means decisions aren’t made on a whim, but through evidence and insight. And when data literacy is leveraged across your organisation well, your leaders will be able to align individual agent goals with organisational objectives, fostering both employee engagement and customer satisfaction.

Where do I start with data literacy fundamentals?

To help leaders own data literacy skills, they first need the basics. If you’re looking to build a foundation of technical data literacy skills across your organisation, here are the fundamentals you need your people to know:

1. How data drives value

As Simon Sinek says, start with the ‘why’. Why does data literacy matter to your organisation? How does tracking data and understanding it help drive the performance and values of the business?

2. Where their data comes from

Knowing the source of data can radically alter how you use it. With the barrage of data hitting your leaders, they need to know how to evaluate the source and understand how it was gathered to fully understand the insights they can glean from it.

3. What the leader’s responsibility is when it comes to data

Data governance and data management could not be more important or prescient – you don’t want to be the contact centre on the front-page news for all the wrong reasons! You may have systems in place to safeguard against data breaches, but your leaders are your first line of defence when it comes to protecting your data.

4. Ensuring data quality

This goes hand-in-hand with data governance. Most would be familiar with the ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’ principle, but most leaders won’t truly live this principle until they see how valuable good data can be when guiding their decisions and strategic planning.

5. What the ecosystem for data is in your organisation

If your organisation has been around the block a few times, chances are, you’re dealing with multiple systems for data across your contact centre. Helping your leaders to know your data governance systems, understand what data systems talk, what can be accessed and what can’t be, will help them think about data more strategically, and mitigate the frustration of having multiple sources.

6. What basic data terms mean

There are some basic technical data literacy skills that all leaders should understand. Qualitative vs quantitative data, what lead and lag indicators are, what the difference is between data and information, are just a few key concepts your leaders should know to grasp what type of data they’re looking at and how it might inform their direction.

Data-driven coaching

The key to realising data literacy skills through leadership activities is ensuring they are evident in every conversation your leader has. What if your leader’s next coaching conversation could not only improve today’s performance but predict tomorrow’s challenges?

Imagine your leader walking into a one-on-one with their agent, armed with insights that tell them exactly what behaviours to focus on—and knowing with certainty how those small changes will drive your KPIs forward.

Without strong data literacy skills, even the best coaching tools can feel overwhelming or underused. A leader must be able to ask: 

• What patterns do these metrics reveal? 

• Where are the gaps in behaviour that impact performance? 

• How can we translate these insights into coaching that drives outcomes? 

This shift toward data-literate coaching gives leaders the tools to not only correct issues but proactively shape future performance.