Oracle’s Deepa Param Singhal shares insights on overcoming ‘the data decision dilemma’

Integrated tech company Oracle and Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, New York Times bestselling author, recently came up with a report titled ‘The Decision Dilemma.’ The report found that a staggering 82% of business leaders confess to being paralysed in their decision-making process due to overwhelming data and the lack of trust in its accuracy. This has hindered their ability to make any decisions with data.

Deepa Param Singhal, Vice President of Cloud Applications at Oracle India, shares her perspective with ET Insights on how enterprises can bolster their data management capabilities to drive better business outcomes. She also talks about how effective data management can significantly benefit HR operations and sheds light on how Oracle is utilising data to enhance its HR portfolio offerings. Excerpts:

Q. According to the study, data overload is causing business leaders to feel confused, distressed, and anxious. What steps do you think business leaders can take to improve data management?

Our study reveals that while data overload is overwhelming for business leaders, at the same time, they also want data to help in the organisation’s success.

We found that 99% of Indian business leaders believe having the right type of decision intelligence can make or break the success of an organization. 94% of business leaders believe that having multiple sources is beneficial to collecting a cohesive set of data, but the growing number of sources is prohibiting the success of their overall organisation.

Effective data management is crucial for leaders to derive maximum benefit from the data at their disposal. However, developing and implementing robust data management methods can be a complex and time-consuming task. This is where technology can play a pivotal role in streamlining the process and enabling leaders to make informed decisions based on accurate and timely data.

According to our survey findings, a significant majority of Indian respondents (85%) expressed a preference for having robots make their decisions. Interestingly, a slightly higher proportion of business leaders (88%) favored this option compared to employees (82%).

Additionally, 97% of Indian respondents believe that a company that uses technology to make data-driven decisions is more trustworthy. The right set of tools and solutions can assist business leaders in collecting relevant data, cut through the overload, analyse this data, and eventually harness it to make better decisions.

Q. Speaking specifically about HR operations, elaborate on some of the study’s main findings regarding how relevant data insights and effective data management can help HR operations. In what ways do you envisage technology supporting CHROs with data management and decision-making?

As per the findings, business leaders believe the right data and insights can help them make better decisions. A whopping 99% of business leaders believe that the right data and insights can help them make better HR decisions. These decisions include how to increase team performance and efficiency (50%), how to prioritise training and development activities (51%), how to retain and engage people (38%), what skills are available in the workforce (44%), how to improve DE&I (43%), who to hire (29%), how to align headcount and budget requirements (36%) and how to enable internal mobility (39%).

Effective data management, in essence, can assist CHROs in making better decisions for the HR process, including hiring, retention, training, and workforce management. CHROs can take data-driven decisions across processes with the correct set of tools with embedded data analytics capabilities.

In fact, our survey has uncovered that Indians place great value on organisations that leverage technology to make data-driven decisions. The results indicate that an overwhelming majority (97%) of respondents perceive such organisations as being more trustworthy and likely to achieve greater success (97%). Additionally, a significant proportion of respondents expressed a willingness to invest (95%), partner with (94%), and work for (96%) organisations that prioritise data-driven decision-making.

Q. How is Oracle using data in its HR portfolio offerings? What data analytics and management capabilities are provided as part of your HCM solutions?

Data is at the core of our entire applications portfolio. For our Cloud HCM portfolio, we have developed innovative capabilities with embedded AI, ML, and Data Analytics capabilities built into all our offerings. We are constantly working toward adding more capabilities to help business leaders amid the fast-evolving market dynamics.

Recently we have launched ‘Oracle Grow’ as part of our Oracle ME platform, a new AI-powered solution that connects learning, skills growth, and career mobility in one personalised experience to deliver self- directed learning, visibility into career growth opportunities, and skills development aligned with business goals. By unifying people’s data across Oracle Cloud HCM, Oracle Grow provides personalised guidance on the next steps employees should take based on their responsibilities, career interests, desired skills, individual learning styles, and changes in the business.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ET Edge Insights, its management, or its members

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