"Data is like water. It's so intrinsically important for an organisation – without it, you will die of thirst."
– Simon Herbert, Chief Data Officer & Executive Director, Data and Insights, Department of Customer Service
On Thursday 21 October 2021, over 380 participants gathered online to attend the CX Professionals and Data Champions Network event. This event was titled Data and decision making for customer outcomes: NSW case studies and explored how data is used across NSW Government in decision making for better outcomes in NSW. We were welcomed by Carlia Hoy, Director Customer Strategy, Department of Customer Service (DCS).
First up, Simon Herbert, Chief Data Officer and Executive Director Data and Insights, DCS, spoke on some key achievements in the NSW data space over the last year, including COVID-19 reporting, the Business Insights Hub, and the NSW Government Data Strategy. Simon also reminded us that we need to become data storytellers – instead of just using mathematical approaches to problems, we have to talk in the language of insights and bring the data to life.
Kerrie Burgess, Director Digital & Program Delivery, Better Regulation Division, next spoke about the development and importance of the Single View Program – a digital architecture to enhance data accessibility and improve customer service. The Program dashboards enable staff to have a 360 degree view of a customer or business drawn from many data sources. For example, the single view dashboard of a building site allows all information about relevant traders, the business, the site management and more to be accessed from one dashboard to assist in engagement and compliance of industry.
Vincent Azara, Director Data Services, NSW Data Analytics Centre, then spoke about several recent team project achievements, including COVID-19 data visualisations, the Business Insights Hub and the NSW Insights portal. The COVID-19 visualisations and heatmaps on nsw.gov.au have been effective in communicating the risk of the global COVID-19 pandemic and provided a level of transparency to the vaccine rollout to the wider public, with survey results indicating that this webpage has increased public confidence in NSW Government’s management of COVID-19. The DAC continues to be instrumental in promoting and supporting data sharing across the sector which has been a vital part of protecting the health and safety of our communities across NSW.
Celia Walker, Implementation Lead in Customer Delivery & Transformations Strategy, then presented on the National Disability Data Asset. This network of linked datasets assists government to use data in decision making, for example, by understanding the interaction of people with disability with the justice system. The citizen experience is key to interpreting the data, and to direct policy for the best customer outcomes.
Our final presentation was by Viola Wong, Director, Customer Experience on behalf of the nsw.gov.au team, about data-led decision making in digital communications. During COVID-19, the volume of new users on both the nsw.gov.au website and Facebook has allowed for greater insights to accelerate channel optimisation, including A/B testing messaging to encourage vaccination and optimising site searches to deliver relevant content for the customer. Viola reminded us of the importance of taking time to frequently research and review analytics – social media especially can provide opportunities for quick insights and testing.
Thanks again to our presenters, and we look forward to seeing you all at the next Data Champions Network meeting!