Over my 20 years of consulting with associations, one action that my most successful clients execute effectively is what I call data integrity reports. These are queries and reports that can help you identify potentially incorrect data.
I recently had the pleasure of participating in a presentation with Jennifer Richards, Director, Membership, at the American Association of Airport Executives. Part of her presentation included her data management schedule, reproduced below with her permission. This is one of the most fantastic examples I’ve seen.
- Outlines which processes need to be executed – AAAE has identified the key data points within their organization that they know need to kept as up-to-date as possible. For example, on a monthly basis hey check their “airport chief’ list to be sure it’s correct and up-to-date.
- States how frequently the processes are to be executed – Not every process needs to be executed every day. Some processes are weekly, monthly, or even annually (note the schedule above has been truncated for size; AAAE executes certain processes annually or semi-annually).
- Outlines which reports should be used in the process – For certain processes, there are canned reports available for staff to run.
- Clearly states who is responsible for executing the processes – Each process is assigned to a department or staff person (note this schedule has been anonymized to “staff” for privacy).
The most important aspect to this schedule, which is implied but not explicit, is discipline. Jennifer and her team have the discipline to execute these processes regularly, to ensure the data is continuously cleaned at AAAE, thus keeping them in the virtuous cycle of data management.
Every organization should have some type of data management schedule similar to this. Does yours?