Ipsos Data Council Report
Aligning strategy with data How the wrong KPIs can hinder success
Ipsos Data Council Report
Aligning strategy with data How the wrong KPIs can hinder success
Context
One of the key challenges organisations face when attempting to maximise the potential of data lies in the alignment of performance indicators to broader organisational goals. While measurement frameworks are usually established to track various operational metrics, they often fail to truly capture the nuances of strategic objectives or deliver actionable insights that drive long-term value creation.
This misalignment often stems from a lack of clarity around what constitutes success at both the organisational and functional levels, leading to a disjointed approach where metrics are defined in silos and lack consistency across departments.
This challenge is then further amplified by the rapid pace of change where traditional, static KPIs may quickly become outdated, failing to account for contextual factors like emerging trends or shifts in organisational priorities.
Scroll down to read how Ipsos Data Labs have solved this type of challenge for clients before. View Impact Story Reinventing data management with a future measurement framework
Key challenges from the Data Council
Despite the near universal acknowledgement by council members that the use of data, analytics, and insights in their organisation is critical (9 in 10), there’s a notable gap in how many organisations align their data measurement strategies with overarching business objectives.
While many have implemented some form of measurement strategy, only just over half are satisfied that the KPIs they are tracking are fit for purpose. But the reality is that many organisations are still struggling to ensure their KPIs offer a comprehensive and accurate reflection of business priorities. Instead, they often focus more on operational activities, without delivering the deeper strategic insight needed for long-term success.
We heard many senior stakeholders increasingly questioning whether their current KPIs truly reflect what matters most to the business. Data ownership and management are often siloed at the functional or departmental level, with limited cross-functional integration or oversight. This fragmented approach leads to inconsistencies in data reporting, making it difficult to derive actionable insights or maintain data quality standards across the organisation.
In more data mature organisations, technologies like data warehouses may centralise storage, but without a robust strategic framework and clear ownership, even these tools fail to resolve communication silos.
A related challenge that we heard is the absence of a clearly defined, board-level executive responsible for driving a unified data strategy. While some companies assign data-related responsibilities to senior leadership, such as a Chief Data Officer (CDO) or Chief Information Officer (CIO), their focus tends to be on high-level governance, compliance, and regulatory requirements as opposed to a more holistic organisational view.
Source: Ipsos Data Council,Oct 2024-Jan 2025 Base: 28 Ipsos Data Council members
“We have the tools, but we are not necessarily using them. There are hundreds and hundreds of dashboards, but if I wanted to get an upper funnel down to a lower funnel view of what is going on in one place, it is physically impossible. It is all in separate places.” Global Marketing & E-Commerce Leader
Ipsos Data Labs learnings
The fragmentation of data is one of the most common problems hindering digital progress. The impact on operations is always negative, but usually remedied with the right strategy and leadership.
One of the main negative consequences of fragmented data is the inefficiencies it generates – efforts are duplicated wasting valuable resources and posing an even greater risk: the erosion of trust in data. When different teams report on key performance indicators using differing methodologies or interpretations, it creates conflicting insights that effectively render the results meaningless. This inconsistency undermines confidence in the data, making it less likely to be utilised effectively in decision-making processes.
So, what should be done?
A successful data strategy begins with appointing a board-level executive (such as a Chief Data and Analytics Officer), explicitly responsible for strategic data integration and alignment. This leader should be tasked with breaking down silos, fostering cross-functional collaboration and ensuring that metrics and KPIs are harmonised across the organisation. With this leadership in place, data becomes the foundation for informed discussions, enabling decision-makers to act with confidence and precision.
Ultimately, aligning measurement strategies with organisational goals requires a deliberate and iterative process of reducing data fragmentation and minimising overlap. This creates a scenario where data serves not only as a tool for measurement but as a strategic asset, driving actionable insights, fostering innovation, and ultimately delivering real, tangible value to the business.
Aligning measurement strategies with organisational goals requires a deliberate and iterative process of reducing data fragmentation and minimising overlap
Key takeaways
Leadership requires ownership
Without clear ownership and strategic, centralised management, data will remain fragmented, preventing organisations from finding the reliability they need to bring data insights into the boardroom.
Don’t run before you can walk – you can’t forget the foundations
Your data should come together to reflect reality. It should be a single source of truth. Only when this is the case can you make real choices and put strategies into action.
Set your organisations up to leverage the power of data
Roles, responsibilities, budget planning, process and culture all need to be aligned and tackled with data in mind and this direction and ambition needs to be clearly communicated.
Thought starters
How are your KPIs currently defined? And at what point do you consider the suitability of available data as a measure of your KPIs?
What brand new KPIs might you bring in, if you started from a place of curiosity about what you’d like to understand about your business or customers?
What does your organisation need to move beyond its current structure and create a unified data strategy, with clear ownership and accountability at board level? What is the risk of not achieving this?
Discover how Ipsos Data Labs have solved this type of challenge before
Impact story Reinventing data management with a future measurement framework
The challenge
A global consumer goods company needed to reinvent their data management to help provide enhanced insights which could aid decision-making and deliver impact. They were seeing significant shifts in consumer habits and a rapidly evolving data landscape; requiring them to remain agile and adapt to these changing conditions to help future-proof their business. It was imperative that they leveraged multiple data sources to be more accurate and efficient with decision-making.
Our solution
We started by determining what the business objectives were, the forums in which decisions were being made and the KPIs and measurements required to effectively make those decisions. The next step was to evaluate the data, tools and systems that were being used to deliver the KPIs and measurements using our ‘Facts Framework’: Frequency, Approach, Costs, Timeliness, Scalability, understand the ‘as is’ and make recommendations on changes required to plug gaps and improve outcomes.
