… but consider the notion that there are two ways of stealing from a business – directly and indirectly. • Directly - physical or intellectual assets are removed, having a direct and

noticeable affect on the bottom line • Indirectly – negligence, i.e., not working to the best of one’s ability, and,

the subject of this article, abdicating responsibility for data quality Ignoring the company’s data assets is negligent and, whilst often unnoticed, has a direct effect on the bottom line. Staff are often aware that the processes for data input and maintenance are poor but don’t take any action to prevent it. This is tantamount to shareholder theft, reducing the Return on Capital Invested (ROCI) and depreciating the valuation of the business. Employees see it as the employer’s fault for being so lax and not imposing controls, whilst management considers employees should take more care; shareholders will probably see such negligence as theft of their invested funds. You may not have thought about it in this way, but by not dealing with data-related waste, you’re effectively stealing from your shareholders/stakeholders! For example, Marketing Direct magazine research indicates that direct marketers waste £195m in postage costs by sending incorrectly addressed international mail. This is unnecessary and totally preventable. The 2007 report on the mix-up by the UK Department for Work and Pensions that led to the personal and bank details of around 26,000 people being sent to the wrong person is a good example of an enterprise effectively stealing from its stakeholders – or in this case, us the taxpayers. The downstream impacts are the wasted cost of the original mailing, plus the letters of apology. totalling over £15,000. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg… The possibility of identity fraud is now a very real concern, not to mention the cost of printing the letters in the first place, the cost of re-printing them to send to the right people, and liaising with the banks to advise them of the mistake – waste which will be absorbed and paid for by the taxpayer. Unfortunately, data quality is so often seen as the poisoned chalice or a thankless task that no one wants to take responsibility for. Ironically, the marketing database, and specifically its content, is really a board level responsibility and corporate asset. Make all members of the organisation aware of its importance as a business asset and treat it with the same respect. Make shareholder/stakeholder theft a thing of the past by aligning the whole organisation to the common goal of dealing with the root causes of data scrap and rework and its consequential bottom line impact.

DQ Global Urban House, E2 Fareham Heights, Fareham, Hampshire, UK PO16 8XT Telephone +44 2392 988303, facsimile +44 2392 988302 e-mail sales@dqglobal.com, www.dqlobal.com

It’s a controversial concept …..

Are you guilty of shareholder/stakeholder theft?