Even if you have not got good sources of data at present, you can take steps to collect it for the future so that you will be able to do better customer profiling work. It will also help with general management information about the way you deliver services.

There are a number of elements you have to think about:

• Data standards – try and collect the same information in the same way – use a common way of writing the answers to the same questions such as name, address, age, etc.
• Data quality – do some training or provide instructions and guidance for staff collecting data so they understand the importance of your data standards and making sure records are complete and filled in as early in the contact chain as possible.
• Data use – make sure you understand the range of things you may use data for in future in broad categories and ask people when you collect them if they can be used for those purposes. This removes any future barriers around privacy and data protection. Remember data can be used in a way that does not identify individuals or restricts that personal information to a small number of people.

Where possible you should also tackle these areas with partners and try and use common standards so that it is easier to compare data from different sources to enrich the view you all have of the people you serve.

Guidance about these is available at:

• http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Downloads/Imp...,
• http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/9048091
• http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-practice/IG00340/

 

Data Health warning

 

 

It is important to remember that what you have been doing is statistical matching. This will give you the percentage of likelihood for an individual to belong to a group and show a type of behaviour. However there is no guarantee that this will apply to any one individual and a 60% likelihood that a young person who regularly absents themselves from school will leave with poor qualifications means that 40% who miss school will be fine.