Explaining data governance to a business community is difficult. Even more so when you need to convince business folks that they are pivotal to data governance success.

Data governance demands not just business attention but business commitment. Policies and processes are not just tick boxes on a corporate charter; they are business as usual functions that everyone must sign up for.

I find that data governance is such an alien term for most business leaders that an analogy helps to create some form of comparison to bridge the gap.

The analogy I like to use is that data governance provides for data assets what human resources (HR) delivers for people assets. The analogy is relevant for a number of reasons.

First, the role of HR is to plan, direct and coordinate; it is not their role to deliver the day-to-day operations of the business. This is where a lot of data governance initiatives come unstuck as they frequently take on the role of data quality management as well as their governance tasks.

I like a quote that Richard Biehl uses, stating "Data governance sets policy and guidance for data definition, ownership and stewardship of the strategic data asset of the enterprise."

So, while HR professionals can advise you on the policies and procedures for managing staff, they cannot tell you how to do your job of performing the management role. They can, of course, monitor your effectiveness and provide recommendations for improvement. But the control still lies with the manager.

Another aspect of the analogy that I like is the life cycle management of the HR function. From sourcing new people assets, readying them for operation, managing their active service and finally retiring or terminating the asset, the HR function plays a vital role in each stage of the journey.

Data governance needs to adopt a similar long-term strategy for data assets. Data governance professionals may not take such a hands-on role as their HR counterparts, but they do need to set policies for how data assets should be acquired, onboarded, utilized and retired.

Finally, I feel that the analogy works because data governance, like HR, must take a strategic view. The HR team constantly develops strategies for acquiring people assets who will help not only deliver the goals of the current organization but also chart a course to a future strategic direction. Data governance must do the same – provide for today, but plan for the future.

Far too often, there is a focus on firefighting and just doing enough to survive. Data governance has to look further ahead. It has to align with corporate strategy and ensure that relevant processes and policies are enabling not just survival but real competitive strength.