Engage Staff with Program Data through a Data Party
Narrative
Brightpoint Head Start and Early Head Start had been collecting data in a number of areas, from disability to overall family outcomes, to measure and identify trends and impacts. As administrators reviewed the data including a staff survey they asked an important question–What if we brought our staff in to review the results and tell us what they think?
This would provide many benefits. One, staff would have an avenue to share feedback, have their voice heard, and bridge the gap between siloed teams within the organization. Secondly, this would allow leadership to share what kind of data the organization is tracking and how that is used to make program decisions. Lastly, by allowing staff to provide input, Brightpoint could utilize the wealth of expertise at their helm to get invaluable input from more vantage points.
Thus, Brightpoint came up with the inventive idea of throwing a Data Party. The Data Party would be thrown on National Dessert Day, aptly titled “Here’s the Scoop,” and provide the opportunity for all staff members to engage with each other as well as program data in and out of their own departments.
Actions
Brightpoint gathered all staff–from food service to program leadership–on an all-staff development day and broke all staff up into two three-hour sessions, each with half of the program staff to celebrate Dessert Day. The room was set up with eight data centers (or tables) that highlighted a different dessert theme and data topic. Each data topic included a packet of information for context and a data visualization for staff to gather around and analyze.
Data Centers:
Disabilities
CLASS
Early Head Start Outcomes
Head Start Outcomes
Staff Survey
Early Head Start Family Outcomes
Head Start Family Outcomes
Father Engagement
As staff visited each center, they were asked to review data results, discuss the following questions, and submit their answers via a survey:
What does this data tell us?
What’s surprising about it?
Strengths/Opportunities
What action would you take from what you see?
While staff examined these questions, they provided invaluable feedback and ideas on how to improve results and data collection.
Results
This event provided staff the opportunity to view what other teams and staff members are focused on and how their own work is tied into larger program goals.
While staff examined these questions, they wrote down their feedback on the data results and ideas on how to improve data collection and results.
For example, father engagement had been an area of focus for the program. By highlighting results from the fatherhood coordinator, staff from all departments were able to provide more ideas for improving results which the fatherhood coordinator could then take and use to update and inform their own plan for father engagement.
A pre and post test on the data results showed that staff members left with a greater understanding and a positive impression and leaders within the organization now have more data from the program’s collective knowledge moving forward.
Next Steps
Results are being gathered and dispersed and staff are excited to take the next staff survey after reviewing the results at one of the data centers.
Thanks to the success of the event, Brightpoint is hoping to do this annually!
Resources:
The staff observations from Brightpoint’s Data Party can be found here: Data Party Results