From Data Literacy to Fluency: Making Data Less Scary

Empowering employees to engage confidently with data and AI

Data literacy initiatives often focus on technical skills, but without confidence and real-world application, employees struggle to use data effectively. Data fluency goes beyond basic literacy, helping employees engage with data naturally, critically assess insights, and make informed decisions. Neil Richards, Global Data Fluency Lead at JLL, shares how his organisation has built a culture where non-technical employees embrace data, overcome fear, and integrate AI-driven insights into everyday work. Learn practical strategies to drive adoption, align fluency with business goals, and future-proof your workforce in an AI-driven world.

With AI reshaping data-driven decision-making, employees must move beyond basic literacy to fluency, ensuring they can trust, question, and act on insights. Businesses that fail to embed data fluency risk poor adoption of analytics, flawed decision-making, and missed opportunities from AI-powered insights.

This session will explore:

  • The shift from data literacy to data fluency
  • Overcoming fear of data and AI in non-technical roles
  • Making data fluency practical and relevant for employees
  • Embedding data fluency in business culture and processes
  • The role of AI in shaping future data fluency initiatives.

Learning outcomes:

  • Understand the difference between data literacy and data fluency
  • Learn how to reduce fear and resistance to data among employees
  • Discover strategies for integrating AI into data fluency training
  • Explore ways to embed data fluency across teams and roles
  • Gain insights from JLL’s approach to building data confidence at scale.