Data is, as we so often hear, one of the most valuable assets for businesses. But while senior staff are often confident about the quality of their organisation’s data, data trust among employees working directly with such assets is nowhere near as strong.

In research published today by Talend, there is a significant perception gap between senior management and operational workers when it comes to data.

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Senior IT managers generally have relatively high levels of data trust, with 45% expressing confidence that their organisation’s data was entirely accurate and up to date.

However, when it comes to operational data workers – those who deal with organisations’ data on a day to day basis – data trust is far lower, with only 19% sharing the same view.

There is a similar gap when it comes to other aspects of data handling. For example, while 50% of managers believe workers have all the tools they need to efficiently monitor data, just 37% of operational data workers agree.

Data trust in the GDPR era

This lack of confidence in the reliability of enterprise data also has implications for GDPR, particularly in light of the severe fines that the ICO has now begun to levy against those in breach of the regulation.

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This is particularly highlighted in a dramatic perception gap over data sources. While knowing the source of all data handled by an organisation is an important element of GDPR compliance, many workers are unconvinced that this is happening.

Specifically, when it comes to organisations using data that is not purely siloed within their organisation, only 42% of IT managers were confident that all sources were known. But when it came to operational data workers, the rate was far worse, at just 4%.

For organisations looking to ensure they are effectively handling their data, then, there needs to be more done to ensure data trust among workers is improved.

“A broad crisis of confidence is underway in most companies,” wrote Talend in its Data Trust Readiness Report.

“Organisations need to create a strategy for building trust and providing transparency, and they need to do this through data and the way it is managed.”

Read more: The data blind phenomenon: How an overload of data is damaging marketing