Best Practices for Building Talent in Analytics
Companies across all industries depend more and more on analytics and insights to run their businesses profitably. But, attracting, managing and retaining talented personnel to execute on those strategies is proving to be quite the challenge. This is not the case for consumer products heavyweight The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), which has been at the top of its analytics game for 50 years now.
During the 2014 Retail/Consumer Goods Analytics Summit, Glenn Wegryn, retired associate director of Analytics for P&G, shared best practices for building the talent capabilities required to ensure success based on his long career in analytics at the global organization.
P&G's journey toward analytics excellence started in 1962 when the company paired a mathematician with an IT employee to come up with the solution for a consumer contest that awarded a $10,000 grand prize. Fast forward to the 1970s and the company has just begun to collaborating with universities around analytics. In the 2000s, the practice of "uberanalytics" was born wherein different functional areas started to benefit from sharing and cross-breeding their capabilities throughout the organization. Today, a leadership council is in charge of sharing analytics best practices across the organization — breaking down silos to make sure the very best talent is being leveraged to solve the company's most pressing business issues.
So, what are the characteristics of a great data analyst and where can you find them?
"I always look for people with solid quantitative backgrounds because that is the hardest thing to learn on the job," said Wegryn.
Combine that with mature communication skills and a talent for business acumen and you've got the perfect formula for a great data analyst.
When it comes to sourcing analytics, Wegryn says companies have an important strategic decision to make: Do you build it internally, leveraging resources like consultants and universities? Do you buy it from a growing community of technology solution providers? Or, do you adopt a hybrid model?
"Given the explosion of business analytics programs across the country, your organization should find ample opportunities to tap into those resources," advised Wegryn.
To retain and nurture your organization's business analysts, Wegryn recommended creating a career path that grows and encouraged talented personnel internally until they reach a trusted CEO advisory role.
Wegryn also shared key questions an organization should ask to unleash the value of analytics, and suggested that analytics should always start and end with a decision.
"You make a decision in business that leads to action that gleans insights that leads to another decision," he said. "While the business moves one way, the business analyst works backward in a focused, disciplined and controlled manner."
Perhaps most importantly, the key to building the talent capability to ensure analytics success comes from P&G's Retired Chairman, President and CEO Bob McDonald: "… having motivation from the top helps."
Wegryn agreed: "It really helps when the person at the top of the chain is driven on data."
During the 2014 Retail/Consumer Goods Analytics Summit, Glenn Wegryn, retired associate director of Analytics for P&G, shared best practices for building the talent capabilities required to ensure success based on his long career in analytics at the global organization.
P&G's journey toward analytics excellence started in 1962 when the company paired a mathematician with an IT employee to come up with the solution for a consumer contest that awarded a $10,000 grand prize. Fast forward to the 1970s and the company has just begun to collaborating with universities around analytics. In the 2000s, the practice of "uberanalytics" was born wherein different functional areas started to benefit from sharing and cross-breeding their capabilities throughout the organization. Today, a leadership council is in charge of sharing analytics best practices across the organization — breaking down silos to make sure the very best talent is being leveraged to solve the company's most pressing business issues.
So, what are the characteristics of a great data analyst and where can you find them?
"I always look for people with solid quantitative backgrounds because that is the hardest thing to learn on the job," said Wegryn.
Combine that with mature communication skills and a talent for business acumen and you've got the perfect formula for a great data analyst.
When it comes to sourcing analytics, Wegryn says companies have an important strategic decision to make: Do you build it internally, leveraging resources like consultants and universities? Do you buy it from a growing community of technology solution providers? Or, do you adopt a hybrid model?
"Given the explosion of business analytics programs across the country, your organization should find ample opportunities to tap into those resources," advised Wegryn.
To retain and nurture your organization's business analysts, Wegryn recommended creating a career path that grows and encouraged talented personnel internally until they reach a trusted CEO advisory role.
Wegryn also shared key questions an organization should ask to unleash the value of analytics, and suggested that analytics should always start and end with a decision.
"You make a decision in business that leads to action that gleans insights that leads to another decision," he said. "While the business moves one way, the business analyst works backward in a focused, disciplined and controlled manner."
Perhaps most importantly, the key to building the talent capability to ensure analytics success comes from P&G's Retired Chairman, President and CEO Bob McDonald: "… having motivation from the top helps."
Wegryn agreed: "It really helps when the person at the top of the chain is driven on data."