Leading With Data: Understanding The Foundations of Data Analytics (Part 3 of 9)

As time passes by, the approaches and means used by every organization have changed. Living in a digital world in which nearly everything is propelled by data, the importance of data analytics has also become in-demand. A result of this drastic increase in data has consequently viewed the landscape of jobs to hire for data specialists and data experts in their businesses.

?Data analytics is considered to be one of the vital elements that help an organization flourish and optimize its operations. In the field of corporate, data analytics is deemed as the tool that helps every business leader to further comprehend how their business is progressing and also focus on the areas that need to be improved. Furthermore, a company utilizes data analytics with a paramount premise of making better decisions and analysis towards customer trends and satisfaction.

In order to have an extensive understanding of data analytics, we are thrilled to have outstanding and excellent people to be part of this panel. We have invited Sheri Feinzig from IBM; Max Blumberg from Blumberg Partnership; Soumyasanto Sen from People Conscience; Littal Shemer Haim from Littalics.com; and Jordan Morrow from Pluralsight. From this discussion, the panel has shared their fruitful insights and arguments concerning the topic of Understanding the Foundations of Data Analytics.?

Data analytics certainly play a crucial role in an organization. It is esteemed as the driving factor that culminates in productivity, efficiency, and revenue growth. Data analytics have already been part of everyday life. They have found their way across a wide array of industries such as banking, healthcare, finance, marketing, and many more. According to the speakers, people are seen as the biggest investment in an organization; hence, they should be treated with just as much rigor and significance as any other investment.?

More so, data analytics are important because they serve as the supporting function to make sure that HR is contributing effectively to help achieve the goals and objectives of the company. Having the ability to analyze and understand data is a pivot tool as it plays a fundamental role in providing solutions to business problems. Alongside that, they also ensure that the decisions and actions executed by the company are measurable and have an impact on the different aspects of HR functions.

Moving on to another question, the panel was also asked about the fundamental things that HR professionals should always keep in mind when they are either building data analytics in their departments or improving what they have already built. Starting with Sheri, she emphasized it is important to always begin with the needs and priorities of the business. In order to understand the data fundamentals, you must be aware of the data sources that are coming into your organization with the intention of driving accurate conclusions from your analytics.? Jordan, on one hand, also added that it is necessary to ask relevant questions all the time. He added that data skepticism is just a healthy thing because sparking curiosity enables you to identify the root cause of your business problem. Littal also agreed on the fact that asking questions is imperative as long as you are able to produce actionable insights. On the other hand, Soumyasanto gave precedence to understanding how the data plays right. It is a must that you are aware of things you are aiming to achieve and how are you going to achieve them along the process. Lastly, Max has highlighted the ability to learn how to speak in the language of the people who are funding you if you want to keep your job.

In an organization, it is inevitable that there will always be challenges and errors that may transpire thus it is important that we know to overcome them. First and foremost, always keep in mind that data is not perfect, to begin with. Therefore, it is important that we are able to understand the kinds of data sources that we need to provide the correct information to a certain question. Another common error in data analytics is that people tend to start with the data where in fact, it should always begin first with the business problem.?

Being able to genuinely understand the data 一 such as its elements, do’s and don'ts, and domains 一 results in formulating various solutions towards business problems. Also, we have this common mistake that data analytics is showing what we have; however, analytics means showing the things we can do to solve problems. In addition to this, one of the usual mistakes in data analytics is that we worry too much about statistics to the extent that we fail to realize that simplicity is the reality.

It is an undeniable fact that there are people behind data analytics. With skilled and exceptional data analysts and the right tools, these will definitely help the organization to determine the trends in the market and expound on the characteristics needed in order to achieve success. In order to achieve this success, the right people should be able to embody the right skills needed to become more proficient in both using leveraging and making decisions from data. According to the panel, one of the non-technical skills one should carry is the ability to effectively communicate well. They should also be knowledgeable when it comes to translating technical information into the business language.?

Following this is critical thinking, especially when we analyze the data and attempt to create a story out of it. Ergo, data literacy is also a much-needed skill because we need people who know how to read and understand the numbers and visualizations shown in the data. Furthermore, the significance of three C’s in data analytics must also be inculcated in the minds of people which are: curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. Nevertheless, the majority of the skills aforementioned are human skills, hence, do not require any advanced degree or education.

All the more, data analytics has already been an integral part of the business realm. Therefore, being cognizant of the basic and fundamental elements of these will definitely be a huge help for the company to flourish at its own pace.

You can watch the full video of the panel here !

You may also check out the other articles on our Leading with Data series:

• Leading with Data: People Analytics in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (Part 1 of 9)
• Leading with Data: Beginning From The Beginning: How To Set Up A People Analytics Function (Part 2 of 9)