Keeping analytics professionals

In the last “Profit Center” I took a look at the process of hiring analytics professionals, either for the purpose of starting or expanding an analytics team. The process of hiring is important, but it’s only part of the equation. Once good people are on the team, people who have demonstrated both their technical and personal skills, it’s important to keep them. While this is true of all professions, there are some special considerations that arise in the case of analytics professionals.

Perhaps the key difference between analytics and other professions is that analytics professionals tend to enjoy working with numbers and mathematics. Once they get interested in a problem, it’s not surprising to find them at their desks at all hours, lost in their work. Solving an interesting problem is like discovering the secrets behind Rubik’s cube. There’s a joy in the process of problem solving, and a joy in arriving at a solution.

Just as important as solving interesting problems is receiving recognition for solving them. This doesn’t necessarily mean a bonus or promotion. It does mean taking time to listen to what has been done and offering praise and constructive criticism. Analytics professionals need an opportunity to be both creative and to share their creativity with their peers, something that sets them apart from people in many other fields.

Unfortunately, businesses frequently aren’t structured around interesting problems and peer recognition. They’re structured around getting the job done, then rewarding people with higher salaries and increased managerial responsibilities. The typical reward structure within business isn’t aligned with the reward structure that motivates analytics professionals. This dichotomy is a frequent source of problems.

Rather than forcing a square peg into a round hole, it’s best to create a separate reward structure for analytics professionals – a reward structure based on a combination of technical accomplishments and how those accomplishments serve the business. (Solving an open problem in number theory is creative but is probably of little relevance to a trucking company.) Titles like Analyst 1, Analyst 2, Senior Analyst 1 and Senior Analyst 2 can be used for promotions, and these titles can be achieved without advancing in the managerial hierarchy.

The goal is to create an environment where senior team members are given the respect they have earned without forcing responsibilities upon them that they may not want or be good at. Much like partners in a law firm, the senior members of an analytics team should be expected to mentor more junior members and to demonstrate personal and professional leadership. Importantly, they can be relied upon to direct technical activities by junior team members without actually having the junior members report to them through the managerial chain of command. This structure also provides additional flexibility, allowing members of the analytics team to move freely from project to project based on their technical capabilities, not on who they report to. Very senior members can be rewarded with the freedom to undertake “blue sky” initiatives – activities with the potential for high value, long-term benefit that aren’t being driven by a company’s short term needs.

Of course, once an analytics team reaches a certain size, it can’t function without an actual managerial structure in place. People need to report to a manager who will coordinate their activities and make salary and bonus decisions. Further, some analytics professionals are attracted to management and will grow frustrated without managerial opportunities. By separating managerial titles and responsibilities from technical capabilities and achievements, it’s possible to effectively satisfy those who do and don’t want to be managers.

For example, a very senior member of the team with no desire to manage might hold the title Senior Analyst 3, while a less senior member with management responsibilities might hold the title Senior Analyst 2 and Director of Analytics. As Senior Analysts, both would have earned high respect, and appropriate salaries, for their technical accomplishments, with the individual holding the title Senior Scientist 3 recognized somewhat more highly. The individual holding the additional title Director of Analytics would also be recognized for, and evaluated upon, his or her performance as a manager.

Properly structuring an analytics team is an important foundation for professional recognition, but it can’t guarantee that an analytics professional will always have interesting problems to work on. Businesses solve problems they need to solve, not problems they want to solve. Analytics teams that lose sight of this risk their future.

Fortunately, problems that find their way to an analytics team often have some component that sparks the interest of the people assigned to work on it. And what may not be of interest to one person may be of great interest to another. Through good resource management involving the input of senior team members, managers and the individuals being assigned to perform a task, it’s usually possible to keep a good fraction of the work interesting.

Analytics professionals should be encouraged to give presentations on their work, not just within the team but also to broader audiences within the company. This provides a way for analytics professionals to be recognized and serves to demonstrate what value the analytics team brings to the company. It’s also useful to support attendance at professional conferences, giving presentations when appropriate. Good analytics professionals want to keep up with the latest activities in their profession and value such opportunities.

Some companies shy away from sending members of their analytics team to conferences, fearing that they will share company secrets or be hired away by competitors. However, for a well run analytics team, the opposite occurs: Attendees learn what others in the profession are doing, they discover they’re well off where they are, and they meet capable people who might be looking to move away from less pleasant situations.

As is true of all professions, people who work in analytics stay where they are because they’re happy: Salary and benefits are good, they enjoy the people they work with, the company has opportunities for career growth and more. It’s important to remember, however, that in addition, really good analytics professionals love what they do. Interesting work, peer recognition and the opportunity to be creative are an important measure of job satisfaction. Companies that understand this will be able to do a much better job of keeping their best people.