How Large Companies Can Grow Their Data and Analytics Talent
Companies need to identify the type of talent they need in order to become data-driven.
while many companies are hiring data scientists and other types of analytical and artificial intelligence talent, there is little consensus within and across companies about the qualifications for such roles. The term data scientist might mean a job with a heavy emphasis on statis- tics, open-source coding, or working with executives to solve business problems with ata and analysis. The idea of data scientist “unicorns” who possess all these skills at high levels was never very realistic. As the job has grown more popular and sought-after, an increasing number of pro-fessionals have begun to use it to describe their role. Colleges and universities have re-sponded to the demand as well by offering hundreds of new programs on data science and analytics. But the skills taught in such programs vary widely, and some universi-ties offer multiple programs with different emphases. For both newly hired and experi-enced employees, titles such as data scientist and quantitative analyst are not likely to be good guides to their actual capabilities. While there are initiatives to standard-ize the different types of data and analytics
roles and requisite skills across organiza-tions, they are in the early stages. The idea behind these initiatives is excellent, but developing new standards typically takes many years.
In the meantime, companies need to devote considerable attention to classifying and certifying the different types of analytical jobs they have and need. They also would benefit from expanding their talent pools by working with universities directly on educational programs and by building and nurturing communities within their organizations to develop employees for their data teams. These steps are essen-
tial for companies looking to use analytics to improve both operations and opportunities for digital innova-tion — companies such as TD Bank Group.
This article is posted at mitsloan.mit.edu
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