Data is the new “investment”. Organizations across the globe, from various sectors, are increasingly recognizing just how important data and analytics is in driving growth and innovation; and are actively investing in building high performing data teams.
But building a data team is not as easy as it seems.
A high-performing data team is not just about hiring individuals with IT and technical expertise. It requires a lot of planning and ideating; because your data team should be a strategic asset and should help you to identify business opportunities and spot cost savings. Organizations must strategically approach building a data team by assembling a diverse group of professionals with complementary skills and capabilities.
Jay Analytix has a power packed team of highly specialized data experts. Data Solutions, IT Staffing, Performance Engineering, AI/ML, our team is well equipped with the right skills to solve the challenges that businesses face. This article will explore the key skills that are required to build a data team that can effectively use the power of data to achieve business goals and client needs.
- Tech experts:
Of course, the starting point for any data team is to look out for potential employees who possess strong knowledge and experience of tech. They should have a strong understanding of their domain. From programming languages to analyzing statistical data; there are plenty of tools and accreditations that your data team members should be wary of. They should excel in techniques for handling, processing, and extracting insights from datasets, and must ensure the accuracy and reliability of it.
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving skills
When it comes to analyzing data, there are several complicated factors, hidden patterns and so on. Employees must be well versed in deciphering datasets. It is extremely beneficial to have strong thinkers in the team – those who can approach challenges with an open mind. These people should follow patterns, have a system for approaching datasets, and be able to think of effective and efficient strategies independently.
- Collaboration is key!
While a lot of employees in IT and tech work independently, data teams cannot work in silos. At the heart of every data team lies collaboration and teamwork. It isn’t enough for employees to simply be comfortable with collaborating with other team members, they must excel and thrive in collaborative work environments. They must be open to sharing and receiving ideas. Innovation often arises from collaborative environments.
Besides, on a day to day basis, data teams with data engineers/analysts/scientists/architects would inadvertently rely on each other for work. Therefore, it is key that they are able to work with each other collaboratively.
- Uncle Ben said it right..
Uncle Ben told Spiderman, “With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility!” and this is all the more relevant for data teams. Data and privacy go hand in hand. There are always implications of data on privacy, security and ethics; it is key for the team to understand these ethical considerations around collecting, analyzing and using data.
- The need of the hour: Communication
Data professionals should be able to communicate efficiently with clients. Providing clients technical jargon may not also prove to be helpful – the team should know how to break down concepts and simplify it for each audience. Building insights from data is key – and communicating it with brevity and clarity is more important because it is a different reflection of their analysis.
- Adapt, adapt, adapt!
Data Science is ever evolving, which means it is also changing all the time. With it, the team too needs to change and adopt different strategies, tools, methodologies, processes. The team should be open to learning, identifying new trends proactively and staying ahead of the curve.
Putting together a strong data team isn’t just about building a tech and data savvy team. It extends to beyond that, such as having different skills, communications, organizational skills and so on. When you build a team with a mix of these skills and encourage everyone to work collaboratively, you can make the most of your data and help your company grow and succeed for a long time.
