Post on 15-Jul-2015
The Top Human Resources Challenges as it relates to Business Analytics (BA)
PATRICIA COTTER Ed.D.
© 2014
Industry Context
• BA has become pervasive as industry
recognize its importance for their business
operations – to determine risk, detect emerging
trends and make strategic decisions.
• Data from digital activity continues to grow
exponentially – 90% of the world’s data has
been generated in just the past 2 years.
• The current shortage of BA graduates with the
required skills is expected to increase.
Industry Context
Current BA Industry Trends
Collaborationbetween
Employers and Universities is
critical to create
job-ready BA graduates.
The rapid changes in
business and
technology is establishing the
need for BA graduates with
T-Shapedskills.
Currently BA graduates lack
real world experience and
interdiscipli-nary training.
= Shortage of suitable BA graduates.
7 Must-Have BA Skills
Communication
Technical
Analytical
Problem Solving
Decision Making
Managerial
Negotiation
Source: Villanova’s
Analytics Program
HR Challenges
• BA has become more diverse, with many new
genres emerging and increasing demand.
• Widening gap in compensation that is driving
analytics overseas.
• Companies consistently report that candidates
lack the relevant academic training and real-
world seasoning that the BA field requires.
• As demand for high-aptitude, multi-skilled
employees increases, so does the shortage of
qualified candidates.
HR Challenges – The Facts
• Analytical Ability by Job Level
• Analytical Ability by Job Function
(Source: Institute for
Corporate Productivity)
Challenge #1:
Increasing Organizational Need
• Organizational need is increasing and there are
fewer candidates with the skills and knowledge
needed to drive the business.
• More people are leaving jobs than coming in –
importance of recruitment and retention of staff.
• Demand for BA skills has increased sharply
with the rise of HR analytics and Big Data.
• Now companies need BA skill sets at every
level and in every department.
Challenge #1:
Increasing Organizational Need
Source: Institute of Corporate Productivity and American Management Association , 2013
Corporations report that the rising need for BA
skills is attributed to:
• Accountability for results - 67.0%
• Competitive environment - 61.6%
• Complexity of business environment - 52.6%
• Increase in customer data - 51.3%
• Risk management - 50.7%
58% have an urgent need for BA and
82% feel the importance of BA will rise in next 5 years.
Challenge #2:
Lack of T-Shaped Graduates
•T-Shaped graduates
possess deep
disciplinary knowledge
and the ability to
communicate across
social, cultural and
economic boundaries.
• Widening gap between
graduates and industry
requirements.
Challenge #3:
Limitations to Building BA Skills
• The main obstacles affecting the development
of BA skills in the workforce are:
(Source: Institute for Corporate Productivity)
• Corporations are not looking for BA specialists -
rather developing a workforce that has BA skills
at all levels and across multiple departments.
Discussion
How will industry, education and HR
specialists address these challenges?
HR Recommendations
A number of HR strategies must be employed to
address the current HR challenges in the BA field:
Workforce Planning Recruitment
Retention Strategies Organizational Design
Leadership Development Workforce Safety
Workforce Transitions Health and Productivity
Wider Recommendations
• Create more flexible career paths.
• Encourage diversity (from under represented
groups) to improve innovation and output.
• Raise awareness, especially with recruiters.
• Promote further collaboration and alignment
between tertiary institutions and industry.
• Through reforms in educational curriculum and
internships which develop students specifically
to industry needs prior to graduation.
= Student Centered Training Model
Student Centered Training Model
Suggested Model
for BA Training
Conclusion
• BA is becoming a crucial component of
innovation, new-product development,
customer insights and corporate decision
making in many industries.
• Demand is rising and supply is not sustainable.
• Finding, acquiring and retaining top BA talent
will require innovative skills and sourcing
strategies to address mismatches.
• Companies that make this investment will
achieve a competitive advantage over rivals.
CONTACT
pcotter@us.ibm.com
www.linkedin.com/in/triciacotter
@triciacotter