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DataIQ Leaders briefing – 7 tips for building the talent funnel

If you are the manager or leader of a data and analytics function, then chances are you spend a lot of your time looking at CVs. Either to grow the size of your teams or to replace practitioners who have left, the reality of recruitment in this space is of constant activity and a challenging environment. This whitepaper summarises tactics that were shared at a recent DataIQ Leaders breakfast briefing.
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1. Set the bar – then stick to it

A significant trend in recruitment for data and analytics is to shift the focus in job specifications away from a pick list of skills and towards descriptions of what the job involves and the values which the business is looking for. There was agreement that this can attract a broader spectrum of talent, with female candidates especially being more likely to apply, whereas if they can not tick off everything on a list of skills they will be deterred.

All the same, there needs to be a spine of abilities to support any role. Defining this and then identifying it among candidates is critical, with many organisations applying scores as a filter. These need to be clearly understood and communicated to any partners in the recruitment chain, from internal HR to external recruiters. Identifying this spine can take time – one insurance provider used its data scientists to analyse hundreds of CVs against successful fires to find patterns and extract indicators of likely candidates.

However it is arrived at, this bar needs to be maintained – it is better to have an open role than an under-performing hire, with one Leaders member waiting 12 months until the right candidate was found. Equally, this threshold can be applied to any and every channel, meaning individuals from different backgrounds get considered if they meet the character, culture or curiosity dimensions required. 

2. “Give to get”

Data and analytics may appear to be high profile, certainly compared to five years ago, but outside of the industry there is a much lower awareness of the career opportunities they afford. Communicating upstream about jobs in this sector is an increasing part of a leadership role, particularly reaching out to schools, colleges and universities.

Scaling this activity to reach a bigger audience is vital, which is why a number of organisations have turned to social media. Creating content that explains what is involved in being a data analyst, data scientist or data engineer builds an asset pool that can be shared and exposed far beyond the immediate catchment. Although practitioners are often not natural communicators and may shy away from being filmed, with a little persuasion they are the best advocates – and recruiters – that your organisation has.

Social media is also a cheaper recruitment channel than working with external recruiters, although there was recognition that a good partner in this space can deliver a higher hit rate of candidates and longer term tenures. This activity is still evolving – experimentation is highly recommended.

3. Keep it fresh

Leaders members referenced two challenges around keeping the data and analytics function fresh. The first is ensuring that practitioners have a varied diet projects to work on. It is easy to become bogged down in business-as-usual tasks that are constantly repeated. This can steadily erode enthusiasm and energy, leading to a higher churn rate. Data scientists especially will leave if they are not given projects that stretch their curiosity and skills. 

This flow of interesting projects is best stimulated through internal communications and roadshows that attract stakeholders who have not previously engaged, thereby broadening the nature of the tasks being undertaken. Ensuring this is visible to prospects also helps with recruitment – as one organisation noted, PhD students do not immediately think of a career in insurance, not least because they perceive it as actuarial and risk-based. But in reality, teams in these companies are working across an extensive range of challenges.

The second challenge with keeping it fresh is around long-term practitioners. Several organisations report having teams of data analysts who have become very fixed in their view of the role and have lost their appetite for anything new. Encouraging churn may seem counter-intuitive, but it can be healthy for the broader function. 

4. If you don’t have location, you have to be flexible

Global digital platforms and start-ups dominate the hiring market in London and the South-East, attracting huge numbers of candidates and offering salaries that other brands struggle to match. Many legacy brands are also based in locations where the talent pool is noticeably thin because there are only a few major employers. Areas like Nottingham, Milton Keynes or the South Coast have their own micro-climate of competition for local talent, but they struggle at a national level. 

To counter this, employers are quick to offer flexible working in a range of flavours, including four-day weeks with longer daily hours or early starts/finishes plus remote working to support those with families. Travel to work may also be longer for individuals who taken roles in these locations unless and until they relocate. One major brand with headquarters in Nottingham and London provides support for travel and accommodation to practitioners who are required to work across both locations, for example.

A corollary to this is that, as one Leaders member put it, “analysts hunt in packs” and learn from each other. This emphasises bringing teams together as much as possible, even if flexible and remote working are commonplace. It is worth noting that this can conflict with resource constraints, such as hot desking, because there may not be enough room for everybody.

5. But make sure you have a core

Although flexible working is now mainstream, there are important management aspects. Most members noted that core days and core hours need to be defined – times when everybody needs to be at work or available – and that these need to be stuck to. Leadership itself must set an example – at one charity, failure to stick to the core by senior managers had eroded team discipline. 

The general view is to give people ownership of their time and and responsibilities and treat them like adults. One leader put it this way: “We give them a long lead with hidden controls. If they do the right things, command and control takes care of its self.”

6. Late-stage practitioners can be valuable – if they stay

Returners are an important part of the talent funnel, especially if they are given support in the early stages, because they are often repositories of domain knowledge, even if their skills may initially be lagging. Another resource that can be tapped into, especially by charities, is senior practitioners in later stages of their career who are keen to “give something back”. They also bring domain knowledge and enthusiasm for the cause, as well as being great mentors for more junior team members.

But one charity leader flagged up that the shelf-life of late-stage returners tends to be shorter because their interest and commitment can wane. They can also be disruptors because they have a different view on ways of working. Both of these factors may ultimately offset the value they bring.

7. Contractors are a short-term fix (and maybe not for much longer)

To fill gaps in their talent funnel, many organisations turn to contractors. They are a valuable short-term fix who bring in skills and help to ensure projects are successful. With a number of companies having started-up in the last five years focused on developing and directly employing contractors for data and analytics (eg, Kubrick Group, Eden Smith), this is now an important dimension of any recruitment strategy.

There is an emerging issue around self-employed contractors, however, as a result of tightening of rules by HMRC around IR35 taxation rules. These relate to self-employment status where an individual’s main source of income is from a single source. One major organisation is facing the loss of contractors who have worked there exclusively for a number of years as a result. Specifying and sticking to shorter project durations may be necessary, but is not always possible in the current market.

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