How to set up your analyst to do their best work

In this second appearance on Datadrivet, Johan Johansson of Carat talks about something most companies get wrong: how to give an analyst the conditions to actually be useful.

He starts with the people. A senior analyst, in his view, is someone who can drive change through an organization, and raw analysis is often not their sharpest skill. Junior analysts are the hands-on ones, fluent in SQL and the data tools. The two profiles are not interchangeable, and hiring the wrong one for the job is a common mistake.

From there Johan lays out three conditions an organization needs to meet for analytics to pay off. First, analysts need protected time to actually do analysis rather than being pulled into ad hoc requests all day. Second, their insights have to be implemented so the work creates measurable value. Third, the organization has to act on what the analysis shows. If it does not, the best analysts leave for a place where their findings change something.

Underneath all of it is a simple argument about decisions. As Johan puts it, an analyst helps you make better decisions based on more information. Your first instinct is rarely the best solution, and proper analysis gives you a firmer footing before you commit. The point of an analytics function is not to produce reports, it is to improve the quality of the calls the business makes.

The takeaway is that good analytics depends as much on the organization as on the analyst. Hire the right profile for the work, give them time to think, and make sure the insights land somewhere. Do that and you keep your talent and make sharper decisions. Skip it and you lose both.

Listen to the full episode of Datadrivet for Johan’s full breakdown of what analysts need to do their best work.