building & nurturing an analytics team

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 2

Building the ‘A’ teamTM Forum Live 2016

Image source: inproofs.com

http://inproofs.com/groups/the-a-team/

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 3

Image source: https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/Liam-Neeson-Taken

https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/Liam-Neeson-Taken



© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 4

Director, Insights at Visa, Inc. Enable Decision Making at the Executives/ Product/Marketing level via actionable insights derived from Data.

RAMKUMAR RAVICHANDRAN

Disclaimer: Participation is purely on a personal basis and does not represent VISA,Inc. in any form or matter. The talk is based on learning from work across industries and firms. Care has been taken to ensure no proprietary or work related info of any firm is used in any material.

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 5

Before we begin, let’s anchor ourselves…

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 6

THE OATH OF AN ANALYST…My ultimate responsibility is my customer’s success– “going above, beyond & far to deliver on my promises is my everyday nature”My duty is to make my boss look good

My happiness is helping my team members & cross functional partners developMy pride is in seeing each & everyone on my team grow to be leaders of their worldMy promise is to the world of analytics and the people there that I will share, learn and give back in whatever way I can

Intended for Knowledge Sharing only

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 7


MUST HAVE TRAITS FOR A GOOD LEADER…

Creates more leaders - the Oracle of Omaha Buffet style

Inspire to dream big and enable to go after them – Jobs

Make everyone feel like “never before rock stars” – Satya Nadella

Push for 3S – Speed, Sustainability & Scalability – ZuckerbergBe deserving of the responsibility- humble enough to learn but courageous enough to push boundaries in pursuit of “something larger than life”

– Sergey Brin

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 8


IN HIS OWN WORDS…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQKis2Cfpeo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQKis2Cfpeo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GMQhOm-Dqo&index=7&list=FLcphuW2awSOePdDqc-6nAvQ

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 9


Quick recap of what it is

Who is a data analyst?

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 10


THE DATA SCIENTIST VERSION


A data scientist is a person who is…

https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/The-Most-Interesting-Man-In-The-World




© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 11


BUT ACTUALLY IS


Someone who enables decision making at…

Scale

Speed previously not possible

Connecting dots beyond obvious

Eliminating bias with rigor of math, repeatability of science & structure of logic

At a fraction of cost

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 12


AND YEAH…

http://i.imgur.com/FZgL4bR.jpg




© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 13



The fit, the value add & why is it so special?

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 14


IS A CRITICAL IMPORTANT ENABLER IN THE ORGANIZATION…

Customers

Company

Analysts

Customer needs

Company makes promises to consumers

(value prop)

Various functions execute to deliver

Analytics enables them– how much delivered, why

& what to do

Focus on Big WinsReduced WastageQuick FixesAdaptabilityAssured execution

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 15


WORLD IS CHANGING AROUND US & TIME IS NOW GOLDEN…

Decisions have become intricately complicated

Luxury of time has evaporated

From “pull” economy to “push” economy as the competitive arbitrage shrinks at a time of info overload

Customer, their needs & hangout channels are constantly evolving

Higher & higher demands on RoI and certainty of decisions

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 16



But all that glitters, is not gold

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 17


“GOOD” ANALYST TURNOVERS WINDOW 18-24 MONTHS…

Not always for greener pastures as portrayed. Common grouses include,I am not making any real impact

My work isn’t challenging enough

Processes and politics render making any contribution impossible

My career has stalled

My leadership lacks vision for Analytics

www.clipartbest.com

http://www.clipartbest.com/

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 18



Uh oh, so now what do we do?

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 19


LET’S LOOK AT IT AS AN ANALYTICAL PROBLEM

1 Strategic View

2

3

Vision and the Goals

Tactical Approach How to deliver against the goals

Transformation Make it sustainable evolution

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 20


STRATEGY: THE VISION & EXPECTATIONS, MEASURE & MONITOR…

Business Goals

Operating Goals

Learning & Development

Goals

• Hire and align to a specific business goal• Total ownership of initiatives, relationship with customers, clear

expectations & support structure• Monitor, Review and Rewards against goals

• Delivery Management goals- Quality, timeliness, impact, sustainability

• Customer, Peer & Manager Feedback (NPS)• Soft skills: Work ethics, Initiative, Subject & domain expertise,

Influencing, Evangelizing, Innovation & presentation skills

• Progress against learning goals & impact of learning• Growth in responsibility & delivery against next level goals• Mentor-mentee relationships

…most importantly what would be did not meet, met & exceeded and if it was a consistent improvement or not

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 21


AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE- STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT OF TEAM

Sl. No.Corporate

Strategic Focus Areas

Goals & KPIs RACIRoles &

Responsibilities

Requirements

Success Criteria

1 Expand the Patient user base

Awareness and Consideration Team

Member 1 Sign-up Channel performance

Geo Performance

2 Ensure Top Quality Care for Patients

#Patients visiting hospitals

Team Member 2

Actual usage of Preventive initiatives

#Return visits per PatientFeedback from Patients –

Doctor, Care, etc.Uptime of service

availability

3 Return per Patient

Cost of service per PatientTeam

Member 3 In Hospital Stay vs. On-call

treatment optionsRisk adjusted Premium

Availability

4 Expand OfferingsResearch & Development

Team Member 4 Strategic Tie-ups

Preventive HealthcareRe-insurance

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 22


AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE- GROWTH PLAN

DELIVERY TRACK RECORD

TECHNICAL KNOW HOW

PROBLEM SOLVING, DECISION MAKING &

AUTONOMY

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

LEVEL 5 SCORE

Score = Sum(weight of dimension*Feedback scores*weight of reviewer)*%target met*(1+YoY)

• If Score>particular cutoffs = Exceed/Meets/Not that decides rewards

• If high scores on next level needs and YoY growth on them, that should decide growth

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 23


THE TACTICAL APPROACH: ENSURE EVERYONE THEIR FIT…

Strategy

Data Instru

mentation

Data Platfor

m

Reporting

Analytics

Research

Optimization

Data Produc

ts

For each Customer Business UnitCross Goals to foster team mindset, end to end delivery efficiency & sustainabilityEnsure rotation for complete learning, exposure, development & Cross pollination of ideasCo-development of analytics to ensure participation of customers & more actionable outcomesEncourage innovation & iterative learning via knowledge management

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 24


MAKING IT A SUSTAINABLE EVOLUTIONPE

OPL

E

• Profile the employees and customize the solutions according to the need

• Jack of all allied trades: Data->Analysis/Testing/Research->Insights->Recos

• Identify, nurture and engage the “2/20” employees, “Long/Short”, “SME/Generalist”, “Detail oriented/big picture” correctly

PRO

CESS

• Iterative Learning & Co-development of Analytics• Customized Delivery• “Operationalize” the standard analytics: To focus on next big thing• Innovation & Company Knowledge Sharing:• Encourage Shadow IT but come up guidelines for absorption• Not only Business Objectives but also Learning Objective Focused• 90-10 formalized• Analyze the “Analytics” function and improve

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 25


MAKING IT A SUSTAINABLE EVOLUTION CONTD…

TECH • Extensible, Modular & Dynamic Technology Framework

• Workday, custom Share point installations, Collaboration tools

CULTURE • Business Enablement

• Customer Needs Focused• Entrepreneurial

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 27


NEEDS FOR IT TO BE SUCCESSFUL…

1 Executive Support, sponsorship for this experiment and a strong partner in HR.

2 Charter, vision & execution plan that inspires the employee trust, adoption and follow through.

3 Investment (time, energy and passion) and focus on engagement initiatives and follow through.

4 “Time, environment & learning” adaptability of the engagement model with employees.

5 Cultural fit with the company values

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 28


SUMMARY

• “Know” Analytics is not labor intensive but skill & impact intensive function. Bell Curve is the biggest ill afflicting Analytics.

• “Must have” Goals clearly laid, the action plan & demonstrated progress

• “Ensure” relationship approach vs. transactional approach of management

• “Develop” ‘leadership at every level’ mindset

• “Prepare” for ever evolving world of analytics and keep updating the employee engagement model

© 2016 TM Forum Live! 2016 | 30


THANK YOU!

Would love to hear from you on any of the following forums…

https://twitter.com/decisions_2_0

http://www.slideshare.net/RamkumarRavichandran

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCODSVC0WQws607clv0k8mQA/videos

http://www.odbms.org/2015/01/ramkumar-ravichandran-visa/

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/ramkumar-ravichandran/10/545/67a

RAMKUMAR RAVICHANDRAN

https://twitter.com/decisions_2_0

















building & nurturing an analytics team

Data & Analytics