“So, what is it exactly that you DO?” It’s a common question I receive from my internal customers. Some of them think we are the IT department, some think we are extensions of secretaries who only send reports, some think we are on-call to answer any question involving a number, but we are analysts – the kind that harness the organization’s most underrated asset – data… and there are just a handful of us at the company.

One of the biggest challenges while working for an organization whose analytics department is still in its infancy is defining yourself and your role within the company. Without a clear definition of what you DO, and the value that you provide, it’s easy to become caught in the trap of taking on the “miscellaneous” – the odd projects and tasks that have little to no impact on the profitability of the company.

Eventually, these “miscellaneous” tasks grow and grow, until the capacity of the team to take on new and relevant projects diminishes to nothing. I am a firm believer that a budding analytics team MUST be strategic in the projects they take on, and be prepared to draw a boundary against accepting tasks for the sake of them just needing to be done by anyone. Why? Because the value lost by not harnessing data in an appropriate and insightful way is far greater than awkwardness of setting a boundary and saying No. Data analytics is a valuable resource, and its ultimate function is to help generate more revenue, not solve IT issues or crank out reports that no one will use or see.

There is also something beautiful about a tiny analytics department. The opportunity to shine and make an impact by providing meaningful analysis and insights to leadership. What does this look like? It looks like using data to solve real problems, overcome obstacles, get ahead of the competition, and provide the framework to make well-informed strategic decisions. It all starts with the team though. The team must be unified in their mission, and consistent in their approach. If senior leadership is not sold on the value of the team, the team must make itself seen and valuable. If the team is bleeding productivity with irrelevant responsibilities and excessive reporting – it MUST remedy this.

So if you’re part of a small analytics team, that has become overburdened and overwhelmed with tasks, what do you do? I have a few suggestions:

Audit all reports and clean house of any unnecessary reporting. Streamline and consolidate reports, remove as much duplication as necessary. Some reports are just sent out because that’s what the company has always done… be the person who asks, “Why are we sending this? What value is it adding? Can it be automated?”

Provide self-serve options. This is pretty self explanatory. If people have grown to rely on you and your team by sending an email to request information, make sure this information is available, accessible, and train your internal customers to pull their own information. It’ll be painful at first, since many have grown used to having your team as a crutch, but you will be glad you did this.

Get the support of your senior leaders. Often, our leaders don’t know just how overwhelmed we are with unnecessary tasks. They can help advocate for your team, especially when you go to the next step.

Evaluate your tasks and determine if any of them can go to a different department or segment of the company. For example, at my company I calculate the pay-for-performance quarterly goals and bonuses of the entire salesforce. That’s several hundred people – DAUNTING – and not the responsibility of a business data analyst. Finance and or payroll should be taking the lead on this – and with the help of senior leaders, a plan is in place to hand-off this responsibility to them at the end of the year. Hooray! That means more time spent on analytics, and less time answering multiple emails per day from sales reps and their managers about bonus paychecks.

Be a rockstar. No, seriously. Once you have the capacity on your team to do your ACTUAL job – “you betta werk” as RuPaul lovingly says. Don’t wait for the work to come to YOU. Arrange monthly meetings with leaders and get a feel for what their analytics needs are. Where can you provide the most value? And deliver. I want you to really wow them with your skills.

Lastly, beef up your education. A big part of this career is that tools and software are consistently changing. Continuing education should be a permanent fixture of your career. Get involved in local Tableau user groups, analytics groups, get a new certification, take a class, work on some interesting data sets, and never stop learning. Remember, there are shiny new graduates entering the workforce every day – you must stay fresh and relevant.

I hope these tips were helpful. Have you ever worked for a company who had a budding analytics team with no true direction? How did you overcome it? Leave me your tips below. 🙂

-Rose