Experts suggest we must recognise the fundamental change in the corporate environment in order to comprehend the evolution of data and analytics leadership. Data is now a strategic asset that may give an advantage in the marketplace, not only a consequence of business operations.

Companies now understand how valuable data is for obtaining insights, streamlining workflows, and providing better customer experiences. As a result, the position of a data and analytics leader has become more important.

Chief Data Officers (CDOs) and Chief Analytics Officers (CAOs), both terms used to refer to executives in data and analytics. They are no longer just responsible for running data warehouses and producing reports, their duties have greatly increased.

In the future, they will be required to lead data strategy, cultivate a data-driven culture, innovate with sophisticated analytics, ensure data privacy and security, work cross-functionally, and assess the results of data efforts. These varied tasks call for a broad skill set and an in-depth knowledge of both technology and business.

The required skill set

The skill sets necessary to succeed in this position have developed along with the duties of data and analytics leaders. And these skill sets are constantly evolving, as technology and business requirements change further. With a solid foundation in data engineering, data science, and analytics, technical skill is still crucial. However now, a wider range of skills is required.

Forging a connection between technological proficiency and company strategy requires business acumen. To effectively communicate the benefits of data efforts and get support from a variety of stakeholders, one needs effective leadership and communication abilities. Data leaders frequently encounter resistance while attempting to develop a data-driven culture; therefore change management skills are essential. In today’s context of increased data privacy concerns, a thorough awareness of data ethics and pertinent laws is essential.

On the other hand, data and analytics leaders encounter a number of difficulties despite the growing understanding of their significance. Talent scarcity is one of the biggest problems. It can be difficult to recruit and retain top personnel in this industry because the demand for data specialists frequently outpaces the supply.

Another ongoing issue is the quality of the data. Maintaining data accuracy and quality is a constant battle since poor data quality can result in false conclusions and bad judgements. Furthermore, it’s important to continuously learn and adapt to stay up with the quick-moving technological breakthroughs, particularly in AI and machine learning.

Concerns about data privacy are fuelled by increasingly strict legislation like Europe’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and the United States’ CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), which necessitate careful compliance activities that can be time and resource-consuming.

Resistance to change within organisations is also a common hurdle, as changing an organisation’s culture to become data-driven can be met with resistance from those who are comfortable with traditional decision-making processes.

Struggle to produce strategic results

According to statistics given by Gartner at the Gartner Statistics & Analytics Summit 2023, chief data and analytics officers (CDAOs) are positioned to be of increasing strategic importance to their organisations, yet many are having difficulty moving forward. Less than half (44%) of data and analytics leaders claim that their teams successfully add value to the company. This information comes from a poll of 566 data and analytics leaders conducted online by Gartner between September and November 2022.

“It was kind of an eye-opener that one-third of them felt they were not as effective as they could be. There’s so much going on, so many things they are compelled to do versus what they really want to do, know they need to do, know they need to prioritise. They’re spending a lot of time on things like data quality, data management, things that might be tactical, helping with operational aspects of IT. But that’s not helping move the value of the organisation as a business forward,” Donna Medeiros, senior director analyst at Gartner said.

Data and analytics executives have a wide range of duties, including 60% of respondents mentioned developing and implementing a data and analytics plan, followed by managing data-driven culture change (54%), data and analytics governance (55%), and 59% indicated they were responsible for overseeing a data and analytics strategy. Businesses continue to invest in data and analytics operations. According to survey respondents, organisations are investing more money in advanced analytics (60%), data governance (63%), and data management (65%). The average reported budget was $5.41 million, and 44% of respondents claimed their data and analytics teams had grown in size over the previous year.

Obstacles to data success

Despite the increasing investment, CDAOs report that a lack of cash and resources is one of their biggest obstacles to achieving results, with 29% ranking it as one of their top three challenges. Lack of employees and skills is the main barrier. The majority of responders to the survey—1 in 6 (17%)—identified talent as one of their top three problems. Additionally, Medeiros argues, that the limited talent pool isn’t helping. ‘CDAOs need a talent strategy that doesn’t rely on hiring data and analytics talent off the shelf.’

According to Medeiros, CDAOs must develop a strong personnel management plan that incorporates mentoring, education, and training for a data-driven culture. This approach must be implemented not only by the organisation’s core data and analytics team but also by the larger business and technological groups.

Gartner lists the following as additional challenges to the success of data and analytics: Culture-related barriers to change acceptance (8%, highest barrier; 26%, among top three), lack of support and involvement from corporate stakeholders (10%, the biggest barrier; 26%, the top three), lack of authority to carry out CDAO duties (9%, top choice; 24% top three), data literacy is lacking (best choice: 5%; top three: 23%).

“Their life is very complex. They have lots of areas of primary responsibility — implementing data and analytics strategy, oversight of data and analytics initiatives, creating and implementing information systems and data management — and the people side — workforce development, upskilling, making the organisation data-driven, artificial intelligence, and centres of excellence. They’ve got a lot of complexity and a lot of people they’re answering to,” Medeiros said.

Necessary skills for leading data strategy

When company leaders acknowledge the value of data and analytics but fail to make the strategic adjustments and investments required for success, it may be an indication of an organisational problem at the C-level.

A 2022 survey by Alation and Wakefield Research found that 71% of data leaders were ‘less than very confident’ that their organisation’s leadership saw a connection between investing in data and analytics and remaining ahead of the competition.

The complexity of the role and how it interacts with other business executives needs to be addressed for success, even in the scenario where an organisation appoints a dedicated IT leader to steer data strategy, whether in a chief data officer or chief analytics officer post.

A composer, performer, and orchestra conductor are the three persons to whom Medeiros compares the CDAO job. The conductor examines the entire organisation and oversees how data and analytics are carried out both in a centralised function and across business lines with the aid of subject matter specialists. The composer develops and markets the narrative illustrating the importance of data and analytics. Sometimes, data leaders must be performers: helping to implement data management, data quality, data trust, spending time on data governance, compliance, and risk.

“These three personas require juggling soft, people skills and technical savvy. The CDAO serves multiple stakeholders across the organisation and cannot operate in isolation. They need to align with organisational strategic priorities, collaborate and sell the overall vision and strategy for data and analytics, and get buy-in for their initiatives,” Medeiros stated further.

According to the Gartner poll, the most effective data executives outperformed their colleagues by projecting an executive presence and creating an agile and strategic data and analytics unit that could shape data-driven business performance and operational excellence. Respondents were surveyed by Gartner and asked to rate themselves on 17 executive leadership attributes.

There was a significant association between leaders who reported excellent organisational and team performance and those who indicated they were effective or extremely effective across those attributes. For instance, compared to only 19% of low performers, 43% of top-performing data and analytics executives claimed they were effective in allocating time to their own professional growth.

Meanwhile, the poll also suggested that agile data and analytics capabilities are essential to build sense-and-respond capabilities and are leading organisations to unprecedented cycles of rapid innovation to meet new requirements.

Future of data and analytics leadership

Technologies like edge analytics and quantum computing are projected to become increasingly important in the processing and analysis of data. These developments will create new opportunities for more effectively managing enormous amounts of data and gaining deeper insights. They will, however, also bring forth further difficulties in terms of infrastructure and data security.

Furthermore, in the future, ethical issues related to the use of AI and data will be much more crucial. Leaders in data and analytics will need to put a high priority on responsible data practises to make sure that data is used in ways that are consistent with moral principles and societal norms. This entails dealing with biases in AI algorithms, making sure data-driven decision-making is transparent, and protecting individual privacy.

At last, a data and analytics leader’s position has changed from that of a technical manager to that of a strategic engine for organisational success. These pioneers are influencing how firms run and make decisions at the forefront of the data revolution. The job of data and analytics executives will only become more crucial in the changing company and industry landscape as technology progresses and the value of data rises.

Organisations must make investments in developing these individuals’ skills and capacities if they want to succeed in the data-driven future. Data and analytics leaders will need to be flexible, creative, and morally aware as they navigate the rapidly changing field of data and analytics leadership in order to meet the challenges and possibilities that lie ahead.

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September 23, 2016: Companies are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst in the coming year. Findings from Willis Towers Watson’s Hong Kong and Macau Severance Practices Surveyindicate that the majority of surveyed companies in Hong Kong and Macau remain optimistic towards their performance over the next 12-18 months, while few companies have plans for redundancies or headcount reductions.

The new survey showed that 83% of Hong Kong businesses expect their performance in 2016 and 2017 to be ahead of or in line with their 2015 results, despite the poor global economic outlook and slowdown in mainland China. Only 10% of surveyed companies plan to reduce employee headcount in the next 12-24 months, but over a quarter of Hong Kong companies (26%) have a hiring freeze in place.

“It seems that most existing roles in the job market will be safe in 2017. However, many companies are preparing for tougher times ahead and are reviewing their redundancy and severance plans to be prepared,” said Trey Davis, Director of Talent and Rewards at Willis Towers Watson in Hong Kong.

“The labour market will remain tight in 2017, with the unemployment rate likely to remain low,” remarked Frances Wang, Rewards practice leader at Willis Towers Watson in Hong Kong. “Highly skilled workers are anticipated to continue having multiple job opportunities for the foreseeable future.”

Hong Kong businesses feel pressure from uncertainty

But perhaps given economic uncertainty, close to a quarter of surveyed Hong Kong companies (23%) plan to implement HR-related cost saving measures other than employee redundancies or layoffs. The four most common cost saving alternatives revealed in the study are:

• Hiring freeze for some or all positions
• A reduction or freeze in bonus or incentive funding
• Limits on overtime work and travel expenses
• Encouraging job-sharing and retraining of existing employees

“Although the majority of the Hong Kong business community is not reducing headcount, many are feeling economic pressures, and these are immediately reflected in current employment policies,” added Trey Davis.

Inadequate preparations can lead to high risk

Many employers overlook the importance of a proper and up-to-date severance policy. The survey found that less than half (47%) of surveyed companies have a formal severance or redundancy policy in place. But 21% of companies without such plans are anticipating implementing new policies.

“The way an employer designs and sets up their severance policies reflects the values of that company and their commitment to their employees. This can be taken into consideration by employees when accepting a new job offer, and is one of the elements that attracts and retains talent,” said Trey Davis.

The survey also shows that among those companies that already have a formal severance policy in place, more than 80% of them review these policies only when needed, while more than 90% of companies have not made and do not plan to make severance policy changes in view of the current economic environment.

“Redundancies can happen not only during economic downturns, but also as a result of M&A or company restructuring. Without a proper severance policy in place, the employer is taking the risk that they have to devote significantly more time and money to negotiate individual severance packages and agreements, and make payment calculations for every single leaver.”

“The lack of a clear formal policy could also give rise to inconsistencies in severance packages offered in redundancy, which could result in the perception of mistreatment due to gender, age or ethnicity.”

“These concerns present a strong case for companies to have a proper, formal severance policy in place, in addition to good corporate governance practices.”

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Suparna Goswami Bhattacharya

July 13, 2015: For decades now, Saudi Arabia has managed to attract talented expats from around the world. The region, in fact, became a favourite destination for those looking to work outside their country. The expatriate workforce accounts for a third of Saudi Arabia’s 29 million population. Market reports suggest that the majority of the expat population within Saudi Arabia is mostly employed by Saudi Aramco, foreign military or companies engaged in infrastructure and construction projects within the Kingdom.

This, coupled with the country’s inadequate education system, has resulted in high level of youth unemployment, which has become a big social challenge. According to the CIA’s World Factbook, Saudi Arabia’s youth population “lacks the education and technical skills the private sector needs”. The unemployment rate for Saudis between ages 16 and 29 is 29 percent. According to Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, two-thirds of the nation’s population under the age of 30, which means a significant number of Saudis, will enter the workforce over the next decade.

“Though the country’s economy has experienced consistent high growth over the past decade, it still faces challenges in high unemployment and low labour market participation under nationals,” says Safiyah Alli, Regional Operations Director, Manpower, a leading company in workforce solutions. This, according to Alli, is largely driven by a low rate of female participation in the labour market, high youth unemployment and the competitive imbalance of expatriate workers and Saudi nationals in the private sector.

Looking at this the Saudi government embarked on a national plan to increase employment among nationals and decrease dependency on the expatriate workforce. It launched Saudisation (or Saudization)programme — replacement of foreign workers with Saudi nationals in the private sector — in 2006.

However, the move has thrown fresh challenges at companies who find themselves in a spot over not being able to hire the required talent. “Although the efforts made by the government are laudable, companies are now having difficulty finding the right local talent,” says Richard Foulkes, Client Partner, Middle East & Africa, Pedersen & Partners, an executive recruitment firm. “The situation has mostly arisen due to the lack of a strong talent pipeline, which is currently being addressed. There is a high demand for industry-ready Saudi professionals, which unfortunately outstrips supply.”

Says a recruitment manager of a local firm: “I understand that we need to employ more local talent, but the way the government is approaching the problem is not helping us. What they are doing has only led to ballooning of salaries as talent is scarce”.

The oil &gas industry in particular is facing a talent crunch.This is mainly due to a combination of an aging workforce and the lack of flexibility to replace them quickly. A lot of time is required in upskilling new employees. Training and development is adding to the cost of talent acquisition.

This has resulted in negative outcomes for companies.

In a few cases, companies employ Saudi nationals only on paper and get the actual work done by an expat who is based abroad. “We are forced to play around the rules. In the process, we end up paying two people —a Saudi national (who is actually not working) and an expat,” says a recruitment manager.

Despite enhancements to the Saudisation programme, unemployment levels have remained almost stagnant.“The Saudi labour force is growing by a rate equivalent to the rate of employment amongst nationals. Hence, unemployment rates are stagnant,” remarks Alli.

Having realised that the programme alone will not solve the unemployment problem, the government has now decided to concentrate on reforming the education system. Earlier this year, the Saudi budget increased the spending on education by 3 percent.

“The government is emphasising the need to foster skill development early on, and has asked colleges and universities to focus on these areas. There are also examples of funds being set up to invest in SMEs, which in turn will help to increase employment levels among Saudis. The government must be appreciated for these efforts,” says Foulkes.

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