Finding qualified data science and analytics talent has always been challenging for business leaders. But recent demand for more data-centric organizations aligned with the impact of the Great Resignation has highlighted how dire the situation is. 

Part of the reason why demand for this core-functional expertise is at an all-time high is mainly due to the volume and variety of data being generated daily. To extract value from it, businesses need skilled professionals adept at understanding data and presenting it to be useful to the entire organization. 

The other reason contributing to demand is the lack of qualified talent on the market. While many people are interested in working in the data science and analytics field, not all have the qualifications, skills, or experience. This is especially true for more advanced roles like data scientists or machine learning engineers.

Finally, there's the whole supply and demand dynamic aspect to this issue. There simply isn't enough talent on the market to meet the demand for this skill set. This has led to an all-out bidding war as companies vie for top talent. So what have business leaders done to address this talent shortage? 

Exploring an Alternative Approach to Talent Acquisition

The lack of qualified data science and analytics talent can't be stated enough. While many companies have explored traditional approaches, such as upskilling internal employees or hiring candidates with non-traditional backgrounds, others have decided to explore an alternative approach: on-demand talent acquisition. And here's why. 

At a time when there is strategic value in utilizing data and analytics to obtain market share, traditional approaches like the one above take too long to realize the ROI. By the time employees are trained up with either upskilling or learning programs, an opportunity to drive growth can slip through the cracks. 

With on-demand talent acquisition, on the other hand, companies can attain the skills they need when they need them without the red tape associated with onboarding a full-time employee. These independent consultants, or experts as we call them here at Graphite, can be deployed at a moment's notice. That isn't to say there isn't value in traditional approaches. It's just that time to value is critical when leveraging data and analytics to make informed business decisions. And this is where leveraging independent subject matter expertise works well. 

More importantly, independent experts can also be leveraged to upskill current team members and train those with non-traditional backgrounds. This enables companies to take a holistic approach to address talent shortages in the data science and analytics field by focusing on short-term goals with long-term gains. 

3 Examples of Companies Using Independent Data Science & Analytics Expertise 

So what does the use of independent subject matter expertise look like in practice? And how are companies leveraging this workforce to develop more data-centric organizations? These are all very valid questions that we seek to answer. After all, Graphite is an on-demand talent acquisition platform that addresses these very needs. 

To that end, here are three examples of how companies are leveraging a platform like ours to meet immediate needs. 

Leveraging Data to Identify New Growth Opportunities

Helping clients make sound investment decisions is what this private equity firm is all about. But to accomplish this goal, it needs to shift through various data streams to make recommendations to its clients.

Due to the uptick in demand for its services and given the market landscape for finding top-tier data science and analytics talent, the firm decided to explore Graphite to address bandwidth constraints. 

Within 48 hours of posting the project on Graphite, over 20 candidates were identified that best matched its criteria. The Account Executive (AE) assigned to the account then narrowed it down to the top four and presented it to the firm.

The selected candidate was an independent analyst with extensive investment banking experience working with various media and technology clients. 

Former MBB Expert Drives CPQ Transformation 

Enabling effective customer experiences means equipping your team with the right data at the right time to provide customers with relevant and timely service. That's what this global company was looking to achieve by transforming its business by deploying quoting software. 

The initiative aimed to enable their salesforce to configure complex products, price those products, and then quickly generate a quote based on customer parameters. But executing a project of this magnitude requires specialized pricing knowledge to configure the quoting software based on employee inputs to generate those quotes. 

While the team already had a successful pilot currently in use, the company needed the help of an expert to set up the final product deliverable based on findings from the pilot. Because of the three-month time frame to complete this project, finding a subject matter expert on demand was of the essence. 

So the global company turned to Graphite, onboarding an ex-Mckinsey consultant to find an independent expert adept at collating questions from key stakeholders and building out business requirements on excel to then program a CPQ system.

Leading Supply Chain Transformation with Data Modeling Expert

Improving its supply chain operations and processes was top of mind for this manufacturing company. And it wanted to accomplish these updates within six months. Given how long it can take to find and onboard a full-time employee, much less a consulting firm to leverage its expertise, the company decided to explore on-demand talent acquisition with Graphite. 

Through the platform, the company was able to find and onboard an independent consultant with prior Big Four and supply chain experience at EY to lead the charge. The independent consultant leveraged their expertise in analyzing large data sets to map data in the SQL server to create data models, crunch numbers, and summarize the analysis to key stakeholders in an easy-to-digest format.  

With the data modeling exercise complete, the manufacturing company could make informed decisions on what areas of its supply chain needed to be improved and how. 

Closing the Data and Analytics Talent Gap with Independent Expertise

As organizations continue to invest in digital transformations and tools that empower their teams to work more efficiently, demand for data and analytics will only be expected to continue on an upward trajectory. An EY report confirms as much, with senior executives citing building digital talent that enables data centricity as a top challenge. 

One way companies can stay ahead and anticipate change is by investing in on-demand talent acquisition to build teams that can analyze large data sets, create models, and conduct analysis more timely and efficiently. But on-demand talent shouldn't be viewed as static. Organizations would do well in developing a cohesive talent strategy that leverages the expertise of these independent workers to upskill their current workforce. 

If you're interested in learning how to leverage the power of independent talent for your data science and analytics needs, connect with one of our Account Executives today to find out.