I just read this very interesting interview about how schools in India are at the forefront of teaching analytics as a subject. And it inspired me to talk about analytics here in the BPO Industry in the Philippines and how BPO Elite is leading the charge to train the next generation of analysts. Here is the transcript.
BPO Elite: We are here with our CEO, Dan Meyer. Dan, can you brief us on the current state of analytics in the BPO Industry here in the Philippines?
Dan: Absolutely. There are some business who have figured out the importance of analytics and are using cutting edge technologies and employee highly skilled people to help drive data-driven decision making. However, at the current time these are the exceptions. A lot of the smaller and medium sized BPOs have not been able to leverage analytics to really give them the business intelligence they need.
BPO Elite: What about colleges and universities? Are they teaching analytics so graduates are prepared to go out and get jobs as analysts?
Dan: Not yet. We see a lot of that type of curriculum in India and its starting to gain momentum in the U.S., but here in the Philippines, adding courses in analytics is still largely in the planning stage. There is a lot of work being done between the schools, the BPO industry and the government, but so far only a few schools have begun to pilot BPO-centric courses that include analytics.
BPO Elite: So that is where your training comes in?
Dan: Yes, we’ve demonstrated that our Introduction to Analytics training can serve as a bridge for fresh grads and young professionals who have natural analytics skills, but lack the experience to land analysts jobs.
BPO Elite: Is it really that simple? Analytics is a pretty broad subject and becoming a good analyst is not something just anyone can do.
Dan: Well, our approach is not so much to train on specific technologies or go deep into a few methodologies. Instead, we focus on what its like to be analyst and talk a lot about the kinds of challenges analysts can face. Half of our training is more on the soft skills side of things. You can be great at writing code and designing data models, but if you can’t answer they why behind the data then you will struggle as an analyst. In addition, we focus on good communication skills and demonstrate how good analysis will lead to data-driven decision making. Most approaches to analytics training I’ve come across focus only on the technical side of things. My experience is that technical skills is actually the easy part.
BPO Elite: That’s interesting, so it goes against the convention wisdom of most analytics solutions? Tell us more about that.
Dan: Sure. You hear a lot about Big Data, and data scientists and complicated solutions. That makes sense for big corporations, but we expect a lot of our trainees will end up in smaller BPOs and call centers. Where they can play key roles in workforce management, recruitment metrics, market strategy… places where you need to know more about how to solve problems and communicate results then you need to write a complex SQL query.
BPO Elite: Well, we are out of time for now. We hope that helps our audience have a greater appreciation for our mission and can see what differentiates us from other training solutions. Thanks Dan for joining us today.
Dan: It’s my pleasure. Now go out and analyze something! LOL!
Decision-Making, Analytics & Intelligence > Philippines 