Category: Analytics Consulting

Calling All Analysts! It’s Time To Step Up And Do More With Your Skills. Join The DMAI Data Science Team.

The DMAI Data Science Team

The DMAI Data Science Team is being assembled to offer companies and schools with the training and consulting they need to implement analytics strategies in their organizations.

Headed by analytics guru Daniel Meyer, this team of analytics professionals with diversified skill-sets will guide organizations as they build analytics teams, design analytics programs and empower the use of analytics to drive more data-driven decisions.

For your data science project to be on the right track, you need to ensure that the team has skilled professionals capable of playing three essential roles – Big Data Analyst, Data Modeling Analyst and a seasoned Business Analyst. The presence of these three types of analytics professionals, working together for a common goal, will result in proper analysis of relevant information for predicting the behavior of consumers, in line with the business objective.

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With this end goal in mind, we are looking for three super analysts to join our team and fill each of the components. Here are the roles:

Big Data Analyst:

The role of big data analyst is at the base of the pyramid. Data analysts constitute the foundation of a data science project and they are trusted with the responsibility of capturing, storing and processing the relevant data. Data Collection, Data Warehousing, Data Transformation and Data Analysis – these are typical tasks of a data analyst.

They are the professionals who play with the tools and frameworks, like Hadoop or HBase, in a distributed environment to ensure that all the raw data points are captured and processed correctly. The processed data is then handed over to the next group of people, the machine learning experts, for taking it further.

Ideal Candidate for the Big Data Analyst role: A Big Data Analyst is predominantly a technical role. The ideal candidate does not need to be very academic but must possess technical competency on the back-end frameworks and tools used for capturing the data points. If you are pro with Hadoop, MapReduce or HBase, then the role of a data analyst would perfectly match your profile. Besides technical acumen, analytical skills are also required to become a successful data analyst. A data analyst should be flexible to learn new tools according to the changing business needs and always be willing to upgrade to specialized techniques related to data analysis.

Component 2 – Data Modeling Analyst

Analytics modeling experts play the role of a link between the data analyst and the business analysts. They are primarily responsible for building data models and developing algorithms to draw conclusive information. Their job is to ensure that the derived information is well researched, accurate, easy to understand and unbiased.

Ideal Candidate for the Data Modeling Analyst role: Candidates with statistical background, having a deep interest in quantitative topics, and are usually preferred for the role of machine learning experts. The ideal professional must have a solid understanding of data algorithms and data structures in specific, and software engineering concepts in general. Knowledge and experience with both predictive and prescriptive analytics is a plus. Capability of handling computational complexity can be considered as an added bonus.

Component 3 – Business Analyst:

Data exploration and data visualization are the two most important responsibilities associated with the role of a business analyst. Business analysts work with front-end tools related to the core business and interact with the higher management of an organization. They further analyze business-level data provided by the data modeling analyst to find out insights related to the organization’s core business interests.

Another important responsibility of a business analyst is to coordinate with the big data analyst and the data modeling analyst to make them understand the business objectives and identify possible focus areas. The ultimate responsibility of a business analyst is to produce actionable insights based on the processed data and help the company leadership in their decision making process.

Ideal Candidate for the Business Analyst role: Business analysts should have expert level knowledge on the underlying business data and source systems. The ideal candidate should have an eye for details and must possess exceptional analytical skills. Moreover, solid understanding of the organization’s business model and the ability to think out of the box are two important qualities that all business analysts should definitely have. It is also important to have sufficient technical skills to come up with precise dashboards for representing business data in a structured manner. Experience with Tableau a plus.

If you are interested in any of these roles with DMAI, please email me directly @ danmeyer@dmaiph.com

Compensation packages will be negotiated based on experience and availability. A part-time arrangement is possible for a pre-defined time period as we build out the capabilities in the team. Potential ownership in a spin-off of DMAI is also a possible form of compensation.

The primary job functions of the team will be related to consulting and training organizations on areas of expertise as well as working together on analytics projects for clients.

Our end goal is to come into an organization and empower those in the organization to address needs in their analytics usage and to grow more competent analytics teams. We will do this for both companies using analytics and schools teaching people to be analysts.

My Thoughts On FilAm’s going back to the Philippines

Just got this message from a connection on LinkedIn.

Thought a blog post might be the best way to reply.

“I am a Filipino-American who was born in the Philippines and moved to Chicago when I was 10 years old. I always wanted to come back home, but hesitate to do it since the Chicago and Manila have totally different economies. I saw that you studied at Indiana University and now work in the Philippines. How did you do it? Do you like it? I usually go home every year and I will be coming home again this Christmas season. Any feedback would be very appreciated.”

I think there is a lot of opportunity for FilAms to be successful in either working in and/or setting up businesses in the Philippines.

From my experience, some of the advantages you will find include:

  • You can add a lot of value to businesses with American clients by role modeling your business acumen, your English and your understanding of American culture.
  • With big call centers you can find work in management or working with the clients.
  • With smaller call centers you can find yourself in a pretty senior position.
  • If you want to get into being a BPO broker by matching U.S. clients with call centers there is always room for that.

After getting your feet wet, you can probably set up your own small business that focuses your talents and interests like I have done.

I train people to be better analysts, introduce analytics to college students and do some consulting on analytics projects as well.

As for how I got my start, I worked for Wells Fargo as a business analyst for about 10 years and during that time got involved with some outsourcing projects. Things all fell into place about 3 years ago an I moved to the Philippines to set up my own business.

So, I am a big advocate of doing the something similar yourself.

A couple of other things to think about thought is getting paid in pesos doesn’t go as far as getting paid in dollars. The bureaucracy and the corruption can be maddening at times. The poverty and the congestion are not easy to see every day. But all in all the Philippines is probably in the best places it’s been in a while as far as business climate.

With the right planning and execution you can have a much more rewarding life in the Philippines.

Hope that helps!

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If Only They Would Look At The Data

Humans by nature are not very data-driven.

Often we act before we think.

In general we go with the gut over the information we are presented with.

It’s just who we are as human beings.

And you see it everywhere.

We come across an inefficiency, a broken process or a half-baked idea and ask ourselves who thought this up?

Why didn’t they look at the data before they made a decision that impacted so many people?

So just for a minute I want to daydream a little.

If only X people would look at and listen too Y data before making a decision, then the world would be a better place.

If only politicians would look at data before spending so much money on that big project.

If only people would really listen to the stories about how dangerous it is to text while driving.

If ever we actually stopped and took the time to calculate the high cost of living facing our children.

Try it yourself. If everyone did a little more of this, think of how awesome it would be.

We have enough data to help us decide just about anything.

In fact we now have whats called Big Data… an almost infinite amount of information to guide us.

We just need to get more people to understand how.

The then humans would really be able to solve the problems we face.

It is a simple hope magnified by 7 billion people and the data they create every day.

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Last To Know? Good Leaders Like To Be The First To Know

I learned at an early stage in my career, that’s its best to tell your boss early when you have bad news.

Most people hate to be the last to know, and that feeling is magnified when it comes to someone who is responsible for making a lot of decisions.

Some think that its better to not share things with the boss that might distract them. Maybe they are too busy and you think it is just better to not interrupt them.  Maybe you are too busy and you just forget.

However, none of this is what any boss wants.

Being surprised is never a good thing when it comes to running a business. Trying to balance the budget, execute a strategic plan or deciding where to put time and energy is hindered when bad news pops up last minute.

You can find countless business experts and great leaders saying its good to get bad news early.

I bet you can’t even find one credible source that says its better to get bad news late.

And this just doesn’t go for bad news. It’s really any news that can impact the business in a significant way. And this is especially true when it come to news impacting the budget.

Having a good reporting process or regular staff meetings helps.

Always remember, without the latest and most up to date data, making good decisions is impossible.

So do yourself, your boss and your company a big favor and give them the bad news early.

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Analysts Are The Guardians Of The Truth

Every once in awhile I hear a story about someone misusing data and it makes me want to turn into the Hulk.

Manipulating data to advance a political gain happens all the time.

Fox News is a master at it. Most politicians bend and twist data like a pretzel just so it will make them look good and their opponents look bad.

I always think of Mark Twain’s famous quote, “there are lies, damn lies and statistics”.

In today’s age is expected form politicians now. When its election time we know most of what we hear is not the whole story and we just accept it.

This also happens a lot outside of politics. It happens in big business. When business people manipulate data to mislead people. Marketing and Sales people are constantly tempted and often even incentiveized to twist the truth too.

But what makes me the maddest. What drives me to Hulk levels of rage. Is when someone does it just because they dont want to face the truth. When they get data, run some analysis, see results, dont like the results they see and then they change the data.

To an analyst like me, thats just flat out unacceptable. Analysts have to be the guardians of truth, using data as their shield and their convictions as their sword.

We know marketers lie. We know politicians tell damn lies. But when people we know and work with manipulate statistics to further short sighted and selfish goals, we have to draw a line.

So keep hope alive and stand up and say, no. Dont use my data and my analysis to build a web of lies. If you do, you are going to have to deal with the Hulk!

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“If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It”… Not In My House!

Often I here people say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The saying is thought to have originated by an American politician, referencing a way to control government spending. Wait until something breaks before spending time and money on something. Don’t waste resources on things that don’t need maintenance or improvement.

I think about that, then I think about my own up bringing. I come from a family of men who are handy with tools. They are builders and tinkers and always using time to maintain and upgrade to prevent things from breaking.

The lesson of taking leaves out of the gutter to prevent a heavy rain from bringing the overstuffed gutter down.

The lesson of taking the time to check your time pressure and replace your break pads before having to go out driving during a storm.

I could make a list 100 pages long of lessons from my Dad and my Grandfather about why its better to fix things before they break.

When I think about this saying and the lessons I learned as a child, I notice I apply them to my business.

I am always tinkering and trying to proactively fix things before they break.

If you look at what separates good leaders from bad, successful businesses from failures…. they fix things before they break.

Waiting for something to break in the end usually costs more time and money in the end.

But, that’s not human nature.

Most people, go with the if it ain’t broke model.

And to that I say, not in my house. Not in the house I built based on the lessons learned from my heroes… my Dad and my Grandfather.

And by the way… the politician who is the one most responsible for this saying… he ended up ruined by a banking scandal and resigned after only a year into office.

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I Need Team Member Engagement Metrics, But Which Ones?

I love this topic because it brings to of my favorite things together; analytics and learning development theory. Knowing something about why people behave the way they do and knowing the metrics to measure this is a central core of me.

However, getting a handle on employee engagement is a challenge.

A recent Harvard Business Review article pointed out, “Much has been studied about the impact of employee engagement on company performance, and there is general agreement that increased engagement drives results: Gallup, for example, suggests a 20% or better boost to productivity and profitability for companies with high engagement. Such companies, however, may be few and far between: Gallup also reports that only 30% of American workers, and 13% of global workers, are engaged in their jobs.”

That means that even on the best team, engagement is hard to keep at a high level.

I have seen many employee engagement surveys and assessments…  Gallup has their 12 questions about employee engagement, I’ve used Strengthfinders and the Pace Color Pallet just to name a few.

They all help.

In fact, in most cases anything you do to measure employee engagement can’t hurt.

But coming up with standard you can use in your organization takes time.

To help, here are some additional engagement metrics I am asking my leadership team to track to help us determine where we can put more effort to improve employee engagement.

  1. Putting In More than Required. By looking at time spent logged in and overtime hours we can get a sense of how much the team member like to maximize their ability to be part of the business.
  2. Showing Up. By reviewing use of vacation leave and sick days and matching that with schedule adherence, you can get a sense of if they really want to be at work.
  3. Who are your High Achievers? If you have team members who score high in both quality and quantity then they have found a way to balance the workload. Doing one well but sacrificing the other shows lack of engagement.
  4. Getting Time with the Boss. Looking at % of time spent 1 on 1 with senior leaders can also be a key indicator of engagement. Even if a lot of time is spent on coaching, the interaction with more senior people will impact engagement.
  5. Taking Time for Training. Looking at the % of time spent on training can also help you spot engaged employees. Internal, external, or refresher training all help in engagement.
  6. Team Member Referrals. Its unlikely people will refer friends to work for your company if they are not engaged. Some incentive programs can blur this line, but it is still useful to look at this data.
  7. Are They Getting Recognition? Generally those recognized by customers, superiors and/or peers tend to be more engaged then those who don’t.

There is no perfect employee engagement model and no perfect way to measure the success of your model.

The best any of us can do is try. Try new things and measure them. Look at historical data. Compare employee scores.

If you need help coming up with you own model of employee engagement and how to measure your success, DMAI can help you.

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Analytics Leadership – DMAIPH specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture. We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.

Reinforcing Positive Behavior By Influencing Team Members

When you work with DMAIPH, you will be working with people who care because they constantly study, learn and evolve. No one wants to be stuck in a place where every day is the same and you never get a sense of what you are part of.

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Here’s one reason why Going DMAIPH is different!

https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=B._F._Skinner#Behaviorism

Been thinking a lot about how to motivate people. Sometimes I think we might have it all wrong.

We get so busy doing things that we forget to say thanks and we avoid saying you can do better.

Per Wikipedia, “Reinforcement, a key concept of behaviorism, is the primary process that shapes and controls behavior, and occurs in two ways, “positive” and “negative”.

Both types of reinforcement strengthen behavior, or increase the probability of a behavior reoccurring; the difference is in whether the reinforcing event is something applied (positive reinforcement) or something removed or avoided (negative reinforcement). Punishment is the application of an aversive stimulus/event (positive punishment or punishment by contingent stimulation) or the removal of a desirable stimulus (negative punishment or punishment by contingent withdrawal).

So I know that is nosebleed inducing for some of you, so let’s break it down.

Say we have a challenge in our business with attendance. So we can try to find ways to reinforce good behavior using positives like perfect attendance rewards or offering additional incentives to come to work like food and allowances. But we also have to find ways to limit the negative behavior through coaching, warnings and potentially termination.

If you dont have a clearly defined model of rewarding both positive and negative behavior then team members will get lost and generally gravitate towards negative behavior. Having a clear and consistent attendance policy that is upheld from top to the bottom in an organization will give you that balance of behavior.

DMAIPH specializes in helping businesses in both the U.S. and the Philippines optimize processes and procedures including how to positively influence team member behavior.

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Analytics Leadership – DMAIPH specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture. We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.

Add Staff in The Philippines With DMAIPH

Our team has a proven track record in meeting the outsourcing objectives of the small and medium sized businesses. We offer a full suite of enterprise solutions, industry leading technology, and talented team of managers and support staff to ensure our clients a smooth, secure and dependable outsourcing experience.

Whether your outsourcing goal is to retain customers, increase revenue, reduce service costs, or break into new markets, we have a solution suitable for your business. We have the capabilities to take on a wide range of outsourcing services, but specialize in the following:

  • Data Entry – Encoding large volumes both hard copy and electronic data sources
  • Competitor Intelligence – Market Research including pricing and competitive date
  • Customer Insights – Using surveys via email, online survey tool or Facebook
  • Demographic and Sales Data – Public Data Mining of government and public record web sites
  • Building Reports and Dashboards using Tableau Public

DMAIPH employs both virtual and office based staff, all of which have call center or BPO experience and are well educated professionals. We offer flexible pricing and competitive rates that no matter who we slice it, will save your business money and give you more bang for your buck.

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Analytics Outsourcing – DMAIPH has successful set up Filipino analytics teams for over a dozen U.S. based businesses. Offering both virtual and office based teams that specialize in problem solving using data, new technology and analytics techniques is our strength. Finding and empowering analytics talent is increasingly challenging, but we have it down to a science. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn more about how to set up an analytics-centric team in the Philippines.

Dan… Stick To The Plan

Having one of those days we all have once in awhile… where you invested so much time and energy into a plan, but you feel a need to change the plan.

For some it is comes with not playing well by rules. The more rules the less freedom and the less sense of  having control.

For others it may be the plan not longer fits where their life has evolved.

And then there are some who just like changing things. Mixing them up so they don’t stagnate and get bored.

Me, I’m all three.

I often hear the term serial entrepreneur… people who start things up and when the business reaches a certain point of maturity, they move on.

Never thought that one fit me too well. Im not really the cut bait and move on, I just like adding new things to what I am already doing.

I also think a lot about my super high expectations… since it is so hard to keep up with me, just about everyone tires and slows down eventually. Its impossible to expect the average person to stick to my plan, which makes it hard for me to stick to it.

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However, at this point I have built something special. The company still needs a lot of work. The business plan needs to evolve faster than it has. We need to patch some holes in the boat. But overall, DMAIPH is in a pretty good spot.

So this is one of those “Stick To The Plan, Dan” days.

Look at the data, fight off the wanderlust (at least for now) and carry on.

Change is coming soon, I crave that change and Hope is just around the corner… but not today.

Work on payroll, add something to the book, blog…

Business Strategy with Analytics – Aligning a business strategy to drive an organization forward requires a robust analytics solution. Businesses who have good analytics tend to be much more profitable and efficient then ones that do not. DMAIPH has helped dozens of companies in both the U.S. and the Philippines with adding more data analysis in their business strategy. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to find out what we can do to help you align your business strategy with analytics.