Organizing Analysts
I’ve found that one of the most popular topics in the management of analytics is how to organize analysts. So I’m going to do a 3 (count ‘em) part series on that topic. This post will be about general principles for organizing analytical activity. In the next post I’ll talk about alternative organizational models, and in the final one I will actually advance some data on the topic!
Here are the factors you need to take into account when thinking about an organizational structure for analysts. First, do no harm. If things are working really well with your current organization, don’t screw it up by reorganizing. There is no perfect structure.
Second, there is a general tendency toward more centralized structures for analytics among leading companies. Perhaps because centralization helps to address big, cross-functional analytical problems, you often find that companies are taking a more enterprise-wide view of analytical organization. Companies like Procter & Gamble, Expedia, Target, Bank of America, and many more are taking a more centralized approach. This doesn’t necessarily mean that all analysts are put into one big pot at global HQ. It may mean that dispersed analysts are just being given more opportunities to talk to each other and collaborate on some projects. At the very least, you can profit by having dispersed analysts start communicating with each other.
OK, but of course there is a counteracting tendency in organizations: centralized organizations tend to become bureaucratic and self-obsessed. If you’re going to centralize, you need to find some way to make analysts responsive to the needs of the business. One way is to have a matrixed reporting structure, although those can become complex. What P&G does is to assign each analyst from the centralized group to a particular business leader—head of a geography or brand, for example. Together they are supposed to determine what would comprise a “breakthrough business result,” and the analyst is responsible for achieving one per year. Some do it in a month, some never do it, but it seems to make them responsive to the business leaders.
Next time I’ll describe several typical organizational models. In the meantime, your current structure will probably last a few more days!
