It’s Not All Analytics: Step 2. Build Your Non-Technical Skills

It’s Not All Analytics

It may sound strange, but the most important skills in People Analytics aren’t necessarily analytical skills. In fact, some of the most critical skills are not technical at all.

I have met people who think they can’t be successful in People Analytics because they aren’t “good at math.” That’s just not true! People Analytics is as much about critical thinking, translating, and being strategic as it is about anything else. Math, or any other analysis, is just one method for thinking through problems critically.

Technical skills alone simply aren’t enough for a career in People Analytics. Someone great at numbers won’t get far if they are only great numbers. It takes a lot of non-technical skill to ensure that the right things are analyzed for insights. And, that those insights are understood, applied to appropriate situations, and integrated into decision-making processes. Non-technical skills refer to a wide range of interpersonal, communication, and critical thinking abilities that are essential for success in any career but are particularly important to People Analytics.

I’m not saying technical skills aren’t important – they are. In fact, we will spend a very long chapter on them (see step 3). But People Analytics requires the smart application of analysis outputs to drive important business outcomes, more than simply analyzing data.