The Two Tracks
I was often asked to give talks to various universities about what I look for when building a team. Unless you are a consultant, you fall into one of two camps. The more technically focused with ‘hard skills’ or people-focused with ‘soft skills’. I refer to these as Track One and Track Two.
Just like with our tools, where possible, we should look to specialise, if only to keep up. There are many analytics consultants out there; I should know – I was one of them, but the goal of building a team should not be to develop more consultants or replace your existing consultant with one in-house. We should look to build excellence; to do that, we need to focus and specialise.
One of the key differences between the two tracks is soft and hard skills. Soft skills are personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people. Hard skills are objective, quantifiable skills gained through training, school, or work experiences. Hard skills are often something that can be taught or learnt. For that reason, hard skills can typically be easily proven — you either know how to write code or you don’t.
One of the mistakes companies make is rewarding soft skills over hard ones. Of course, we’re all people, and soft skills are essential for general harmony, but the level required only matches the role and the task. If you’re an excellent coder, why should you also need to manage clients or suppliers? By creating two tracks, we can value both types of skills and maintain some degree of order.
Many great web analytics specialists may believe that to advance in their careers, they must either manage other analytics specialists or transition into a managerial role that demands a high level of soft skills. Instead of this, they could choose to deepen their expertise in analytics, specialise in a specific area, or broaden their knowledge across various tools and technologies, such as building their proficiency in the MarTech stack.
Track 1 – Hard Skills
Data Development
Traditional Roles:
Data Scientists, Data Engineering, Web Development (data), Solution Architecture
KPIs:
Data Accuracy, Completed Hours
Track 2 – Soft Skills and Business-Informed Analysis
Analysts and Strategists
Traditional Roles:
Project Managers, Data Analysts, Business Analysts, Strategy and Consulting
KPIs:
NPS Score, Managed Hours, Team Growth
We can take those roles and break out a path to development depending on what the team member is interested in. For example, Track 1 could be something like this:
Possible Roles, Skills, and Knowledge for Track 1
Digital Solutions
Solution design
Self-Service dashboard and report building
Analytics library design
Data engineering
Data science
Broad MarTech tool knowledge
Technical lead
Role 1 – Digital Solutions Architect
Python – Core coding skills
SQL – Core coding skills
Big Query – Platform knowledge
Microsoft Power BI – Platform knowledge
Segment – Platform knowledge
Role 2 – Analytics Development Specialist
Analytics Registry – Design and creation
MarTech Tool – In-platform configuration
Developer instructions and support
JavaScript – Core coding skills
Measurement Events and dataLayer – Design and creation
Here the skills required mean the person and work are closer to the code and hands-on development. With enough deep knowledge of more than one tool and an expanded understanding of how tools could integrate, a role could naturally progress into a Senior Analytics Development Specialist or, with further training, a Solutions Architect.
Possible Roles, Skills, and Knowledge for Track 2
Strategist and Data Insight
Workshopping
Personalisation and data strategy
Measurement planning
Training facilitator
Reporting strategy and design
Actionable insights
Stakeholder management
Role 1 – Senior Strategist and Data Insight
Tealium – In-tool use and strategy
GTM – In-tool use and strategy
Data Studio – In-tool use and strategy
Mixpanel – In-tool use and strategy
Role 2 – Reporting and Data Insight Specialist
Basic measurement planning
Insights and reporting
Tool configuration (no code)
Basic training
Customer service
Once the tools are set up, a Reporting and Data Specialist would work more closely with key stakeholders to get the data; they are sometimes required to configure tools themselves and build dashboards and reports. The distinction between different the tracks in web analytics may depend on whether the task requires coding or not. Some professionals may choose to specialise in specific tools or a group of tools and have a deep understanding of the strategic importance of using these tools in achieving business goals.
Where Track 1 is closest to coding and creating the solution, Track 2 is closest to the stakeholder and understanding the many facets of the problem; some of these could be entirely human and political in nature. Neither is more important than the other, and both are sides of the same coin.
