Now hiring: Data professionals

Organizations everywhere are looking to do more with their data assets, as well as better leverage open data and third party data sources for additional consumer insight. The good news is that there is no shortage of information available. The bad news is that wrangling and making sense of all that information can be very challenging. That is why we see 61 percent of U.S. companies stating inaccurate data is undermining their ability to provide an excellent customer experience.

However, there is a new breed of data professionals trying to change all that. New talent is coming into organizations looking to unlock the power of data to transform business operations and better serve clients. Businesses everywhere are eager to bring on these data professionals; to the point, it is creating a frenzy around data staffing. If you are looking to hire new data professionals, you are certainly not alone.

According to a new Experian Data Quality report, Investing in digital transformation: This year’s most sought-after data roles, businesses are hiring a mix of business- and regulation-focused data positions. Below is a chart showing the top roles being hired according to U.S. respondents and also c-level executives specifically.

There are a few key roles I want to highlight. First, data analysts. They are the most sought-after data role by U.S. organizations, mainly because they are so versatile. They are individuals placed across departments to analyze data in such a way that it can be used for business intelligence. Fifty-seven percent of businesses spend a majority of their time analyzing data, and this role is key to ensuring they’re getting the right results.

The most important role for c-level executives is the chief data officer (CDO). The CDO has seen a lot of hype in the past few years and at this point, we are seeing more general adoption of the role. This individual is responsible for developing and implementing an information strategy, which includes disciplines like data security, governance, quality, and management. They also will oversee a team of data professionals who bridge the gap between the business and IT. We have more research on this role in particular coming out next month, but they will often shape cross-functional data organizations and how well businesses can achieve the data insight they desire.

In general, with all of these roles, talent shortages are a problem. Relative to demand, very few experienced individuals exist on the market. This means organizations need to come up with creative ways to attract and maintain this talent to keep up with the changing business landscape.

For more information on these and other data roles, download a copy of our new report: Investing in digital transformation: This year’s most sought-after data roles.

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