Communication is a data analyst’s most important soft skill

Communication is the most important skill an employee can have, regardless of their job title.

The call center or member service representative needs this skill when interacting with members, whether they are providing an available balance or explaining financial terminology in a friendly way to someone who might be new to managing their personal funds. The sales representative needs to communicate well in order to persuade a client (or potential client) to trust their company with a new service or product. The CEO needs to have communication skills in order to share their plan with their board and all members of their organization and make sure everyone is on the same page.

However, in an analyst—or any job that has to work with complex information—having strong communication skills is absolutely necessary and can mean the difference between an analyst who is seen for their work, and one who remains the invisible cog of an organization.

Merging two worlds

One of the primary functions of an analyst’s job is to look at copious amounts of complex information and distill it into legible slices of counsel that anyone at any level within and outside the organization can understand. Analysts are often the translators between programming and marketers, executives, and clients. We are seen as the bridge between two separate worlds.

 

continue reading »