Data Analyst Project For Beginners (HR Analytics): 2 - Understanding Requirements

Summary

In this session, a data analyst discusses the importance of engaging with HR manager Pinali to understand the company's requirements using an Excel sheet. The focus is on strategic partnership, asking the right questions to align solutions with short and long-term plans. The analyst aims to uncover insights on employee working preferences, attendance patterns, and reasons for sick leaves to inform better capacity planning and health precautions. The conversation also touches on the potential migration to a new system and the importance of learning data analysis skills for self-sufficiency.

Takeaways

• 🧐 Listening is crucial for a data analyst, especially in the early stages of understanding client requirements.
• 🤝 Engaging with clients by asking the right questions can help in becoming a strategic partner rather than just a one-off solution provider.
• 📊 The client wants to analyze data from the current fiscal year to understand insights such as working preferences and attendance patterns.
• 🏠 The analysis includes understanding the reasons behind frequent work-from-home (WFH) and half WFH scenarios.
• 📈 The client is interested in insights that can help with capacity planning, such as days when most employees are present for better team building activities.
• 💼 As the owner of AtliQ, the client is looking for insights that can inform better infrastructure and cost management, like reducing rental space in a hybrid work model.
• 🤒 The client wants to understand the reasons behind sick leaves to plan better and take necessary precautions, especially in the context of health concerns like COVID-19.
• 🏥 Insights on sick leaves can help in planning preventive measures, such as flu shots before the fall season, to improve employee health and reduce absenteeism.
• 📅 The client is planning to migrate to a new system next month, and the data analysis should align with this transition for seamless integration.
• 🛠️ The client expresses a desire to learn data analysis skills to become more independent and capable of handling such tasks without external assistance.
• 📝 The transcript suggests that the data analyst will use Power BI to clean and shape the data to meet the client's specific insights requirements.

Q & A

What is the primary role of a data analyst in the initial stages of a project?

The primary role of a data analyst in the initial stages of a project is to listen more than they talk, engage the client by asking the right questions, and become a strategic partner rather than a one-off solution provider.

Why is it important to understand the client's short and long-term plans?

Understanding the client's short and long-term plans is important to align solutions accordingly and to provide strategic insights that can help the client achieve their goals over time.

What does the HR manager Pinali provide in the session?

Pinali, the HR manager, provides an Excel sheet with data that the data analyst needs to understand and work with to derive insights.

What is the significance of combining three months of data to gain insights?

Combining three months of data allows for a more comprehensive view of trends and patterns, which can lead to deeper insights into the data.

What specific insights does the client want to see from the data regarding work preferences?

The client wants to understand the working preference of people between working from home (WFH) and working from the office, including reasons behind frequent work from home on specific days like Monday or Friday.

How does the client denote work from home in the attendance key?

In the attendance key, work from home is denoted as 'WFH', and half work from home, which means working from home for half a day, is also considered.

What does the client want to understand about employee presence?

The client wants to understand the percentage of people present on a given week or month, which is essentially the attendance record.

Why is it important to analyze the reasons behind employees working from home?

Analyzing the reasons behind employees working from home is important to identify patterns, such as health issues or other factors, that may affect the company's operations and planning.

How can insights from employee work preferences influence team building activities?

Insights from employee work preferences can help in planning team building activities or lunches on days when the majority of people are present in the company, ensuring maximum participation.

What is the benefit of understanding employee work patterns in a hybrid work model?

Understanding employee work patterns in a hybrid model can help with better capacity planning, efficient utilization of office space, and cost savings on infrastructure.

How can the company respond to high percentages of employees taking sick leave?

The company can respond by identifying the reasons behind the sick leaves, which may indicate a health concern like COVID or seasonal flu, and then taking appropriate precautions or special measures.

What is the client's plan regarding the migration to a new system?

The client plans to migrate to a new system by next month, and the data analyst is advised to create the database in a pattern that matches the new system to facilitate a smooth transition.

Why is it beneficial for the HR manager to learn how to analyze data?

It is beneficial for the HR manager to learn data analysis to become more self-sufficient, not needing to rely on others for insights, and to use data as a powerful tool for decision-making.

What tool is the data analyst planning to use to import and analyze the data?

The data analyst is planning to use Power BI to import the data and clean it, shaping it to derive the insights that the client wants.