Finding the right expert: Helping a leading retailer hire an effective Senior Data Analyst

In this case study, we show how QuantSpark Talent supported the in-house recruitment team of a leading UK retailer, combining our insight into the analytics sector with our expertise in sourcing talent to find the right senior data analyst.

Filling the data analytics skills gap for a leading UK retailer

In the rapidly evolving world of retail analytics, leveraging data analytics is crucial for understanding customers and gaining a competitive edge.

Key to this was the absence of a Senior Data Analyst help the client optimise its operations and increase sales.

Without this role filled, the major detriments to our client were:

• Lost revenue opportunities from inability to optimise pricing, promotions, and personalisation to drive sales. Lack of analytics meant missing key revenue opportunities in the market 

• Bloated marketing budgets from overspend on broad ineffective campaigns without diligent analysis on granular ROI. Lack of optimisation drove overspend in the wrong areas

• Stalled analytics projects including in-depth customer segmentation, predictive churn analysis and hyper-personalised recommendations. Major initiatives sat idle without analytics leadership.

• Unfocused analytics direction without strategic guidance on roadmap, objectives, and growth areas. The analytics team efforts were misaligned and disjointed. 

The challenge: Hiring for a specialised role in a turbulent market

The client struggled to identify a Senior Data Analyst tailored to the company’s needs while meeting the salary expectations and required skillset of the candidate. The client lacked a full understanding of the role’s responsibilities and qualifications needed. This was reflected in attempts to hire for this role previously but to no avail. Resulting in fewer crucial analytics projects and creating an inability to fully analyse marketing performance.

QuantSpark Talent stepped in by adopting a tailored approach.

A tailored approach to securing top talent

• Market research: showing current salary expectations for data analytics professionals in the UK. This enabled the client to update their salary band to be more competitive.

• Role optimisation: aligning the required technical skills, soft skills, job title and responsibilities to attract qualified candidates. This involved re-writing the job description and aligning responsibility with the senior leadership team.

• Targeted sourcing: over four weeks, leveraging QuantSpark’s networks to identify three talented professionals open to the role.

• Candidate customisation: providing the hired candidate extra technical training to expand their analytics skills. We also set them up with a data analytics mentor for rapid up-skilling into the role.

Impact: Kick-start client analytics capability

QuantSpark Talent's expertise in securing specialised analytical talent enabled this leading retailer to fill a critical skills gap. With its reach into the analytics and tech companies, coupled by its data science, QuantSpark Talent was able to source the right expert with additional, post-employment support.

With the right Senior Data Analyst hired, the client regained lost traction across pricing, marketing, personalisation, and strategic initiatives.

The retailer can now leverage data-driven insights to optimise operations, boost revenues, and maintain a competitive edge within the ever-evolving retail landscape. Our tailored talent solution gave our client the talent and capabilities needed to thrive.