The Growing Demand for Commercially Driven Analysts

By Lauren McAlister, Senior Recruitment Consultant – Harnham

A big trend we’re seeing in the analytics market currently is the growing demand for candidates who can combine strong technical expertise with commercial thinking.

This isn’t a new trend, and it has been developing over the last few years, but we’re increasingly seeing it move from being a “nice to have” to a core requirement.

Previously, these skill sets were split across different roles: technical analysts focused on building models, creating dashboards, and producing analysis, while commercial teams or senior stakeholders interpreted the results and decided what actions to take. But that divide is changing.

A lot of clients we’re working with are looking for analysts who can not only produce the analysis but also explain what it means, identify the commercial opportunity, and then influence the next decision.

We’re seeing this expectation across a range of areas, such as:

• Attribution modelling: What measurable improvements did the model drive? How did it influence marketing investment or performance?
• Campaign analysis: What should the business do next? What recommendations can you make to maximise ROI?
• Customer segmentation: How can the insights improve targeting, customer retention, or lifetime value?
• Dashboarding and reporting: Beyond building the dashboard, what trends or opportunities have you identified, and how have those insights influenced strategy?

The technical skills are still essential, but they’re no longer enough on their own. Clients want to understand what happened as a result of your work.

In conversations I’ve had with clients, there is a clear increase in demand for candidates who can clearly demonstrate the commercial impact they’ve had throughout their CVs as opposed to just listing responsibilities and technical skills. Clients are looking for quantifiable evidence of the value someone has had, whether that’s increasing campaign performance, improving customer retention, driving efficiencies, or influencing business decisions, they want to understand both the work you’ve done and the outcome it achieved.

Essentially, this is what helps employers assess the impact you’re likely to have in the role they’re recruiting for. Without that evidence, it’s much harder for them to differentiate between candidates or understand the value you could bring to their business.

We’re also seeing a shift in what makes candidates stand out in a competitive market. Strong technical capability is still important, but the candidates who are securing interviews are the ones who can clearly demonstrate the following:

• Commercial thinking
• Stakeholder engagement and influence
• Quantifiable business impact
• Ownership of projects from analysis through to outcomes

There is a big difference between saying you built a model and saying you built a model that improved campaign performance by 18%, increased customer retention, reduced acquisition costs or saved the business £250,000. That is what’s making candidates stand out.

Analysts who can combine technical delivery with measurable commercial outcomes are the ones clients are actively looking for and based on what we’re seeing across the current market, the demand for this will continue to grow.

Hiring analysts who can turn data into decisions?

Harnham has spent more than 19 years placing analytics talent across the UK and US.

If you want analysts who don’t just build the dashboard but explain what it means for the business, our Advanced Analytics specialists can help you find candidates who pair technical delivery with measurable commercial impact. You can also browse live Data & AI roles.