Data Analysis Virtual Assistant

Data analysis is an integral assessment tool for your business. Data is the lifeblood of efficiency and improvement. This is because it is through crunching data that a business can make smart and informed decisions instead of relying on luck and guesswork.

Businesses can use data analytics to look at any and all aspects of their company. There is a vast amount of business intelligence that can be gleaned from the company’s operations, from customer service to marketing to employee satisfaction. With good data collection techniques and the availability of a skilled data analysis assistant to look at the data set, improving a company’s operations becomes much more effective.

These days, many people shy away from the idea of hiring data analysis assistants because the phrase “data analysis” is often equated to machine learning and big data, which are costly and require a great deal of expertise. However, it is very important to remember that these are not the only kinds of data analysis methods a business can use. There are many simpler, more obtainable methods of analyzing data that are useful, even invaluable, to small to medium businesses. This is why hiring someone to focus on the data analysis job is highly recommended for any business that wants to optimize their operations and grow.

A data analysis virtual assistant (VA) is someone who can gather, analyze, and present a company’s data in a comprehensible and useful manner. Your data analysis virtual assistant can use your company’s available information and decide on analysis methods that best suit each type of data. They are technically skilled and ideally have a strong problem-solving mindset. Their primary goal is to collect and use existing information to inform business or operations strategy.

Data analysis is a broad field but has a very strong core rooted in the study of information. The following are just some tasks that your data analysis virtual assistant can do for you:

• Data entry

The most integral part of data analysis is actually having data in the first place. As such, data analysis virtual assistants should be able to handle data entry tasks to create or supplement existing data sets.

• Data management and storage

Any business will have a vast amount of data on its management and operations. A data analysis VA should be able to find these data and make sure that they are kept and arranged in a comprehensible manner so that they can be used quickly and effectively. An organized data repository can cut time spent unnecessarily sifting through tons of information and serves both the analyst and the business very well.

• Text analytics

Customer text reviews and social media mentions are both very important things to watch for any business. What most business owners don’t know is that they can be analyzed quantitatively, even if they’re words and not numbers. Text analysis is the process of transforming these vast amounts of text into quantifiable insights that can be used to improve business. It is an analysis method that is not often remembered or known but can greatly boost the level of insight a company has about its business and reputation.

• Data processing

Data analysis VAs should be able to take a company’s raw data and convert it into information that managers and team members can understand and use to the company’s benefit. This can be done through various common software like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets and is a core task of all data analysts.

• Data reporting

Whatever insights a data analyst gleans must be translatable to action. This is why it is important that a data analyst is able to produce simple and understandable data visualization or other similar output.

With their important role in the grown and increased efficiency of a company, it is important to be able to properly vet your data analysis VA. Listed below are just some of the skills you should look for in your data analysis VA:

• Good grasp of both qualitative and quantitative data

Data analysis VAs must be familiar with both major types of data. This is because these two types often complement each other, and knowing both is necessary for a full picture.

• Good communication

Data analysis VAs must be able to translate data into insight and action for the rest of the team. Without the ability to communicate well, the data will remain unknown or obscure, and therefore will limit its usefulness in strategy and management.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet apps

Spreadsheets are the most basic data analysis tool. Any good data analysis VA will be familiar with at least one kind of spreadsheet program and will be able to use the powerful built-in tools to analyze the information available to them.

The first thing to look at when hiring a data analysis VA is your business need. Once this is determined, you can write the first draft of your job description and start searching for suitable candidates.

Engaging an agency such as 20four7VA can be a great help in this process. Instead of searching far and wide and sifting through dozens of applications, 20four7VA can handle these time-consuming steps and present you with a list of candidates that suit your business. This way, you can save time and skip straight to VA interviews. 20four7VA can also assist you in onboarding your new VA, and helps you monitor your VA, so you can have more time to concentrate on growing your business.