Tali Naibryf, an Associate Consultant from the Chicago office, founded an employee resource group named Crunchers@LEK. Here, she explains her story and the need for data and analytics education and resources in the consulting space.
What is Crunchers@LEK, and why was it created?
New data and advanced analytic techniques are shaping the way we work, live and communicate. Many L.E.K.ers have felt this and have expressed interest in finding ways to become more involved in responding to the data revolution. In response to this, we recently created the Crunchers@LEK employee resource group Crunchers@LEK is an employee-run group that aims to create community, mentorship and educational opportunities around D&A learning and skills.
What are the primary goals of Crunchers@LEK?
In response to the growing emphasis on utilizing mass quantitative data, many L.E.K.ers have become curious about how to bolster their D&A skills at work. The D&A team wanted to respond to the interest and give staff a way to be involved in this revolution while creating a community of like-minded people. L.E.K. has always been a strong advocate for staff professional development, and we wanted to ensure that we were aligned with this theme and equipping junior staff with these incredibly marketable skills. That is when I hatched the idea for Crunchers@LEK. This group affords L.E.K.ers the knowledge and resources to be participants in the data revolution.
Crunchers@LEK is all about learning from each other through regular meetings and providing a network of co-workers you can reach out to in order to discuss data and analytics. Primarily, the group serves to support L.E.K.ers along their D&A journey, by upskilling employees who have an interest in becoming D&A experts and providing mentorship opportunities between more experienced folks and L.E.K.ers who are newer to data analytics. We also plan to host data-related events like speaker sessions, hackathons and panels. People who attend the Crunchers@LEK sessions can expect a supportive community, shared learnings, challenges, fun activities and opportunities to expose their ideas to a wider audience.
What’s been done to date, and what else do you have planned?
So far, Crunchers@LEK has been a huge success. Members range from first-year associates to partners. In addition to current staff, we are now working with alumni who have pursued careers in D&A. We are planning to integrate their experience into the programming to optimize teachings and ensure that our “Crunchers” are always at the forefront of this discipline.
How did you get connected with D&A, and why are you passionate about it?
My first exposure to D&A was a few years back on a pro bono case we worked on out of the Chicago office. Our goal was to launch a set of programs across Mexico in efforts to eliminate homelessness. One of the key analyses was identifying “city one” as a proof of concept for implementing the recommended strategy. I volunteered to run the analysis. After a few weeks in Alteryx and Tableau, I was hooked! We were able to conduct an analysis I had previously thought was either impossible or would have been intensely manual. Since then, I have continued to upskill and innovate on creative analyses to answer complex questions for clients. There is really no ceiling to what we can do, and I am excited to continue to push the limits with D&A on casework and alongside the Crunchers@LEK!
If you would like to learn more about the Crunchers@LEK group, please contact us at advancedanalytics@lek.com.