Management Analyst

Working Schedule

81% report working over 40 hours per week, with hours depending on the organization and the type of work being done. 18% of Management Analysts are self-employed and work via contract. This requires reviewing potential clients’ advertised job needs, then writing proposals and bidding on the jobs. This amounts to spending unpaid time looking for jobs. Finally, workers in this field may be required to travel from their own office to a customer’s locations and can expect to hold frequent meetings, some of which may run overtime.

Typical Duties

• Becoming intimately familiar with employers’ systems, equipment, hierarchy, and processes
• Meeting and sometimes interviewing employees and performing on-site inspections of work areas
• Reviewing organizational guidelines and standards related to work procedures 
• Reviewing data, studies, and reports to look for significant findings
• Writing detailed recommendations for improvements and solutions to problems
• Drafting plans to implement suggestions
• Following-up with managers to ensure changes are being implemented
• Tracking the effectiveness of changes and talking with affected personnel

Additional Responsibilities

• Interviewing personnel and conducting on-site observation
• Drafting bid proposals (for self-employed contractors)
• Potentially traveling to different work center sites, sometimes outside the local area, to conduct observations and meet managers or other analysts

Soft Skills

• Independent; ready to take the initiative
• Adaptable to change
• Excellent reading comprehension
• Analytical and objective
• Cooperative and team-oriented
• Critical thinking
• Desire and aptitude to improve processes
• Sound judgment and decision-making  
• Phone etiquette
• Inductive reasoning
• Integrity
• Persistence; goal-orientation
• Professional demeanor
• Research and troubleshooting skills
• Able to advise and instruct others through verbal and written guidance
• Strong communication skills, including active listening 
• Observant; able to analyze employee behavior
• Understanding of human motivational factors
• Planning and organization skills

Technical Skills

• Familiarity with computers (PC or Apple)
• Knowledge of office equipment such as printers, scanners, and photocopiers
• Microsoft Office, Google apps, Macintosh software
• Ability to create properly formatted proposals and compelling presentations

• Banking institutions
• Governmental agencies
• Insurance companies
• Large companies
• Non-profits
• Science and tech organizations
• Self-employed contractor

Organizations rely heavily on the expertise of Management Analysts to ensure they are operating as efficiently as possible and, when applicable, maximizing profits. When changes are necessary, workers in this field must be on-hand to help implement and monitor those changes for effectiveness. This can result in overtime and frequent travel to various sites, to ensure new processes are being followed correctly and to obtain employee feedback and listen to problems. At times, changes are directed due to federal or state guidance, with tight timelines for implementation and penalties for failures to comply. This can create stress as organizations put pressure on management to get into compliance quickly. 

Around the nation, employers are seeking highly qualified Management Analysts. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field is expected to grow nearly three times faster than the average of all career areas. Competition in business is especially fierce, leading companies to seek out experts who can target and eliminate weak areas and inefficiencies. 

Healthcare is another sector in need of help, as citizens live longer and resources become stretched. Meanwhile, as insurance regulations continue to evolve, medical providers need assistance to ensure they are keeping up. 

Management Analysts working in specialty areas such as IT, human resources, public relations, and governmental agencies are expected to also be in high demand in the coming years. Those with advanced degrees can naturally expect greater opportunities and higher salaries. 

In their younger days, Management Analysts were likely fond of helping their parents around the house or volunteering to serve on school committees. They were probably the person others looked to when they didn’t know the answer to something or needed help with a problem. Many may have had an interest in a broad range of subjects, learning everything they could about one before moving on to the next.

In school, they likely excelled in English or Public Speaking and may have been eager to ensure their assignments were properly formatted and cited corrected, when necessary. They tend to be punctual, dependable, and often sticklers for rules, able to rationally argue the reasons why it is important to follow a certain rule.

Future Management Analysts were also probably great at trivia games, having an interest in details and a good memory. Lastly, they also have the ability to see how small details affect the “big picture.”