Hybrid
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Workforce
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When change is a constant, technology organizations face a dual challenge: keeping pace with emerging tools while developing talent capable of adapting just as quickly. To address this, leaders from Concord’s data and analytics team created the HAWC Program—an analytics rotational experience designed for early-career professionals and professionals-in-transition looking to become well-rounded consultants.
Led by Luke Youtsey, the program blends technical exposure, professional development, and real-world client work into a structured six-month experience that helps participants discover where their strengths and passions fit within the analytics ecosystem.
While many entry-level rotational programs move participants from team to team every few weeks, the HAWC program centers around large, cross-functional projects. Responsibilities evolve over time, allowing participants to apply the same datasets and business problems through multiple analytical lenses, from engineering and experimentation to business intelligence and strategy.
This model gives participants both technical depth and contextual understanding, helping them see how analytics drives business outcomes rather than functioning as isolated technical work.
By the end of the program, participants not only understand different analytics disciplines; they understand how those disciplines connect.
Beyond developing technical skills, a core differentiator of the HAWC Program is its emphasis on professional growth and consulting readiness.
Participants receive support from three layers of mentorship:
According to Youtsey, one of the most noticeable transformations happens in professionalism. Participants quickly learn how to run meetings, communicate with stakeholders, and present insights confidently, skills that are critical for client-facing analytics roles.
The program was originally designed to solve a common challenge in analytics: hiring. Strong candidates often struggle to break into the field without direct experience, while companies struggle to find adaptable talent for fast-evolving technologies.
Instead of prioritizing deep specialization in a single language or tool, the HAWC Program looks for high-achieving, curious candidates with strong conceptual thinking and problem-solving ability.
Participants come from universities across the country and from varied backgrounds, including career transitions and technical boot camps, with many relocating to Kansas City for the immersive portion of the program.
This approach allows the organization to identify “undiscovered talent.” These are individuals who may not have traditional analytics experience but demonstrate strong potential.
Beyond talent development, the HAWC Program plays a strategic role in keeping analytics capabilities aligned with emerging technologies.
Because participants are early in their careers, they can be trained on new tools and frameworks as they rise in importance. This creates a flexible talent pipeline capable of adapting to shifts in the analytics landscape without requiring constant external hiring.
In fast-moving technology environments, where demand for experience in new platforms can outpace supply, this model creates a sustainable advantage.
It also reinforces culture. By bringing cohorts through shared learning experiences, the program helps maintain collaboration and engagement across teams.
The results highlight the program’s impact:
Youtsey himself began his career in an early version of the program, shaping its evolution based on firsthand experience. Today, that perspective informs a structure designed to accelerate both technical capability and professional confidence.
As competition for analytics talent continues, especially among large technology organizations such as Apple and Google, programs like HAWC demonstrate that building talent internally can be just as powerful as recruiting it.
Analytics is no longer defined by a single toolset or discipline. Success increasingly depends on adaptability, communication, and cross-functional thinking.
The HAWC Program reflects this shift, offering an experiential pathway that helps early-career professionals discover where they thrive while delivering real business value along the way.
For organizations looking to future-proof their analytics teams, the lesson is clear: developing talent intentionally may be the most strategic investment of all.
If you’re an ambitious professional looking to build a career in analytics, learn more about the program and explore opportunities on our careers page: https://www.concordusa.com/careers.
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