Solving the right problem: Rachel Hyland’s story

“Success is understanding why someone wants the room [painted] red.”

Rachel Hyland says it half-jokingly, but it’s the core of how she works as Third Bridge’s Senior Product Data Analyst. Behind every dashboard request, metric debate, or “quick question” in Slack, she’s looking for the real need underneath, so she can solve the right problem, not just the loudest one.

That instinct has shaped a career at Third Bridge defined by curiosity, bold pivots, and a knack for building roles that didn’t exist before.

From leading a big team to building something new

Rachel joined Third Bridge in 2020 as Head of Forum Research in New York, managing a team of around 27 analysts. She enjoyed leading people, but the scale wasn’t sustainable for the kind of work she wanted to do.

“As much as I loved managing people, 27 was just too many,” she says. “So I asked to get back into more of an individual contributor data analyst role.”

During the pandemic, she taught herself SQL and Python and pitched where those skills could add value. That mindset, spotting a gap and offering a solution, would become a theme.

“Most of the jobs I’ve had, I started at the business with an existing role,” Rachel says, “and then I saw where there were opportunities. There was analytical work that needed to be done and I have this skill set to do it, so I asked: can I do it please?”

Measuring what success actually looks like

Today, Rachel sits in Product and Technology, working across product reporting lines to define and measure success for new initiatives. The role was born out of a shift in how Third Bridge delivers content.

“For the longest time we looked at it from a registrations perspective,” she explains. When content was PDFs, measurement was simple: Did someone download this, yes or no?”

But when Third Bridge moved to a portal interface, suddenly there was a richer story to tell. “We got access to a lot more information about how our clients consume content,” Rachel says. “Are they clicking in and then clicking away within 30 seconds? How far along the page do they scroll down?”

That changed the question from who clicked to who actually engaged. Rachel reaches for an analogy:

“If you think about it from a Netflix perspective, the top shows are based on people watching at least 75% of the movie or show rather than someone clicking in, watching five minutes, and then clicking away.”

The wizard effect, and how she earns buy-in

Rachel’s work is technical, but her impact is fundamentally human.

“People love to call me the wizard because I solve their problems,” she says. “I think a lot of people know that they need specific information, but they don’t know how to ask for it or how to get it.”

But Rachel doesn’t attribute her problem-solving skills to some kind of magic. For her, it’s all about curiosity. Early in her transition into solution-focused roles, Rachel admits she was eager to prove herself. She would take every request at face value and build quickly. That approach didn’t always work.

“I would be so eager to tackle it and then deliver something that wasn’t quite there,” she explains. “If you don’t get curious and ask why somebody wants something, you often have to redo your work.”

Now, she slows down at the beginning, asking clarifying questions to identify where she can provide the most value.

“I’m both curious and not afraid to look a little dumb at times when I’m asking for clarity. It’s never because I don’t want to give them assistance. It’s because I want to give them the correct assistance. It’s not just about solving a problem, but solving the correct problem.”

Designing the data, shaping the product

Rachel doesn’t just report on product performance after launch. She’s part of the build cycle, helping teams decide what to track before anything ships.

“A project manager might speak to me and say we’re going to be launching a new product soon,” she says. From there, Rachel expands the KPI list and works backwards into data requirements. “What data do I need, what is a nice-to-have, and what data must we make sure we’re collecting?”

That influence runs both ways with her work having a genuine impact on design decisions.

“If I request data from engineering and they say we don’t capture that, and then it becomes a case of me saying okay, we need to start capturing that.”

This collaboration and natural back and forth between teams creates a loop of continuous improvement that’s crucial for delivering the best products for our clients.

A culture built on respect and trust

Rachel’s career story is full of self-directed learning and internal reinvention, but she’s clear that the environment matters.

“The culture at Third Bridge is very positive and genuinely friendly,” she says. “I enjoy working here. We do a good job of putting people first and understanding that everyone has needs. I’ve been in work environments prior where I literally had to set a timer for my lunch half hour. Third Bridge respects that we are all adults.”

Life outside dashboards

Rachel’s curiosity doesn’t stop at work: “I’m just a collector of hobbies,” she says. “If something sounds interesting, I’m going to give it a try.”

She competed in Olympic weightlifting for seven years, then pivoted into running and completed the New York City Marathon. She’s also a proud AMC A-list member, living close enough to a theatre to pop by and see up to four movies a week if she feels like it.

Advice for anyone starting out

Rachel’s advice is simple, and it’s the thread that runs through every career pivot she’s made.

“Stay curious,” she says. “Comfort is a slow death in some ways. In seeking out new knowledge, you uncover a new part of yourself, and that’s where growth comes in.”

And she means it literally: “I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunities I had unless I was someone who thought: that sounds interesting, let me try this. If there’s something that needs to be done and you have the skill set to do it, you can really pitch yourself as the person to own that.”

For Rachel, that curiosity has become a career engine, powering a role that helps Third Bridge measure what matters, build smarter products, and turn messy questions into clear answers.

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