Make sure you hire an excellent Business Analyst!

A few weeks ago I was asked how a Business Analyst contributes to the sustainable growth of an organization? Especially in fast growing mid-sized companies. How she/he will make a difference in bringing you (as a leader), your team and your organization to the next level. It’s not about process modelling techniques…

To start with: what should you expect a Business Analyst to focus on? The role of a Business Analyst is to navigate — and stay the course — in an ever more complex world introduced by digitalization. Indeed, more demanding customer experiences and larger ecosystems put a strain on process harmonization and data quality. How do you keep your eyes on the horizon when the swell is getting deeper?

The Business Analyst’s value proposition is to continuously strive towards more simplicity and more effectiveness in core business processes. More than ever before she/he is the internal counter-balance to the outside-world complexity. Namely to push an organization to get more things done right the 1st-time. And remember: simple does not mean easy.

The Business Analyst’s value proposition asks for hard work and, of course, requires a lot of listening (not only to colleagues involved in the process, but also to people outside the organization and those impacted by the process). It also requires a specific mindset: to be always curious, focused on value, managing stakeholder expectations, and caring about the right solution. All of this with a touch of humour.

Now that we know what is expected from a Business Analyst, how can we observe whether she/he has the right attitude to contribute to the sustainable growth of your organization? How can you assess this in a 90-minute job interview? This can’t be done with the typical ‘Where do you see yourself in 5 years?’ or ‘What would you say is your best/worst character trait?’.

A common short answer is: an attitude cannot be observed, as an attitude drives you when no-one is looking. This is in opposition to a character trait that translates into behaviours anyone can see.

So, how do you assess an attitude of excellence? The right Business Analyst’s mindset should merely focus on ‘How?’. Better questions to ask might include: ‘How do you improve on the decision making process in recurrent status meetings?’ and ‘How many alternative solutions do you need for good decision making?’. These two are important to assess whether the candidate embraces a culture of ownership and/or whether she/he doesn’t easily take shortcuts. Here’s another one: ‘How does customer satisfaction tie into process optimization?’. Always remember: a good decision on bad data is just a bad decision we don’t know about yet. The faculty she/he has to drive for and always defend correct decision making in business process design will make the difference.

Great leaders focus on the ‘Why?’ (purpose) and the ‘What?’ (result). A Business Analyst focuses on core business processes (the ‘How?’-factor) and is a key actor in connecting both the ‘Why?’ and the ‘What?’ and measuring the transition. She/he learns from the past, and ACTS FOR YOUR FUTURE. Do you still hesitate as to why you need a damn good Business Analyst? Don’t wait to feel growth pains. Rely on your Business Analyst to continuously adapt your processes and anticipate your business purpose.