How Organizations Attract and Retain the Best Business Analysts

According to Forbes, By 2020 the number of Data Science and Analytics job listings is projected to grow by nearly 364,000 listings to approximately 2,720,000.¹ Clearly, companies are placing a high priority on hiring business analysis practitioners. These organizations often attract and retain the best professionals from the BA talent pool by becoming more aware of what business analysis professionals do, being choosy about which BAs they hire, and connecting with other companies that want to engage with the BA community.

 

To Draw Top BA Talent, Value Business Analysis Practitioners 

Organizations that are BA-literate tend to attract amazing talent from the business analysis candidate base. These companies value BAs and everything they offer. They know they need what a business analysis practitioner can deliver, and they compensate them accordingly. This type of organization believes there is always a place for a business analysis professional on an agile team, and they disperse BAs across their organization.

BAs want to work where they are respected and given the resources they need to be successful, therefore they flock to organizations that have a high regard for them and provide them with the right tools.

In addition to valuing BAs, organizations that secure the best BA talent aren’t afraid to be picky about the business analysis professionals they bring on board. They often have rigorous hiring processes that weed out job candidates who are a poor fit for the company (for example, candidates who are not sufficiently articulate). A contributor to Mondo, an Addison Group company, wrote,

“You don't have to know how to hire business analysts fluent in more than three languages…you do need to find someone who is articulate and can take complex processes and easily translate to the ordinary user.”²

By only hiring BAs who are articulate, highly skilled, and an all-around great fit for their company, organizations can set themselves up to continually draw fantastic talent from the BA candidate pool.  

 

Want to Attract the Best BAs? Join a Program that Contributes to the Practice of Business Analysis 

Organizations that draw and retain top BA talent are often associated with programs that increase their engagement with the BA community and promote the practice of business analysis. For example, the IIBA Corporate Program, which currently includes hundreds organizations, gives companies access to services, resources, and networking opportunities that make them more attractive to the best business analysis practitioners.

Some of the perks of joining the IIBA Corporate Program include leader resources, exclusive benchmark reports for corporate members, memberships for employees, discounted certification programs, recommended global training providers, access to valuable content, including the BABOK Guide, the BABOK Agile Extension, and the Global Business Analysis Core Standard, and more. Learn about the benefits of joining IIBA’s Corporate Program here.  

Companies attract, hire, and retain excellent business analysis practitioners in a variety of ways. To make your company a BA magnet, place a high value on the practice of business analysis, refine your hiring process to vet BAs more effectively, and join a global corporate network of organizations that want to increase their engagement with the business analysis community. In addition to making your company more attractive to BAs, these practices will also help your organization evolve, adapt, and optimize more quickly.

 

 

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References:

1. Forbes. IBM Predicts Demand For Data Scientists Will Soar 28% By 2020 https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2017/05/13/ibm-predicts-demand-for-data-scientists-will-soar-28-by-2020/#5161c6267e3b

2. Mondo. All things BA: how to hire business analysts. https://www.mondo.com/blog-how-to-hire-business-analysts/