IIBA’s Amazing Volunteers
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Every November 1st is Global Business Analyst Day. Each year IIBA celebrates this day by honoring the many volunteers around the world that support IIBA Global, our Chapters and Members. We also take that day to recognize IIBA Chapters that are bringing together business analysis professionals locally and virtually. Volunteers are the heart of what we do at IIBA. We’re excited and inspired to recognize their amazing achievements.
Monday evening, we held our 2021 Volunteer and Chapter Awards Celebration. Volunteers and Chapters are nominated by peers and leaders. These nominations are full of incredible stories of commitment, creativity, and teamwork in the ways they serve their Members. From this list, we told the stories of the finalists in all the categories and presented the awards. It was an evening filled with laughter, inspiration, and kind words from last year’s recipients. The evening represents the best of what we do at IIBA by bringing together the business analysis community to celebrate ourselves.
You can learn more about the finalists and the winners in all the categories by going here.
Value of volunteering
Why volunteer? Because giving your time and yourself to something that’s important to you enriches you as much, if not more, than the people you affect. You get something back by giving of your time and expertise.
CCBA and CBAP certified professionals can earn CDUs. Volunteering is one way you can earn CDUs needed to recertify.
You can build skills. Volunteer projects allow you to try new things, speak with new people or learn a new tool that you might not use in your work environment. Some of those skills are great resume builders, especially if you are new to the profession or just out of school.
You can practice your leadership. Business analysis professionals are leaders in the work we do. We may not always have a way to build those skills on the job so taking on volunteer leadership roles can be a safe way to practice them.
You can make friends and network. I’ve heard from so many Members talk about the friendships they’ve made through their volunteering. When we spend time with others volunteering, we build relationships that help us to learn and grow personally as well as professionally. IIBA’s reach is worldwide so you can meet business analysis professionals all over the world.
You become an ambassador for the profession. As an IIBA volunteer, you are the face of our profession. IIBA can expand its reach within the global business analysis community because of your efforts.
Are you interested in volunteering with IIBA?
I’ve talked to almost 300 Members since I joined IIBA in March of this year. What I frequently hear is that many Members want to give back to the business analysis community. We hear you! Volunteering can look like many different things, and we offer a few ways that you can serve the business analysis community. IIBA is working towards making our opportunities easier to find and easier to express interest in.
Chapter volunteer opportunities
Local Chapters are always in need of board Members, committee participants and event volunteers. You can find many of those opportunities located on the Chapter’s website.
To find your Chapter’s volunteer opportunities, login to IIBA and go to the Dashboard. Just below the KnowledgeHub section, you’ll find your Chapter and a link to its website. Go to the Chapter website and click the Get Involved menu to find the Volunteers page where their volunteer opportunities and contact information is located.
Global volunteer opportunities
IIBA Global currently has volunteer opportunities available for several translation projects (Standard French, Brazilian Portuguese and soon, Spanish). IIBA’s KnowledgeHub’s rich content, such as templates and tutorials, is contributed by our community Members. And IIBA is always looking for volunteers to contribute curated content such as blogs, articles, quick tips, as well as speak at Chapter and global events.
We have posted some of those opportunities on our Volunteer board. Don’t see an opportunity right for you but you want to express interest? Click the Express Interest in Volunteering opportunity and tell us what you’re interested in. We may be looking for someone just like you to help us soon!
About The Author:
Susan Moore is the Community Engagement Manager at the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). She is a Product Management professional with more than 20 years’ experience in the Finance and Insurance industries. Before coming to IIBA, Susan worked in Business Analysis and Project Management roles, incorporating business analysis leadership and agile practices into the business analysis teams where she worked. Susan also writes on these topics at TheVirtualBACoach.com. Susan holds several business analysis and Agile certifications including IIBA’s Agile Analysis Certification.