Is Business Analysis the Must-Have Skill of the Future?
On LinkedIn, more than 23 million professionals list business analysis as a skill or task in their roles within a range of industries and job titles from around the world. As digital transformation and big data continue to change the way organizations work, business analysis will continue to evolve.
In 2020, LinkedIn listed business analysis as number 6 of the top 10 most in-demand skills. One of the most effective ways to strengthen the benefits of analysis is by developing your team’s business analysis capabilities. Skilled analysis teams help organizations create greater business impact by driving better business results. These teams can also bolster your cybersecurity efforts and enable your team to effectively leverage big data.
Align Training With Business Needs
Creating a stronger business analysis team requires organizations to provide certification opportunities, foster team collaboration, and upskill team members. A business analysis team requires a mix of professionals who can quickly adapt to change, focus on various projects, and work with stakeholders. When hiring business analysis professionals, choose diverse candidates with varying educational backgrounds, skill sets, and work experiences.
To identify the skills you and your team need to develop, use a quantitative assessment methodology for resource management, training, and development. You can also set benchmarks and align competencies to roles and mandates utilizing a tool like IIBA’s business analysis competency model.
Upskilling can increase job satisfaction and boost performance. Professional certifications prove competency and help build peer networks. In IIBA’s 2020 Business Analysis Survey, 86 percent of certified business analysis professionals reported higher career satisfaction through greater confidence and fulfillment.
Upskilling benefits:
- Raise professional development standards
- Optimize customer-centric productivity
- Help employees stay on top of market trends
- Align training and development with business needs
- Fill skills gaps within your organization
Building your business capability has benefits for your team and your organization. North Highland, a global consulting firm with offices in the US and UK, found combining resource-based skills with analytics tools and data helped their business analysis practice drive sustainable results consistently, creatively, and accurately while providing innovative solutions for their clients. Since joining IIBA’s corporate program to support their business analysis practice, North Highland has experienced an 18 percent improvement in employee engagement and has seen a 45 percent increase in business analysis upskilling and certification preparation.
Upskilling Your Analysis Team
Once you’ve assessed your team’s capabilities and identified gaps, you can explore available certifications. IIBA’s Entry Certificate in Business Analysis is a good place to start. You can also explore specialized certification programs, such as a Certificate in Cybersecurity Analysis (IIBA-CCA) or Certification in Business Data Analytics (IIBA-CBDA).
Empowered teams create business impact. Get help raising professional development standards and optimizing customer-centric productivity via upskilling. Adapt to market needs and enable your team to successfully drive business results through an organizational commitment to workforce upskilling. Your organization can ensure its business analysis professionals receive ongoing, updated information and standards that impart critical analysis skills by joining a corporate business analysis program.
Attend my ATD Government Workforce breakout session, The Challenge of Building Business Analysis Soft Skills for the Future of Work, on Wednesday, May 26 at 12:25 p.m. to learn more.