Work with the best BA team is the dream of any Head of BA. You can do many interesting things when your team performs a lot with perfection, and you don’t care about obstacles having the best team.
My name is Zakhar, Head of BA in Favbet Tech. I manage a BA team of over 20 business analysts. And I would like to share my experience. For this purpose, I am going to perform a set of articles about it.
As a manager, I’m worried about the results. To reach good results – maximize the effectiveness of your team. Team effectiveness can be described as the sum of individual contributions and collaborative efforts.
Let’s start with individual contribution and effectiveness.
I can define individual effectiveness as a combination of personal skills and motivation. Maximizing both of them you get higher results.
A task to get a BA with better personal skills can be split into two:
choose the proper person via an interview
implement a personal development plan (PDP) consistently
Spoiler: The BA interview approach and PDP process will be performed in the next articles.
Motivation. On one hand, a BA seeks a position with responsibilities that match their experience. On the company side: provides these responsibilities. To be honest, sounds a bit unfair according to BA expectations.
Let’s take some examples of expectations from the BA side and the company and then compare them.
BA expectations about the ideal job, which I heard mostly at interviews:
Clear Vision and Strategy
Access to Information
Collaborative Culture
Growth and Development
Recognition and Appreciation
Work-Life Balance
Forward-Thinking Leadership
Opportunities for Impact
Social Responsibility and Ethical Practices
Company expectations about the ideal BA:
Strategic Thinking
Deep Understanding of Business Goals
Clear Communication Skills
Effective Requirements Gathering
Data-driven Decision Making
Proactive Problem-solving
Collaborative Approach
Adaptability and Flexibility
Ethical Code
And compare two lists:
The gaps between expectations and reality are demotivating. Having the picture, to get good results looks like magic or wonder.
So there are gaps that should be solved. Some points can be solved on a recruitment stage and double-checked for the probation period. Other points have to be solved by the company side.
In retrospect, I can say that we succeeded, which is a testament to the strength of our BA team. And as a bonus - I work with the best BA team.
PS: Your suggestions, questions, and comments are welcome.