When you think of remote working, what comes to mind? A laptop tucked under an arm while you embrace the sun with a book in your hand? Do you imagine a bustling coffee shop where the sounds of clattering keyboards fill the air? Or maybe it’s your home office, with just enough distractions to keep you focused on your work.
Whatever makes up your ideal workspace, I’m sure it has nothing to do with sitting behind a desk all day and fielding phone calls from clients or customers. So why would anyone choose this kind of life? Well, lots of people do.
What Is A Business Analyst, And What Do They Do?
A Business Analyst (BA) is a role that involves gathering and analyzing information, then making recommendations based on their findings. BAs may work for organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to large corporations.
The BA may have a technical background and usually works in one of the functions: finance, marketing, or operations.
BAs are responsible for understanding how various aspects of business work together to achieve goals; this includes customers’ needs and expectations and internal processes within an organization. They will typically use data analysis tools like Excel or Tableau as part of their job role.
How Can Business Analysts Work Remote?
You can use different software like Slack to keep your team in the loop on your progress. Video conferencing is another way to stay connected, especially if you’re working remotely with people who aren’t familiar with each other yet.
Voice over IP (VOIP) tools are also helpful for working remotely as a business analyst because they allow you to speak with others via phone or computer.
For example, Skype is a popular VOIP tool that allows users to make phone calls anywhere in the world at no charge.
Email is another good option for remote workers, especially if people on your team prefer this method of communication over other methods such as voice calls or video conferences.
Cloud storage allows you access to files without an internet connection. It makes it easy for anyone, in any location, to work together on projects remotely by sharing important documents like spreadsheets and presentations without having access to each other’s machines directly through email attachments or USB drives.
Instead, these files can be accessed from cloud services like Dropbox, which provide secure online storage services accessible from anywhere using an app installed on phones/tablets/computers running iOS/Android operating systems (e.g. Apple iPhone 6s+, Samsung Galaxy S7).
What Are Some Signs You’re Ready To Be A Remote Business Analyst?
If you’re ready, here are some signs that you’re a great fit for remote work:
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You have a good internet connection.
You’ll connect via Google Hangouts or Skype if you’re not where the rest of your team is. Your internet speed and reliability should be top-notch. Your physical location limits it and how much data your company can afford.
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You have a good work ethic and attitude.
There’s nothing worse than having no one around to encourage or support you when things get tough; without proper encouragement from colleagues and managers, working remotely can be incredibly lonely.
Make sure that whoever hires you realizes this fact before they bring on any new people who will also need training time while learning their roles within the organization itself – it won’t take long before everyone else starts feeling isolated themselves due simply because they don’t know anyone else there yet either.
You Have A Solid Understanding Of What Being A Business Analyst Requires.
Before you begin working remotely, it’s important to have a solid understanding of what being a business analyst requires. This will set realistic expectations for your career and ensure that remote work is right for you.
Business analysts need to be able to understand the needs of a business and research potential solutions. They should also be able to communicate with different types of people to get their ideas across effectively.
Business analysts must be flexible enough to thrive in any environment, whether at home or on the road, communicating via video conference calls with colleagues worldwide.
Business analysts need to work well within teams because collaboration is key when solving problems as part of an organization, and this can be done from anywhere.
You Have Experience As A Business Analyst.
To work as a business analyst remotely, it’s helpful to have experience in the role. As Business Analyst is one of the most common remote jobs, it’s important to know what you are getting into.
If you don’t have any experience in this field, then we recommend learning more about what being a Business Analyst entails before applying for jobs remotely.
You Can Communicate Clearly And Effectively.
You must be able to communicate with both your team and your client. This includes explaining your work, any issues you encounter, and how you address them.
Often, this will be in the form of regular status updates or reports that can be distributed by email or shared on a public platform like Trello.
You must also explain your work effectively when presenting it to clients during meetings or in person.
This requires excellent communication skills; if you cannot convey technical concepts enough for others to understand them (even if they don’t share your background), it will be difficult for them to trust your abilities as an analyst.
You Can Write Clear Requirements And Documents.
As a business analyst, you must write clear requirements and documents. This will require you to understand the business problem, identify the requirements needed to solve it, and then document them.
To do this well, you must first understand what documents are required for a business analyst.
The most common document type is “Use Cases,” describing user interactions with an application or website through scenarios.
Use cases should include information about
- Who uses an application (e.g., customers),
- What they want it to do (e.g., buy products),
- How they use it (e.g., search),
- Why they need it (e.g., find information).
In addition, use cases should also include:
- Who uses this functionality?
- What does it offer?
- How does one interact with this functionality?
- Why does one need access to this functionality?
You Know How To Handle Conflicts With Diplomacy.
Diplomacy is a skill that’s useful in many professional situations. When you’re working remotely, it can mean the difference between keeping your job and getting fired.
A diplomatic person can avoid conflict and use a calm tone to communicate with others. Humor is also an effective way to defuse tense situations, so if you’re unsure whether to take something seriously, it’s worth trying out on your team members.
It’s important that you are diplomatic and that others perceive you as diplomatic. Otherwise, they may think they don’t need to respect your position at work because they know how much conflict bothers you.
You’ll want them to trust that when you say no or ask for something off hours or outside the scope of what was agreed upon in the contract (which happens sometimes), then it isn’t their fault if they don’t get anything done while they were supposed to be working on something else instead (because after all, everyone has lives outside work too!).
You’ve Successfully Worked Remotely In The Past.
If you have experience working remotely, that’s great! You’ve learned a lot about how to be successful on your own. When working in an office, people are always around to help if something goes wrong or you get stuck on something. Working remotely means that the only person who can help is you.
If this sounds like a problem for you and your work ethic isn’t up to snuff yet, try starting with a part-time remote job as an opportunity for self-discovery and growth.
Or consider taking some time off work to learn more about yourself and what it takes for someone like yourself to succeed at remote work before jumping into full-time roles where failure would mean much more than just getting fired (like losing out on years of experience).
Conclusion
Suppose our review of all the information above has convinced you that becoming a remote business analyst is something that would be good for you. In that case, we encourage you to pursue this opportunity.
As long as your skills and experience align with what employers are looking for in their BA hires, it should be easy to find work as one. But if not, don’t worry; you can still find plenty of opportunities to use those same skills while working from home or on other projects around town.
