How to assess business analysts’ technical skills

A skilled business analyst plays a critical role in your company, being responsible for proposing and implementing data-driven business strategies that promote efficiency and growth within your firm.

But how can you hire a business analyst with the skills required to perform such an important role effectively? And how do you ensure their skills match what they say on their resume?

A 2022 study by McKinsey [1] revealed that the biggest challenge for recruiters was validating skills, competencies, and references. With high volumes of applicants, traditional resume-based hiring methods are insufficient when it comes to assessing candidates’ skills.

TestGorilla removes this issue. Our pre-employment assessments allow you to evaluate business analysts’ technical skills before the interview stage. You can filter out the underqualified applicants early in the hiring process and only interview the candidates who have the skills to succeed in the role.

Read this guide to learn more about why business analysts’ technical skills are important and discover how to use skills tests to hire the best business analyst for your company.

What’s a business analyst technical skills assessment?

A business analyst technical skills assessment is a collection of tests that evaluate the hard and soft skills needed to be a successful business analyst. These tests should focus primarily on specialist knowledge and industry expertise but can also assess problem-solving and communication skills.

Since the assessment is specifically designed to screen candidates for a business analyst position, you can administer it before the interview stage to filter out the top talent from the underperformers. This will ensure you don’t waste your time during the hiring process and guarantee recruiting the best person for the job.

A business analyst’s technical skills assessment should cover:

• Data processing

• Analyzing and documenting

• Problem solving and critical thinking

• Interpreting consumer behavior

• Communication

• Programming languages

• Research skills

Depending on the tests you choose to use, you can effectively evaluate all or some of the above skills. A skilled business analyst should demonstrate a comprehensive understanding and aptitude in these areas.

By using pre-employment assessments from TestGorilla, you can test your candidates’ applied knowledge of these skills.

Why are technical skills for business analysts important?

Business analysts drive company growth through data-driven decisions, turning raw data into real-life results. A business analyst needs excellent technical skills because these play a vital role in how successful they are in their position. Without a high degree of technical knowledge, a business analyst will underperform in their role.

As a result, your company will experience stunted or ineffective growth, and you’ll likely continue to suffer the same recurring problems month after month. Your organization needs a business analyst with technical skills to resolve your ongoing issues and introduce positive change.

With this in mind, here are four reasons why business analyst technical skills are so important for your company:

1. Effective data interpretation

Data has always existed, but new technology has made it incredibly easy to obtain. Automated tools and monitoring software can give you quick analytics when needed, but what do you do once you’ve collected the data?

A qualified business analyst with strong technical skills provides a much-needed service in this area. They can use their data interpretation skills to intelligently and accurately read the data and extract the most useful insights. This provides your company with the right information upon which you can build effective strategies and streamline your workflow processes.

2. Better budgeting

One responsibility of a business analyst is to create financial models that support ongoing or upcoming business strategies. By testing your candidates on their financial due diligence skills, you can ensure whoever you hire can successfully suggest and implement data-driven financial strategies.

This will lead to better budgeting throughout your company. Your new skilled business analyst will be able to interpret financial data effectively and reassign funds to optimize your operations. They will also be able to identify areas where financial resources are being mismanaged or underutilized and adjust the budgets to resolve any issues accordingly.

3. Improves efficiency

Technical skills are important for business analysts because they can improve the efficiency of your company. Part of a business analyst’s role is to utilize and interpret data to identify areas of your organization that can be optimized. With the right technical skills, your new hire will be able to extract the correct insights from performance metrics to identify, analyze, and resolve inefficiencies.

As a result, you will experience a more streamlined work environment. Employees will be utilized more effectively, budgets will be redistributed appropriately, and the most important tasks will be prioritized. In some cases, a skilled business analyst can even rework your organization’s entire structure to enact positive and cost-effective change.

4. Promotes growth

Everything a skilled business analyst does eventually leads to growth. Utilizing data, reassigning budgets, and improving company efficiency all kickstart business growth and improve your firm's overall profitability. Hiring a business analyst with excellent technical skills will ensure their growth-focused approach to new business strategies succeeds.

Having the relevant technical skills provide the foundation for your new hires to drive growth within your company. Without a solid grasp of the industry knowledge and specialized skills required for their role, your next business analyst will likely be unable to implement any positive strategies. Conversely, a qualified business analyst can improve your company’s efficiency, productivity, and profitability, leading to faster and more effective growth.

Which technical skills and traits are important for business analysts?

Business analysts must combine hard and soft technical skills to succeed. Specialist knowledge of data analysis and programming is essential, as are interpersonal skills like problem-solving abilities and communication. Without this balance, your new hires cannot fulfill their job responsibilities effectively.

So, which business analyst technical skills do candidates need to show?

Here are some key skills and traits any successful business analyst should possess:

Data analysis

The day-to-day responsibilities of a business analyst revolve mostly around data. Interpreting, manipulating, inputting, managing, and translating data are all key duties of a business analyst. This means that your candidates should demonstrate comprehensive data analysis skills, from correctly reading data to understanding how to use it in business strategies.

The data analysis skill set also includes knowing how to use databases. Business analysts should be familiar with multiple database types, including relational, non-relational, and cloud databases. They should know how to extract and interpret data from various database types since different companies and clients use different software.

Computer programming

Business analysts aren’t typically required to write code in their roles, but a solid understanding of computer programming can help with certain tasks. Interpreting data and compiling databases are two examples of when a foundational knowledge of coding programs like Python, SQL, and R will benefit a business analyst.

Even with a basic knowledge of computer programming, business analysts can leverage tools to complete tasks quicker and more efficiently. While you might not need your business analyst to write code, candidates with strong coding knowledge can more effectively interpret and analyze data and propose business strategies more quickly. Computer programming skills can certainly set a candidate apart from their fellow applicants.

Problem solving

Problem solving and critical thinking are crucial skills for business analyst roles. One of the key responsibilities of a business analyst is to identify issues and find appropriate resolutions, so excellent analytical skills are essential.

TestGorilla’s problem solving test evaluates your applicants’ abilities to think laterally, apply logic, and analyze data to reach correct and appropriate solutions.

Communication

Business analysts are the bridge between the data and the company. As a result, they often have to translate technical jargon into language their colleagues, managers, and clients can understand. To be able to relay problems and strategies effectively, a skilled business analyst will need strong communication abilities.

Aside from this, business analysts often work as part of a team alongside data analysts and other strategists. Typical duties involve interacting with people of all seniorities within a business, which is why a business analyst should possess excellent communication skills. They need to be able to interact formally and informally, clearly and concisely.

Use our Communication skills test to evaluate your business analyst candidates’ communication proficiency.

Skills and traits tests

The recruitment industry is increasingly moving towards skills-based hiring as a replacement for traditional hiring methods.

Generally, skills-based hiring is regarded as the future of employment. Companies that evaluate their candidates’ skills in the hiring process gain a more accurate picture of how their new hires will perform in their roles.

As a recruiter, it’s your duty to hire the best person for the job. Hiring an unskilled worker can be detrimental to your business, not to mention costly if you have to dismiss them and re-hire for the same position.

TestGorilla’s pre-employment assessments will reassure you that you’re hiring high-quality candidates.You can evaluate your applicants’ business analyst technical skills before you offer them a job, ensuring you fill the position with the right candidate.

Here’s a selection of TestGorilla assessments that you can use to hire expert business analysts:

IT business analyst test

Using our IT business analyst test in your assessment is a good idea if you're hiring specifically for an IT business analyst.

This test evaluates candidates’ abilities to interpret data, analyze its content, and propose suitable solutions to any issues, targeting the key competencies a skilled IT business analyst should possess.

Candidates are presented with various scenarios and asked to analyze the data, suggest appropriate solutions, and identify the best answer. High-scoring candidates will demonstrate adept abilities in requirement analysis, and management and solution validation.

Data analysis using R test

Successful business analysts need a working knowledge of at least one computer programming language. R is one of the most popular coding languages and a highly sought-after skill that recruiters look for in a business analyst. 

Our Data analysis using R test assesses a candidate’s ability to use the R programming language to manipulate and analyze data. The test evaluates the following skills:

• Data analysis

• Knowledge of R

• Data manipulation and cleaning

• Sampling and testing

• Communication and presentation

• Statistical models

R is a significantly beneficial programming language to know, especially for business analysts, because it can handle huge volumes of data. Candidates who demonstrate a good knowledge of R can easily create graphs, spreadsheets, and other visuals to communicate data-driven strategies to their peers.

Exploratory data analysis test

Our Exploratory data analysis (EDA) test assesses prospective business analysts on their data interpretation skills. It’s a timed, intermediate-level test that allows candidates to showcase their EDA abilities by interpreting data, extracting insights, developing data visualizations, and performing statistical analyses.

This test is designed for someone with around 2-3 years of EDA experience, so it may not be suitable for entry-level business analyst positions. However, it’s ideal if you’re looking to hire a skilled analyst who can leverage data to improve efficiency and maximize revenues.

E-commerce online skills test

Are you in the e-commerce sector? Does your company have an online store? Then you should use our E-commerce online skills test to hire a business analyst who can propose effective strategies for your online store. To boost your online sales and grow your e-commerce business, hire an analyst with the right understanding of the e-commerce market.

This pre-employment test will help you hire a business analyst who can accurately interpret and utilize data to formulate successful e-commerce operations strategies. With a focus on marketing, this test evaluates candidates’ abilities around e-store auditing, data analysis, and traffic channel optimization.

Applicants who perform well on this test will demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of e-commerce markets and the best practices for growing online sales. Hiring these top performers will give your company a strategic edge over your competitors.

Working with data test

Business analysts read and utilize data to form coherent business strategies and proposals. As a result, your candidates will need to know how to handle data.

Our Working with data test is an ideal way to evaluate the data skills of your applicants because it assesses multiple significant aspects of data management, including:

• Interpreting data

• Understanding data handling concepts

• Basic data analysis

• Working with graphs and charts

• Inputting and manipulating data

This test will assess the fundamentals of working with data and ensure your candidate knows how to manage data effectively. Since working with data is such a large part of a business analyst’s role, this test is well worth including in your technical skills assessment.

Business analysts’ technical skills assessment FAQs

Are you looking for more information about business analysts’ technical skills? The following frequently asked questions might help:

What technical skills does a business analyst require?

A business analyst needs a combination of hard and soft skills to perform their duties well. Hard skills include technical skills like data analysis, computer programming, creating graphs, using spreadsheets, reading databases, market analysis, and business acumen. Transferable soft skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking, and communication, are also important for a business analyst.

What are the technical tasks of a business analyst?

The day-to-day duties of a business analyst involve a mixture of technical and non-technical tasks. The more technical responsibilities largely revolve around interpreting and utilizing data, including reading and manipulating code, preparing graphs and spreadsheets, and creating presentations and reports.

Is SQL necessary for a business analyst?

SQL is one of the most popular programming languages among software developers, but it’s also useful for business analysts. While not typically required to write code, business analysts should have a solid understanding of programming languages like SQL so they can interpret, handle, and input data faster and more efficiently.

What is the difference between a business analyst and a market research analyst?

While both roles involve data analysis and can have some overlap, their core objectives and areas of expertise differ. A business analyst focuses on improving business processes and systems, acting as a bridge between stakeholders and IT teams. In contrast, a market research analyst concentrates on understanding market conditions, consumer preferences, and competitive products to guide marketing strategies.

How TestGorilla can help you find business analysts with technical skills

A business analyst with technical skills can be hugely beneficial for your company. They can use data to formulate innovative and insightful business strategies, optimize your processes, and increase your firm’s overall profitability.

TestGorilla can help you hire the best, most skilled business analysts. Use our pre-employment assessments to evaluate candidates on their technical skills and decipher at an early stage whether their practical skills match their resume experience.

Here’s how TestGorilla can improve your hiring process for top business analyst talent:

• Reduce time-to-hire. Most of our tests take 15 minutes or less to complete, but can filter out underqualified candidates quickly. This instantly reduces your shortlist to only the best applicants, meaning you won’t waste your time interviewing unskilled candidates who wouldn’t perform well in your role.

• Remove bias. Unconscious bias is still a problem in recruitment, but our screening tests provide an objective platform that negates any bias in the hiring process. Candidates are ranked based on skill alone, and you’ll be presented with a list of the top performers, regardless of age, gender, race, or any other quality.

• Improve employee retention. If you use a TestGorilla pre-employment assessment to hire your next business analyst, you’ll be more assured of a good fit. Our Culture add test, for instance, can determine how close a candidate’s values align with those of your company. This improves new employee engagement and reduces attrition.

After you screen your candidates, you can then use our interview questions for business analysts to further gauge their expertise and experience.

Hire skilled business analysts with TestGorilla

The best way to ensure you hire a great candidate for your business analyst role is to use a TestGorilla pre-employment assessment. Backed by industry experts and scientific research, our tests are designed to optimize your recruitment and find you the most skilled talent.

Our user-friendly service puts your candidates to the test so you can validate their resume claims. Skills-based hiring brings a wealth of benefits, such as reduced time-to-hire, mitigated bias, and improved employee retention. You’ll get your hiring right the first time, saving you the huge amounts of time and money wasted from mis-hires.

Get started with your free TestGorilla plan today and find the best candidates for your next business analyst opening.

Source:

1. Taking a skills-based approach to building the future workforce. (2022, November 15). McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/taking-a-skills-based-approach-to-building-the-future-workforce