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Case Studies

From framework to recognition: empowering Business Analysts for reward and retention success​

Challenge

Civil Servants in Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) roles have an annual opportunity to apply for the Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA) - a reward recognising individuals who demonstrate performance above the expectations of their grade.​

​The Home Office Business Analysis Profession wanted to better equip their Business Analysts to succeed in these applications by helping them clearly understand and evidence their skills against the SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age) definitions.​

​To improve success rates in RRA applications, the Home Office aimed to help Business Analysts clearly understand the expected standards for their role and grade, supporting accurate self-assessment and evidence-based performance.

 

Solution

​As a trusted partner of the Home Office Business Analysis Profession, Methods was invited to provide value-add support to enhance understanding of key skills and increase RRA success rates.​

​We worked collaboratively with profession leads to:​

  • develop tailored training materials covering six core SFIA 8 skills critical to the Business Analyst role:​
    • Business Situation Analysis, Feasibility Assessment, Business Modelling, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Requirements Definition and Management, and Consultancy​
  • bring the skills to life by illustrating what excellence looks like at each Civil Service grade (HEO, SEO, G7, G6) using real-world Home Office DDaT delivery contexts​
  • create and share accessible resources, including short introductory videos and detailed guidance packs​
  • facilitate interactive workshops that allowed Business Analysts to explore and discuss these skills collaboratively​
  • provide ongoing support, answering follow-up questions and identifying emerging training needs.

 

Impact

The engagement delivered immediate and measurable results:​

  • Over 100 civil servant Business Analysts attended one or more of the skill focused workshops.​
  • Among attendees who applied for RRA, 90–100% successfully demonstrated competence, with 100% success across four of the six SFIA skills.​
  • Workshops revealed priority development areas - such as ‘Data Modelling’ - which Methods has since addressed through tailored training programmes.​

​By demystifying SFIA skills and aligning training with real-life roles, Methods enabled Civil Servants to approach RRA applications with clarity and confidence - driving both individual success and long-term capability development within the profession.

 

​“We asked Methods to augment our Civil Service Team to develop our in-house SFIA skills learning materials when we received short notice of the annual RRA campaign moving forwards by 3 months. We chose Methods because they have a proven track record of successfully delivering innovative yet sensible and realistic Business Analysis solutions. Our Civil Service team complimented Methods on their approach to developing our content by understanding and building upon our foundations to create a polished product in a short space of time.  The expert facilitation of these 6-hour long sessions allowed us to focus on our areas of expertise and have confidence that quality outcomes would be achieved. We are really pleased with this piece of work.”

Simon Daly
DDaT Head of Profession for Business Analysis at Home Office