Definition 1
IT BRM (Business Relationship Management) is a role that bridges the gap between the IT department and the business units. IT BRMs are responsible for understanding the business needs and aligning them with the IT capabilities and services. They also act as advocates for the business units and communicate their feedback and expectations to the IT department.
Definition 2
BRMs act as the liaisons between the IT department and business units. They are responsible for understanding the strategic goals, challenges, and requirements of the business and translating them into IT strategies and initiatives. BRMs also provide guidance to the IT team about which projects to prioritize based on their potential impact on the business.
If you see these 2 definitions you can understand the job or profile of an IT BRM definition is slightly different.
There are words used as Liaison, Bridges and strategic in these definitions. This clearly denotes the Job profile keep on changing as per assignment of tasks and project priorities in the organization in which BRM is positioned. But if you want to have clear understanding of what BRM do then you need to have a clear mindset that it’s a Role not a Job functions.
IT BRM has to build capabilities to ensure that role is achieved to whatever job function assigned to him. Will explain in more details.
One of the key aspects of IT BRM is to manage the time spent on different activities and tasks. The percentage of time spent by an IT BRM can vary depending on the size, complexity and maturity of the organization, but a general guideline is as follows:
Example 1:
– Strategic planning: 25% –
– Demand management: 25% –
– Service management: 10% –
– Relationship management: 30% –
– Continuous improvement: 10% –
If you see BRM more time is spend on strategic and relationship management. This is the area where he / she has to focus more.
BRM wears many hats, if he/she is placed in a startup or small organization then the role is more of connector and deliver more on demand management and service management side.
If BRM working in large enterprise where processes are matured and organization has achieved a maturity level then this role is more strategic and relationship focus.
If he/she is on project management side and company delivery technical solution then the role more will be of Tactical side.
If his/her role is wider considering the type of organization and focusing less on strategic initiatives (Refer example 1) it does not mean he is not delivering the BRM role, if he/she is building strong relationship with business partners and suppliers which is based on engagement, trust and partnering then the goal is achieved.
This is very difficult task to measure BRM maturity in such kind of organization. There could be multiple BRM Job exists at different profile , suppose if you are a IT BRM job at Region (EMEA/APAC e.g.) or global level then your role will be more strategic as you will have team to support other areas and you will give more time on strategic , relationship and continuous improvement.
If your peer who is operating at country level will have to devote time more in other areas too. So it’s unfair to have a single BRM maturity model in whole organization in similar manner. But Leadership team to focus on training and development of team who is under or recently moved to BRM role if they want to get the actual role delivered from them along with other work responsibilities.
There are set of BRM capabilities which needs to be clearly understood if the organization is evaluating the Maturity of role.
The BRM Capability Framework (Ref- https://brm.institute/) is a model that describes the four key capabilities that business relationship managers (BRMs) need to have in order to be successful. These capabilities are:
- Evolve Culture: BRMs need to be able to create and maintain a culture that is supportive of relationship-building. This means creating an environment where people feel safe to be themselves, take risks, and collaborate with others.
- Build Partnerships: BRMs need to be able to build and maintain strong relationships with their stakeholders. This includes customers, partners, employees, and other individuals and organizations that are important to the success of the business.
- Drive Value: BRMs need to be able to understand the needs of their stakeholders and how the business can create value for them. This means being able to identify and articulate the benefits of the business’s products and services, as well as the value that the business can deliver through its relationships.
- Satisfy Purpose: BRMs need to be able to align their work with the purpose of the business. This means understanding the business’s mission, vision, and values, and how their work can help to achieve them.
Refer- BRMP institute, https://brm.institute/
As BRM one should keep focus on those capabilities as defined by BRM Institute for the success of their role. Benefits of using the BRM Capability Framework:
- It can help BRMs to identify their strengths and weaknesses.
- It can help organizations to create a culture that is supportive of BRMs.
- It can help organizations to improve their relationships with their stakeholders.
- This can lead to increased customer loyalty, improved employee satisfaction, and greater innovation.
