Business Relationship Managers and a Sure Way to Catch Purple Squirrels

Business Relationship Managers and a Sure Way to Catch Purple Squirrels

Several years back, I was working with a recruiter to find candidates to fill a newly formed BRM team. The recruiter

said to me after several months of searching, “Where do you find these BRMs? They are like purple squirrels!” Recruiters have long used the term purple squirrel to define the ever elusive perfect candidate for a job they are trying to fill.  After searching far and wide, we finally assembled a team of capable BRMs harvesting the candidates from seasoned project managers, business analysts, architects, and business directors with information technology backgrounds.

 

Career Path of a BRM

At Business Relationship Management Institute, we are sometimes asked: “What distinguishes a BRM from a PM, a BA, an architect, or even a solution delivery manager?” I always answer this question with a question. Where do PMs go when they are ready to take their career to the next level? Where do BAs go when they have progressed through the various BA roles and want to move on with career? What is the next career step for architects that want to move into strategy and relationship management? All these professions with proper training can assume a BRM role, as the next step up on their career path. Another way of looking at it is: if you are seasoned professional having served the needs of the business as a Project Manager, Business Analyst, representing HR, Finance, IT, or worked within the business directly and are ready to move to the next level in your career, the BRM role is the next logical step in your professional development and a viable move forward on your long-term career path.

 

BRM and Natural Habitat of Purple Squirrels                                                                       

Since Business Relationship Management Institute opened for membership enrollment earlier this year, hundreds of BRM practitioners representing some of the world’s leading commercial, government, and nonprofit organization joined the institute. Now, anyone looking for top-notch BRM talent does not have to look any further—posting an ad on BRM Institute’s very own job board will make it available to all of the members of the Institute as well as thousands of its non-member subscribers and followers.  If you are looking for the absolute best BRM talent, you might also be pleased to know that BRM Institute has partnered with APMG-International, a globally recognized leader in professional accreditation, certification, and examination services, to deliver Business Relationship Management Professional® (BRMP®) certification in the first quarter of 2014 and, later in 2014, the more advanced Certified Business Relationship Manager® (CBRM®) certification. With dozens of BRMs having already completed the corresponding training courses, the forthcoming BRM certifications will quickly become the mark of true professionalism and a rigorous benchmark to use for hiring top BRM talent.

BRMP^® Required

I am very excited to announce that I just assisted with creation of a set of BRM job descriptions for an organization that is building a BRM team. There will be two levels of the BRM roles. A major milestone and personal goal of mine has come to fruition as these job descriptions, when posted, will favor candidates who pledge to earn at least one of the two BRM certifications within a year. I am looking forward to the day in the very near future, when other organizations will recognize the value of and require their current and prospective BRMs to earn and maintain the BRM certifications.

 

Aaron Barnes

Co-Founder & CEO

Business Relationship Management Institute