Team Spotlight:

George Fraser
Head of Business Analysis

Hello George!

George Fraser heads up Business Analysis at Wattle.

His digital transformation and requirements analysis background, and knack for understanding membership-based business processes, makes him a key player in ensuring our Membership Experience Platform, MemEx, meets our clients’ needs from day one.

• Tell us about yourself and your role?
  
  

I'm George Fraser, Head of Business Analysis at Wattle. I primarily work as a business analyst, partnering with our membership clients during a projects discovery phase to understand their requirements and ensure our MemEx platform addresses their needs. My role involves gaining a deep comprehension of each client's business and membership processes so I can effectively relay requirements to our Developers and CRM Consultants. I aim to deliver solutions tailored to each organisation's goals, challenges, and membership base by bridging the gap between client and technical teams.

• What's your background and experience? 
  
  

I studied Law at University, worked in the Civil Service for a while, and then became a Scuba Instructor in the Caribbean and Thailand for six years. After getting into management running a Dive Centre, I moved back to the UK and transitioned into operational management and became fascinated by systems transformation. I eventually became a Business Analyst and discovered I had a knack for it. I've worked in various sectors like the NHS and for membership organisations and charities, working on digital transformation projects and requirements analysis.

• What do you love most about your role at Wattle?
  
  

The problem solving and understanding a clients unique business requirements are both top attractions in this role. The culture at Wattle is excellent, and my colleagues are very talented, which makes work enjoyable. I get variety in my work and opportunities to guide membership business processes, which I find rewarding.

• How has your personal life intersected with your professional life?
  
  

I tend to compartmentalise my work and personal life. Personal and professional overlapped at previous jobs, but at Wattle there is a better balance. I enjoy work social events but mostly keep work and personal life apart.

• What do you see as the top challenges in the membership sector? 

The top 3 challenges I see are:

• Digital Transformation - has changed how members interact and expect to engage with membership organisations.
• Market Saturation - has led to increased competition between membership organisations meaning greater thought needs to be giving to membership value propositions. 
• Member Value - nowadays Members increasingly question the benefits they get for their subscription fees and whether they need to belong to these organisations.

• In your role, how can you help meet these challenges? 

I can help address the digital transformation challenge - which is the fundamental one. Providing digital tools that engage members and enabling more targeted and personalised marketing and member experiences helps address these challenges. Working with membership clients to build more efficient 'to be' business processes helps make their operations leaner and more scalable. 

• What's on the horizon from a MemEx perspective that will help our membership clients up their game?

The latest new MemEx features that could really add value include:

• Allowing multiple independent memberships on one account. This is great for supporting organisational membership where each organisation has multiple individuals who benefit from its overall membership.
• Additional membership types. The ability to cater for multiple levels of membership, and sub-categories at each level, helps our clients build scalable membership structures and grades. Progressing, or upgrading, through those levels and grades can then be linked to certain training courses, CPD attainments, and qualifications helping our membership clients build learning pathways for members and structure service for cross and up sell opportunities.  

• And finally, when you're not working at Wattle, what do you get up to in your spare time, and do you have a favorite wattle moment?

Outside of work, I enjoy cooking, reading, and films. I have a Great Dane named Gracie that keeps me busy. I used to scuba dive a lot and hope to get out diving again soon. Favorite Wattle moments usually involve the legendary summer barbecues where I drink too much!