Reinhardt van Zyl

I've spent my career in the HR and payroll technology space, working with large-scale enterprise systems that handle recruitment, onboarding, organisational structures, payroll processing, and employee self-service. My day-to-day involves unraveling complex business rules, mapping approval workflows, optimising database logic, and making sure that systems actually work the way people need them to.

But I'm not a typical BA.

I come with a technical background PHP, MySQL, PostgreSQL, JavaScript, Linux, server administration, which means I don't just hand requirements over the fence to developers and hope for the best. I understand the technical constraints, I can read logs, I can write queries, and I can have real conversations with engineers about implementation trade-offs. At the same time, I can sit with a payroll manager and translate their frustration into a clear, actionable business requirement.

That combination is what makes me effective: I'm the person who ensures that what gets built is what was actually needed, without losing sight of what's technically practical or what the business can realistically support.

I'm curious by nature. I like understanding how things work, and I'm not satisfied with superficial answers. That means I dig deeper than most, into the data, into the code, into the business context, until I genuinely understand the problem.

I also build things. Outside of work, I design, develop, create content, and experiment with AI tools. That creative side keeps me sharp and gives me a perspective that a purely process-driven BA wouldn't have.

I'm also a father. That matters because it means I value efficiency, clarity, and outcomes that actually make a difference, I don't have time for pointless meetings or solutions that look good on paper but don't work in practice.