Organizations struggle to recruit top procurement performers. But recruiting them is just the start—then organizations must develop and retain these employees. However, companies don’t always establish teams or formal development programs to do this. Such teams and programs can provide an integrated approach to workforce planning, staffing, training, performance management, rewards and retention.
Define Challenging and Interesting Job Role
Procurement employees expect to have demanding, rewarding jobs that help them develop professionally. Making roles challenging and interesting while giving employees the opportunity to gain broad experience across the wider business portfolio is a key factor in retaining long-term employees.
Setting realistic stretch goals is vital. Employees want to be not only challenged but also successful, so finding the right balance is critical. Moving people across categories, countries and functions, thus enabling them to bring in fresh new perspectives and ideas, is an area of increasing focus.
Provide Ongoing Training and Skill Development
Progressive procurement organizations create individual training tracks for their employees. They establish dedicated talent management teams responsible for developing employees through competency assessments, job descriptions, training plans, and training program development and implementation initiatives (e.g. strategic sourcing training). Many adopt a ‘climbing frame’ approach to career management, encouraging employees to develop a wide range of skills, knowledge and networks across the business and giving them opportunities to move laterally to gain experience rather than just aiming for linear promotions. Some even run annual achievement award programs to recognize great ideas and achievements, thus creating buzz and helping inspire staff. Such programs can lead to high levels of talent retention.
Create Ownership and Accountability
Organizations recognize the importance of involving their employees when setting procurement function visions and strategies. When employees have a say in developing the directions of these functions, they believe their companies value their contributions more highly. An effective way to build accountability is by clearly communicating the organization’s direction and the issues it faces while ensuring that employees feel comfortable expressing their concerns and providing feedback on areas they think can be improved.
A procurement talent management team is responsible for planning resources, tracking open and newly created positions and filling them with internal talent and external hires. It identifies opportunities for skill enhancement, develops the procurement team’s talents and reviews employees’ technical skill sets, focusing on the sourcing management process, supplier value and relationship management, outsourcing, advanced negotiations, risk management, contracting, project management, supplier financial analyses and cost modeling.
The team also evaluates procurement employees’ behavioural skills, such as cross-functional team leadership, change management, stakeholder analysis and influencing, strategic thinking and analysis, cross-cultural awareness and effectiveness and conflict management.
Organizations that have established formal programs to assess and develop procurement talent and allocated staff to administer focused talent management programs have reported improved decision-making and better value for the organization overall. Most importantly, their efforts help retain high-performing employees and reduce potential skill losses, which can be costly in terms of both time and money.
Procurement employees expect to have demanding, rewarding jobs that help them develop professionally. Making roles challenging and interesting while giving employees the opportunity to gain broad experience across the wider business portfolio is a key factor in retaining long-term employees.
Setting realistic stretch goals is vital. Employees want to be not only challenged but also successful, so finding the right balance is critical. Moving people across categories, countries and functions, thus enabling them to bring in fresh new perspectives and ideas, is an area of increasing focus.
Provide Ongoing Training and Skill Development
Progressive procurement organizations create individual training tracks for their employees. They establish dedicated talent management teams responsible for developing employees through competency assessments, job descriptions, training plans, and training program development and implementation initiatives (e.g. strategic sourcing training). Many adopt a ‘climbing frame’ approach to career management, encouraging employees to develop a wide range of skills, knowledge and networks across the business and giving them opportunities to move laterally to gain experience rather than just aiming for linear promotions. Some even run annual achievement award programs to recognize great ideas and achievements, thus creating buzz and helping inspire staff. Such programs can lead to high levels of talent retention.
Create Ownership and Accountability
Organizations recognize the importance of involving their employees when setting procurement function visions and strategies. When employees have a say in developing the directions of these functions, they believe their companies value their contributions more highly. An effective way to build accountability is by clearly communicating the organization’s direction and the issues it faces while ensuring that employees feel comfortable expressing their concerns and providing feedback on areas they think can be improved.
A procurement talent management team is responsible for planning resources, tracking open and newly created positions and filling them with internal talent and external hires. It identifies opportunities for skill enhancement, develops the procurement team’s talents and reviews employees’ technical skill sets, focusing on the sourcing management process, supplier value and relationship management, outsourcing, advanced negotiations, risk management, contracting, project management, supplier financial analyses and cost modeling.
The team also evaluates procurement employees’ behavioural skills, such as cross-functional team leadership, change management, stakeholder analysis and influencing, strategic thinking and analysis, cross-cultural awareness and effectiveness and conflict management.
Organizations that have established formal programs to assess and develop procurement talent and allocated staff to administer focused talent management programs have reported improved decision-making and better value for the organization overall. Most importantly, their efforts help retain high-performing employees and reduce potential skill losses, which can be costly in terms of both time and money.
