I wrote back in February on the ‘Talent Problem’ facing Procurement. For anyone who didn’t read it, the article was prompted by two concerning statistics.
- A Gartner survey has revealed that just 14% of procurement leaders have confidence in their team’s ability to meet the future needs of the function
- CIPS reports that 58% of those recruiting procurement professionals globally are struggling to find and retain talent.
It paints a somewhat bleak picture. Procurement leaders need support but are struggling to hire.
But why?
Historically it has typically been argued that a skills shortage was driving the ‘war on talent’ within procurement. That might have been true when my recruitment career started 8 years ago back in 2017, but now? I’m not sure I agree anymore. I believe the talent is there. I see the problem as rooted in attracting and then selecting the right person.
Sadly, there is no singular perfect procurement recruitment process. Every business is different, so a one size fits all approach can’t be the answer. There are however a few universal truths. Here are 5 tips that can help you to make a successful procurement hire. What’s more, they’re easy to implement!
Know what you’re really looking for.
Your role criteria will centre around experience level, industry background, hard skills and soft skills. Once you have mapped out what you need, interrogate that list. What is essential, but where can you show flexibility? If there are things you absolutely cannot move on, that’s fine. However, for the majority of searches that take months rather than weeks, initial ‘essential’ criteria will be relaxed at some point. The earlier you can do it, the more time (and stress!) you can save yourself
Be open to testing those beliefs throughout.
You might not have considered everything. Your stakeholders or recruitment agency might be able to share insights you haven’t considered, so be open to hearing them. If you can engage the key stakeholders your new hire will interface with before launching the role, even better!
Know your value proposition.
It is a competitive market for top level talent. Therefore, it’s critical to know what separates your role from the one your competitors are hiring and what you can offer that they cannot. Really get to know the specific value you can add to someone’s career. This is vitally important when trying to attract strong professionals who will typically have multiple choices available to them.
Clarity is king.
Uncertainty is the #1 reason people look for a new role. Uncertainty can be in relation to career development; progression within their current role or doubts about the future stability of the business. Your applicant may have a new manager, head of function, or new CEO with an agenda unknown to your applicant, or one that does not align to their values or timelines.
Consequently, clarity in a recruitment process can be a powerful force of attraction and an antidote to candidate anxiety. If you can provide clarity throughout – on the current state of the team, their future direction, progression opportunities, as well as how the interview process will look – you’ll immediately make yourself standout against other hiring companies. A slick process beats a fragmented one, every single time.
Keep it moving!
For the vast majority of procurement positions, three interviews are more than enough. If your three interviewers coordinate with each other, share feedback and use it to tailor questions in subsequent interviews, they can build a clear picture of an applicants suitability. There is no value in five, six, seven interviews with stakeholders that clearly aren’t talking to one another. In fact, it can make your business look both indecisive and ineffective at decision making.
5 points, all easy to implement and no bother to maintain. If you would like help or clarity on any of these tips, do reach out to me directly at alex@pod-talent.com