The nature of procurement has changed over the past few years. The process has become more strategic, innovative, and infused with technology. Procurement teams are increasingly responsible for things like risk management. As the nature of procurement has become more important and complex, so too have the skills prized by Chief Procurement Officers.
There’s no denying the need for highly skilled workers as budgets grow almost as fast as the amount of work and complexity. However, meeting this rising tide of demand for talent isn’t as easy as going on a hiring spree. According to a recent report by APQC, “today’s market realities have pushed procurement out of the back office and onto centre stage, accelerating demand for skilled procurement talent. The trouble is, that talent is getting harder and harder to find.”
Procurement leaders need to rapidly acquire and develop new skills and competencies in their teams. “Procurement leaders must act quickly to develop the next generation of procurement talent,” note the report’s authors. “They should use all tools at their disposal, including certification programs and online training, but must also understand that a lot of this work must be done in-house.” Developing the right procurement skills in your team is also a mutually beneficial technique that is proven to aid retention of skilled staff.
As Donna Massari, a director of strategic sourcing at JLL, puts it, “The Millennial generation has a reputation for job hopping, and if they don’t have a clear path to grow their careers in your organisation, they’ll simply go elsewhere.”
In this article, we’ve put together our top 5 skills that CPOs should look for in new hires and develop in their existing teams.
1. Ethics and responsible business practices
Business ethics involve applying ethical principles to the business environment. Cultivating ethical practices within procurement processes is imperative, as unethical conduct such as bribery, illegal sourcing, and bid rigging can result in significant consequences for organisations, including scrutiny from customers, shareholders, the media, and regulatory bodies. However, embracing a commitment to ethical business conduct and hiring team members with a robust ethical compass transcends mere risk mitigation; it constitutes savvy business practice.
Forward-thinking procurement entities are integrating robust business ethics to facilitate their organisations when pursuing corporate sustainability and advancing social welfare objectives.
2. Communication skills
In procurement, adept oral and written communication skills are indispensable. These skills allow procurement professionals to understand business requirements, articulate expectations to suppliers, and foster constructive relationships with both suppliers and other areas of the business.
By adopting more collaborative “Request for Solution” and “Request for Partner” sourcing methods procurement can place itself at the forefront of organisational innovation and value creation for the business. However, successfully carying out these kinds of objectives requires high level communication skills from procurement professionals in order to ensure everyone is on the same page.
3. Stakeholder management
From a procurement perspective, stakeholder management requires the ability to identify both internal and external stakeholders, understand their respective needs and objectives, establishing effective lines of communication, and actively engaging with those stakeholders to exert a positive influence that creates desired outcomes.
Effective stakeholder management commences with a comprehensive stakeholder analysis, pinpointing individuals who hold the potential to influence or be affected by a sourcing solution. For procurement to effect positive, innovative change in the organisation as a whole, stakeholder management is critical.
4. Leadership
Procurement leaders are increasingly in demand, and the industry’s leaders of tomorrow will need more than just technology skills and business acumen—they will be developing generations of procurement professionals to come.
Ensuring adequate management training poses a significant challenge for many organisations, especially when procurement leaders haven’t had as much time in the C-Suite as CTOs, COOs, etc.
Leadership training creates a track for meaningful advancement within an organisation, which can also aid retention.
5. Critical thinking and independence
Procurement teams may be getting more important, but they often aren’t getting larger in terms of headcount. More automation, more complex tasks, and creeping workloads mean that procurement professionals increasingly need to be self-sufficient and capable of observation, analysis, interpretation, reflection, evaluation, inference, explanation, problem solving, and decision making.
