Talent 2008 Week Wrap Up: Purchasing's Report on Procurement Professional Development
I hope you enjoyed this special mini-series on Talent and associated issues this week. With the talent crunch about to hit in a big way, we could all be losers in the talent war if we don't start taking steps to make sure we have the talent we need in place when we need it. As Charles points out, this will require us taking a good look at our organization and ourselves and making sure that we're ready to face the challenges ahead.
To wrap up the week, I thought I'd share some highlights from Purchasing.com's Special Report on Procurement Professional Development, since they took great care in timing their report to more-or-less coincide with Sourcing Innovation's Talent 2008.
In How to Build the Procurement Dream Team, Purchasing notes that building the procurement dream team doesn't happen overnight, it starts in the minor leagues by recruiting the best interns and ensuring that they have meaningful experiences to encourage the next crop of top interns to take a chance on your company. It requires you to benchmark and review your organizational capabilities, to understand what competencies you have in house, and what skills you need to bring in. Furthermore, attracting talent will require more than just a job description - it will require the organization to clearly outline its priorities and give candidates as much feedback as possible. Then, once you bring your new talent in, you will need to make sure they stay up to date on the latest best practices through regular training.
In Got a Procurement Job Interview? Here's What NOT To Do, Purchasing outlined some big don'ts that you should probably avoid in an interview.
- Prominently placing your cell-phone on the table
(as this can give the impression you're more important than the interviewer) - Rummaging through a folder
- of projects you are currently working on -
to answer a question
(as it looks like you are disorganized and don't take care in protecting confidential information) - Swearing in the interview
(it may be deemed to show a lack of control and will offend the religious) - Supply-Chain Buzzword Mania
(chances are your interviewer is not holding a supply-chain buzzword bingo card and will not appreciate it) - Telling the interviewer you're not looking for a job
- Telling an interviewer you know a test inside out
because you had to take it three times ...
and then telling the interviewer you failed all three times - Inappropriate attire
(especially if you show up to Coke wearing a Pepsi hat!)
This has been an interesting series. I would like to add one other element to the challenge that procurement is facing; the challenge that the type of people being recruited has shifted dramatically.
In 1998 (ten years ago), when I was recruiting top tier MBA's and was doing group presentations to around 100 people, I would ask "How many of you have worked in or been involved in sales?" Generally about 40 to 60 of the students would raise their hands. I would then ask "How many people have considered interviewing for a job in procurement?" At that time, you'd have one or maybe two people raise their hands. And realize that I was not asking who had worked in procurement, I was just asking who had considered it.
When I did the same event in 2003 (5 years ago), I received the same response on sales, but for procurement I asked how many people have worked in procurement and now 20 to 40 people raised their hands. Many of these people were former consultants who had done a sourcing study and were now continuing their education. But they are future business leaders who have been in weeds in procurement and are beginning to deeply understand the potentials and pitfalls in the field.
This dramatic shift illustrates what I see as an interesting challenges in dealing with talent in procurement. The mix of talent is changing, so even if you had the "perfect" talent acquisition, growth and retention strategy, you will likely need to reevaluate based on the new composition, background and expectations of the new top procurement staff.
I'd be interested if others are seeing this shift. And what they are doing about it.
"Swearing in the interview
(it may be deemed to show a lack of control and will offend the religious)"
one should NEVER swear in an interview...seriously!