What does it take to find the Right procurement and supply management talent?

Let’s face it, good procurement talent is at times hard to define, let alone find. Each company has a unique set of requirements and expectations for what is considered a qualified candidate for supply management roles. And, while some positions may require an emphasis on technical skills, others may more heavily rely on soft skills, like people management. In today’s supply management talent market, finding the right talent is more difficult than ever. As the role procurement serves in an organization has transformed over the years, so have the job functions of individuals in procurement departments. Well-qualified candidates are often hard to find and passive (meaning, not necessarily actively searching), creating a greater demand for companies to seek alternative ways to source their talent.

Resource and time constraints often mean that searching for talent on typical job forums are cutting it when it comes to reaching top talent, creating a new trend of companies partnering with staffing and consulting firms to meet their procurement staffing demands. In the first part of Source One’s Recruiting Insider Series, now available on iTunes, Source One’s Business Development Manager, Ken Gaul discusses the client demand for meaningful partnerships for attracting and retaining top talent.

Gaul shares insights into what Source One client’s are asking for when it comes to supply chain and procurement staffing support: “For us, it’s not just about business process outsourcing, or simply taking something off our client’s shoulders. Certainly, that is one of the effects of someone hiring us, but it is not the end vision. What our clients really want is a partner who can elevate their operations, elevate their processes and produce sustainable results, all without the demands of hiring full time resources themselves.”

The podcast’s inaugural guest, Naseem Malik, Managing Partner of MRA Global Sourcing, adds that attracting and retaining top talent begins by clearly understanding the organization’s needs, including knowing what “good” talent means to the company in terms of balancing aspects of both technical  and hard skills, as well as being a cultural fit.

For insights into the state of procurement recruiting, listen to Part I of the Supply Management Recruiting Podcast Series now on available on the Source One Podcast Network. Stay tuned to the Podcast Network for the follow up sessions to the series, providing insights in to what sets the most successful candidates apart from the competition and more.