“Is Your Organization Committed to Procurement Talent Management? – part 2”

Too many organizations take an informal approach to talent management, often dwelling on the tactical skills—if they focus on anything at all.

As graphically illustrated in Part 1, there are four categories of knowledge and competencies worth your attention:

(a) the market- and functional-level (this includes a wide variety of strategic and tactical areas)
(b) cross-functional skills
(c) cross-cultural skills
(d) “soft-side” skills

The first step is to assess your organization’s current state in each category; and then construct a relevant development plan for the department, and each individual.

It’s important to note that the relative importance of these areas depends on the job level and responsibilities. For example entry-level positions tend to be more heavily focused on fundamental market- and functional-level skills. At the other end of the career ladder, success for leadership positions (e.g. CPO, VP, Director) tends to be driven by the so-called soft-side skills (such as leadership and transformational skills) as well as cross-cultural skills.

One common concern is that the budget support for talent management won’t always be there. That is more likely to occur when talent management is done as a standalone activity. In our experience, talent management is most effectively “sold” when incorporated into an overall Procurement Assessment & Transformation Roadmap (with an associated business case).

Interested to learn more?
http://www.greybeardadvisors.com/services/procurement_and_scm_transformation

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