Again, according to Deloitte’s CPO Survey for 2017, 60% of CPO’s do not believe their teams has the skills to deliver the procurement strategy.
Why does this belief persist? Is it true, partially true or a complete misconception?
This is where it is crucial to devise a tailored competency framework for your organisation to consider your future state, against your current state.
In analysing this you may well find that this belief is unfounded – it is merely a perception of capability – and in actual fact, the team is well equipped to deliver the strategy. Of course, one would need to then ask why that perception persists year after year (last year the rate was higher at 65%).
On the other hand, the tailored framework and subsequent skills gap analysis may confirm your belief and yes, you may find capability gaps between the intended strategy and the ability to deliver it. Then if this is the case, you can deal with those gaps. There are various solutions primarily based on either buying the skills in (increased headcount, change of personnel, interim managers, etc) or building the skills (tailored learning & development, e-Learning, accreditation, etc.). Either way, the first step is to know whether your perception of this is valid.
Deloitte’s says: “With improvements in technology enabling automation, the skills of the past will not deliver the needs of the future – organisations should look to attract and develop the next generation of procurement leaders who will act as innovators, challengers, and digitally minded-thinkers.”
Are skills of the past outdated and not relevant to deliver the needs of the future?
Do you find this to be the case? Is this a reality or a perpetual perception doing the rounds? Whether you are digitally the most ‘tech’d up’ organisation in the world with every gadget, gizmo, dashboard and widget – do you still require solid negotiation skills? Or an understanding of contract implementation? These are capabilities that must be consistently developed in your organisation as they continue to deliver the results the that the procurement strategy demands.
In our view, it has to be a balanced view.
Yes, we require forward-thinking approach, not to be outdone by the disruptors! Yet we also require a well-considered capability roadmap since many of the skills, knowledge and competencies that were required ‘way-back-when’ are still very much in vogue today!
In the same article it says:
“The majority of CPOs rate their current effectiveness of business partnering at less than 70%”.
If Business Partnering is less than 70% we must ask ourselves, what on earth are our fearless Chief Procurement Officers doing, if indeed they are not partnering with the business? Whilst technology support these capabilities, they don’t replace them. Our ‘Leadership in Action’ program addresses this requirement time and again – stakeholder partnering, influence, management, understanding – these are all consistent skills that are, in our view, a ‘must have’. For further information on the Leadership In Action (which receive rave reviews time and again) please click here to see, or contact us at The Academy of Procurement to receive the Program Outline.
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