Procurement: the workforce of the future

Right now the world is complicated and markets are difficult to navigate and at the same time individuals continue to reassess what they want to get out of their lives and how work fits with this, as well as placing greater emphasis on workplace dynamics that shape those decisions.  Gartner recently identified 7 key trends that employers must respond to in order to meet employee expectations;

Hybrid working, well-being support, shorter work weeks, empathy, purpose, autonomy, and flexibility are more important to employees than ever before.

For employers this means not only attracting but also retaining high quality individuals continues to be a top priority.  In this article we look at why there continues to be a gap and the top 3 considerations for every organisation to ensure they can not only attract but retain the right talent.  

The gap continues…….

Companies have faced a series of unprecedented challenges that has resulted in many organisations fighting for survival, so it’s no surprise that “limited career path” is still cited as one of the top 3 reasons for employees leaving their jobs as budgets in training and development are reduced.

Many companies have also focused on talent attraction and hiring to solve for business challenges rather than assessing future organisational capabilities and developing and retaining existing talent. 

The lack of investment in digital transformation / outsourcing has resulted in many procurement roles still engaging in significant tactical activities.

What can be done to reverse these trends?

  1. Build a strong talent retention program to leverage, grow and retain institutional knowledge, as well as improving employee morale and building growth culture with increased internal promotions. For any organisation, being a trusted and proven source of internal talent will be more attractive to incoming talent; similarly, candidate attraction will increase through evidence of structured approach and committed investment in personal growth
  2. Leading global procurement organisations have understood that the next generation in the workforce expect to engage in roles that are more strategic and innovative than ever before as the digital transformation eliminates the more traditional admin type activities.  This means regular reviews of the current organisational capabilities to ensure they are fit for the future and new and relevant training and development programs meet the demands of employees who want access to those experiences quickly
  3. Consider investing in a digital talent management platform.  Digital tools can be highly effective in helping to build capabilities and improve your talent management program (especially with teams becoming more decentralised and individuals more remote).  However, the tool needs to be robust, fit for purpose and dynamic such so that career paths are clear and accessible to all

How can Accelerate help?

Having witnessed many months of high demand for the best interim and permanent talent, we are playing a pivotal role in advising our clients on how to tackle hiring and retention challenges head-on.  Working with our partner Blinx we are also able to advise and implement a new and exciting full service digital talent management platform to help you manage your talent program.

If you feel that your organisation could benefit from Accelerate’s support please get in touch today for a chat.  We would be happy to advise on how we can help.

If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, get in touch with Accelerate today for a friendly chat.