Last week, I discussed the challenges Accounts Payable (“AP”) and Procurement organizations face attracting talent in today’s hyper-competitive labor market. This week I want to cover the second half of the ‘New Approach to Procurement Talent Management’ session I moderated at Ardent Partners’ CPO Rising 2018 Summit in Boston last month. This portion of our lively, interactive session concentrated on ideas, suggestions, and recommendations on what can be done to retain the talent we already have in Procurement and AP. As a refresher, my expert panel included Ryan Murray, Deputy Chief Procurement Officer, New York City, Vincent Pernetti, Deputy Director of Contracts, New York City and Christopher J. Dwyer, VP of Research, Ardent Partners.
While my panel of experts hailed from a public organization, the City of New York, many in the audience came from the private sector. I bring this up because while both public and private organizations employ many of the same tactics in talent retention, there are some differences in what each has available to use. One common thread was blatantly obvious, regardless of whether an organization is public or private, all face the challenge of how to retain the talent they have on their staff.
How to Retain Talent
The one thing that private organizations have at their disposal that public organizations typically struggle with is the amount of money at their disposal for retaining employees. It is extremely difficult for the public sector to compete with private sector on a straight up compensation level. An overwhelming percentage of the private sector companies in our session said they use employee raises and bonuses as one of the primary means to retain their talent.
As we all know, money can be a powerful motivation tool, but it is not the only reason employees select and stay in their jobs. Job satisfaction, learning, personal, and professional development also play important factors in retention. And, too many, these are more important than making the most amount of money possible.
The City of New York discussed how they are employing job rotation as a means to retain their talent. Rather than keeping employees in one specific position for an extended period of time, they can offer a means for their employees to rotate through a number of different roles in the supply management function in order to broaden their experience, development, and hopefully, interest in staying with their organization.
Working hour flexibility was also discussed as a means for helping to retain staff. Rather than forcing employees to work a set schedule, say 8am – 5pm, providing them with the ability to come to work earlier or later (and leave earlier or later), can also be employed as a motivating tool to use with employees. Along with working hour flexibility, offering employees an option to work at home, on a part-time, full-time, or on an as needed basis, can also be attractive to many employees. While both of these may be easier for some organizations to employ than others, they have proven to be helpful in retaining employees and should be considered as an option when needed.
Conclusion
One thing was obvious to me at the end of our ‘Talent Management’ session, attracting and retaining supply chain management employees is a challenge faced by just about every organization. There is no simple answer or easy fix. Organizations need to get creative, think out-of-the-box, be flexible, and work hard in order to build and retain a strong team in AP and Procurement.
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