Our inaugural CPO Rising 2K20 Virtual Series brought more than 2000 procurement, finance, and HR professionals together around the topics that matter to business leaders right now (i.e. how to ensure continuity, build resilience, and prepare for the recovery). These webinars (or sessions) are available On-Demand through the end of May (click to view or simply read below).

With more than 20 hours of great presentations from leading Chief Procurement Officers and other global experts, the series is a great resource for CPOs as well as procurement and other business leaders. To make it easier to find the session (or sessions :-)) that best apply to your role/team/employer, we’ve organized them into four different tracks with unique job roles in mind. Today, we highlight the HR, Workforce, and Talent Management track of our on-demand sessions.

The HR, Workforce, and Talent Management Track (Track 4)

While these topics were designed for HR and contingent workforce managers in mind, they are absolutely applicable for any procurement manager dealing with a remote workforce or interested in building out their organization’s skills and capabilities.

Three Pillars for Managing a Remote (and Productive) Workforce (starring Christy Schumann)

In a matter of weeks, the vast majority of the global workforce began the biggest remote work experiment in business history. For some leaders, managing a remote team was natural. For many others, however, it was a struggle for consistency, trust, and productivity. Toptal’s VP of Talent Operations, Christy Schumann, joined me to discuss how business leaders could effectively manage thriving and productive remote teams. Highlights included:

• Being a great remote leader = being a great remote worker. From the fundamentals (strong wifi connection and the right software and hardware) to more mental aspects (work/life balance), remote leaders become great by being truly great remote workers.
• Reimagining “proximity collaboration” is critical. One of the missing traits of remote work is “proximity collaboration,” the quick chats in the kitchen, hallway, elevator, or by the water cooler. Reimaging this taken-for-granted business attribute is crucial for productivity and camaraderie.
• Flexibility is fundamental. Not everyone will adjust to remote work right away; business leaders must be flexible in their thinking and within their team guidelines.

What the Pandemic Means for Your Workforce (starring Christopher J. Dwyer)

The pandemic has hit the workforce hardest, forcing tens of thousands of businesses to shut down operations, furlough or lay off employees, and rethink its staffing for the future. This session discussed how vital contingent labor will be during these challenging times, as well as the strategies businesses could leverage to plan for both the short- and long-term. Highlights included:

• “Agility has been lauded as way to stay ahead of the curve; we need to be dynamic in how we respond to global market pressures. Well, one of the worst possible challenges has come to bear, and, agility isn’t just a “nice to have strategy,” it’s needed for survival.”
• “What’s realistic for us? What can we deliver? What can we support given what’s happening? Businesses must, if they can, reimagine their current product and service offerings to align with what the greater market needs right now.”
• “Remote work has incredible value and has been a “choice” for businesses before all of this happened. Today, it’s a necessary approach to survive in a period of time when social distancing and sheltering-in-place are so rampant.”

Guarding Against Increased Cyber-Risk in the Age of COVID-19 (starring Dr. Marcus K. Rogers)

As stated in our Three Pillars for Managing a Remote (and Productive) Workforce session, the business world is in the midst of the biggest remote work experiment in history. While everyone is (rightfully) focused on aspects such as trust, consistency, and work/life balance, there is a critical measure often missed: cyber-risk. Cyber security expert Dr. Marcus K. Rogers, Ph.D., CISSP, CCCI, DFCP, joined us to chat about how these major risks will be exacerbated in the face of a work-from-home technological landscape. Highlights include:

• Cyber threats often use a crisis as a way to create more chaos.
• Fragmented foundations could be a veritable playground for cyber threat activity.
• The same practices and standards used for typical office infrastructures must be followed for home networks.
• Today’s current crisis is the “perfect storm” for cyberattacks and similar activity.

Reflections on Anytime, Anywhere Education – Driving Engagement and Performance (starring Fiona Wood and Phil Broughton)

Fiona Wood and Phil Broughton of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) joined us to discuss a crucial topic in the face of today’s challenging times: education. Procurement executives thrive on the ability to continuously learn more about the profession and how it is evolving (and, most importantly, how to apply new modes of thinking in how they address their roles in the procurement function). As conferences and live events face postponements and cancelations, eLearning and digital learning will be critical for professionals that seek to enhance their knowledge and improve their business impact. Fiona and Phil highlighted:

• “Good education, good awareness, and how to best go about these challenges [is our goal]: we want to enable people to get access to knowledge and resources no matter where they are.”
• “Education is at the center of the procurement function,” reinforcing the idea that eLearning and digital education can be incredible tools during current times for business leaders and professionals to enhance their knowledge and improve their overall impact.
• “Collaboration is a fundamental part of the learning journey; it allows people to develop their ideas, develop a sense of community, and further their own respective goals.”

RELATED RESEARCH:

Watch one of the sessions above – bet you can’t watch just one!!

The CPO Rising 2K20 Virtual Series Sessions – CPO and Procurement Leadership Track

The CPO Rising 2K20 Virtual Series Sessions – Supply Chain & Supply Risk Management Track

Tagged in: Chief Procurement Officer, Christopher Dwyer, Complex Categories, Contingent Workforce, CPO, CPO Rising 2K20, CPO Rising Summit, Innovation, People, Process, Solution Providers, Strategy, The Resiliency Imperative