Procurement Talent Development

As Procurement transforms beyond cost from a reactive to a proactive function it is vital to further develop Procurement skills within the organization. Procurement needs to excel at many different and new areas such as data science, change management and partnerships. Establishing an internal bespoke Procurement Academy in line with long term goals will be a corner stone in creating a Procurement Done Right function.

Putting the Right Procurement Talent Development in Place

We all know the importance of having the right skillset to be able to perform. This becomes even more important when trying to break old ways of doing things and position new ways of working. However, we also know that investing in traditional classroom-based training can be like watching a movie. Weeks after the movie you only remember that it was a good and solely few of the details that you apriciated during the movie.

Establish a Procurement Academy

A great approach to creating a bespoke Procurement Academy starts by aligning goals with the vision of the Procurement function. The next step is to ensure clear Procurement role definitions and when that is done, conduct a skill-assessment. With this base a great Procurement Academy can be constructed with different modules targeting different subjects. However, it is also important to consider what the right approach of learning is for each module. Should we go for traditional classroom-approach or should we do real cases, coaching in projects or eLearning. Mixing different ways of learning is the best tonic.

Measure – Return of Education

Using a Procurement academy as a vehicle to drive Procurement change and position the greater value contribution Procurement can offer it is important to measure success. Adopting a concept of “Return of Education” that proves the value delivered from Procurement training with the associated cost is a great way to measure and follow the effects of investing in a Procurement academy.