Building an Enhanced Procurement Training
Many companies need more adequate procurement training programs that effectively demonstrate all skills needed for the job. More often than not, those entering the procurement workforce are thrown to the wolves and have to figure it out for themselves. While this approach may work for some, the most advantageous and effective route for companies would be to build a procurement training program.
While the task sounds monumental and you are trying to fast-track the enhancement of your procurement team, you may be wondering how quickly you can implement such a training program. Through using these tips, you will be able to build an enhanced training program that will take your procurement team to the next level.
Assessing Team Requirements
To obtain a firm grasp of what areas are lacking and need improvement, you need to speak to the current procurement team. Ask them questions about how they felt about their training, what areas they think should be improved, and any ideas they have about the training program. Your current employees will be the best resource in helping you create the new procurement training program, so it is important to listen to their input and ideas.
Implementing Soft Skills Into Your Program
Hard and technical skills are definitely important, but soft skills often seem overlooked. You could be the most technically proficient employee in the world but if you lack soft skills you will almost certainly meet failure. Reach out to your Human Resources (HR) team and have them partake in the creation of the soft skills portion of your program.
The focus will be on influencing, project management, conflict management, and communication. Human Resources (HR) can be an intermediary between all departments (procurement or not) to aid with streamlined communication processes and any gaps in soft skills.
Implementing Hard Skills Into Your Program
Hard skills would include pieces such as negotiating, creating sourcing strategies, understanding contracts, procurement systems, and utilizing spend analytics. The procurement team will be among the only individuals who can help create this portion as it entails skills that they observed throughout the scope of the position. Human Resources (HR) will likely not have any involvement in this piece as you would need to be working in procurement to fully grasp the in-depth concepts.
Utilizing a Procurement Training Partner
You may even want to consider getting a training partner with experience in procurement training and utilizing both canned and customized live classes with experts. Even if individuals are unable to join, these classes can be recorded and made available in the online class library. With that being said, the live classes will be the most beneficial as the procurement team will be able to directly engage with teammates and work on projects such as developing case studies.
When looking for a training partner, below are some key sourcing criteria to consider:
Canned Live Courses:
- Are classes up to date
- Are the classes broad and diverse
- Does the class provide the adequate tools
- Are classes able to be recorded and stored online
Customized Live Classes:
- Instructor expertise and flexibility to incorporate company-specific information
- Ensure classes are not standard material but tailored to the company’s environment
You must educate the training partner on your company’s procurement culture and environment. This will be critical to the success of your training program, as the training partner will clearly understand your priorities and pain points.
Choosing Your Metrics
In order to ensure that the training program is effective, you will need metrics to validate success - but what exactly would they be? The most important metric to consider would be the number of participants that are taking the class, alongside a follow-up with each participant validating the value of taking these courses.
Verify with them if they actually feel they are learning something or if it feels “too textbook” and not enough “real world” or company-specific. The whole goal is to tailor the training program to be company specific. Without this, the course will be no different than a course they could take in college or online. Therefore, put a strong emphasis on ensuring that these concepts relate to the company’s procurement environment.
Getting Started With Your Procurement Training Program
Starting up an effective and in-depth procurement training program is by no means an easy task. The program will need oversight from an individual who has years of experience in procurement and can identify gaps, provide insight, and ultimately help you in establishing the procurement training program you need.
Mike Glass runs GPC (Glass Procurement Consulting), a procurement consulting firm focused on optimizing a company's spend. Mike has worked in senior procurement management positions at NVIDIA, Google, Meta, Fitbit, and Flextronics. Mike would enjoy getting your insight on any procurement topic, feel free to contact Mike at mike@glassprocurementconsulting.com.
