Attracting the best talent to Procurement

How can we get the best of the business to defect to Procurement?

Procurement - a profession that many know little about until they fall into, and in love with, it.

Traditionally, this has appealed most to those of us who are more detail-oriented, analytical, organised and passionate about doing the right thing for our organisations by ensuring they are lean, mean and risk-free.

But with Procurement developing into a more strategic function, with greater focus on value and innovation, we need more diverse teams.

So how can we go about attracting the right talent?

And not just someone who ticks the right boxes:

• A degree

• CIPS qualified

• 5 years experience in the sector

• Category specialism is essential

• Strong track record of delivery

• Drivers license

• Wants to work in an office

How much does this narrow the field? Someone who has fallen into procurement and has these attributes and is looking for a new role and interviews well.

Procurement will never embrace diversity as long as this is the approach to hiring.

So - what should we be looking for? How can we attract talent out of university (or college, or school)? How can we get the best talent from other business functions to 'fall into' Procurement?