ESG
be giving advice to these leaders all the time ! Many companies feel that they ’ re missing out on attracting the right talent or struggle to hire even for roles that feel like they shouldn ’ t be hard to fill .
“ When I advise companies about how to attract talent , the fundamental is compensation , and that hasn ’ t changed : do a real analysis of competitors , and salary bands , to make sure that you ’ re positioning the role at the right level .
“ Beyond that , there ’ s some low hanging fruit that companies don ’ t even realise is causing them to lose out . Often this comes down to process : Do you have a junior HR person reviewing resumes or someone who deeply understands Procurement ? How long does it take you to follow up with candidates ? Do you insist on 4-5 interview stages , with an endless internal approval process , before moving to the next stage ? Companies win out by hiring nimbly and fast . This is not a market where top candidates are sitting around waiting for you to call them back . Sometimes candidates will be fielding 3-4 offers . If you adopt the mindset of , ‘ we ’ re doing this candidate a favour by considering them , and they ’ ll be there when we get around to moving the process forward ,’ you ’ ll lose out every time to your competitors who recognise how in-demand the top candidates are .
“ Another piece of advice for procurement specifically is this : with the exception of certain highly technical procurement categories , don ’ t get hung up on requiring exact category experience . My advice is to find people with very strong procurement fundamentals ( understanding of RFx processes , contracts , supplier relationship management , analytics ), as well as strong soft skills ( business acumen , presentation ability , relationship building , emotional intelligence ), and train the category later .
There have been studies that show that employees today are looking to work for companies that align with their personal values . Could you speak to this and whether you feel corporate ethics and brand reputation can be a hindrance or an advantage in attracting top contenders ? “ Ethics and reputation are a definite advantage in attracting candidates . This is especially true when it comes to attracting candidates in the millennial generation , or Gen Z , which is becoming an increasing
98 June 2021