Building the right team

Procurement has evolved significantly over the last decade, and in order to reshape the way in which senior leaders view the function, it is essential that the right people with the correct mindsets are recruited into the right roles.

This is a central theme of the final podcast in our series in partnership with Procurious, titled ‘Upgrade: be tomorrow’s CPO, today’. The episode features Rio Tinto’s CPO, Ramsay Chu, who shares his views on building the best team of professionals with Philip Ideson, founder and host of The Art of Procurement and founder of ProcureChange.   
Click on the video at the end of this article to listen to the full conversation – meanwhile, here are some highlights from the episode.
In order to shift perceptions of the procurement function from a transaction-based support function to a problem-solving strategic player in the business, or a trend detector to a solutions provider as Ramsay explains, it is important to make sure you are bringing the right people into your teams.
New skills in procurement
Traditionally, the skill sets most often sought after in procurement have been supply chain, finance and operations focused. In order to encourage more innovation and strategic problem-solving, Rio Tinto’s approach is a little different. Ramsay says: “What we're trying to do is find people that absolutely have, what I would consider, a little bit more specific experience in some of the more intellectual or emotional disciplines in the form of either liberal arts [or] communications.” He continues on to say that ultimately it is the ability to solve problems that drives transformation within businesses. “It all comes down to having the capability to engage, to understand, collaborate and more importantly, to influence.”
Ramsay believes that the focus should be on key behaviours rather than technical skills when hiring new staff. While such operational skills can be taught, the way in which individuals think and behave in certain situations cannot. Those individuals who are forward-thinking, optimistic about change and who have unique approaches to solving problems are highly valuable assets within the ever-evolving procurement function.
Change is inevitable and procurement has already seen so much, but the key is to truly embrace it. Fostering an entrepreneurial spirit within teams is crucial in achieving this.
In order to do so it is important to develop “a safe environment for individuals to be creative”, Ramsay explains. He continues to say: “Create an environment where we can allow team members the emotional safety to speak up, develop the courage to share an idea that may not be part of the norm, and more importantly, allow them to feel comfortable to fail.”
Attracting talent
To ensure you are attracting the right people into your business, Ramsay believes that procurement is in a great position to adopt the concept of intellectual curiosity. 
“If the procurement profession is seen as being willing to try new technology or new concepts to really drive evolution and change, that in and of itself creates a level of dynamism that in my mind attracts like-minded people who are willing to experiment and take those chances, and basically share their ideas,” Ramsay explained. 
People want to work for companies where they have a voice and have the opportunity to pursue their own ideas. In procurement, professionals deliver real value to the business through digital transformation, cognitive procurement, machine learning, data and analytics. Organisations that recognise the value their procurement function drives, and are actively encouraging change throughout the business to develop the function, will attract people who also view the function in this way.
Ramsay believes that: “The opportunity for procurement, from an evolutionary standpoint, given new technologies and the impending digital transformation, makes it a very exciting place for many people to want to work, and try new things.”
On this topic, Matthew Friend, Associate Director at Michael Page Procurement and Supply Chain suggests procurement professionals ask themselves; how much of your personal development and training is technical procurement training and how much is focused on soft/interpersonal skills?
If you’re a leader, how much of the training you provide your team is technical and how much is focused on the key soft skills? And if your training and development programme is more technically focused, how can you make a shift? 
This is the final episode of our Procurious podcast series. Click here to listen to episode one where Philip speaks to Fabienne Lesbros, CPO Co-operative Group. In episode two, Philip discusses the digital development of supply chain with Ninian Wilson, Global Supply Chain Director and CEO, Vodafone Procurement. Listen to Philip’s discussion with Al Williams, Barclay’s Managing Director and CPO, about positioning procurement as a strategic function in episode three, or to hear his conversation with Dapo Ajayi, CPO AstraZeneca in episode four click here. 
About Procurious
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For more information visit www.procurious.com.