The Gartner survey of 111 procurement leaders in June 2023 showed a bifurcation between procurement leaders’ assessments of current and future talent needs in the function.
While 46% of respondents are confident in their current talent needs, only 14% agree they have adequate talent to meet future requirements. The number of respondents who strongly disagreed with the statement that they have adequate talent tripled from current levels when asked about their future requirements (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Procurement Talent Readiness, Current vs. Future Needs
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Source: Gartner (November 2023)
Gartner’s survey data suggests that more work needs to be done in refining competency planning strategies to meet future talent needs in the procurement function. While more than 65% of respondents reported that their organizations have dedicated strategies to target the most critical competencies, only 31% believe that their current competency models are relevant to their staff’s work.
“In evaluating current competency levels, we see procurement leaders relying most on peer and stakeholder feedback, while less than half report engaging in competency-driven interviews to directly evaluate their staff’s skills,” said Mehrzai. “Considering the significant gaps in the most critical future competencies, CPOs need to consider expanding their options in how they train and evaluate their staff.”
Photo by Memento Media on Unsplash
