In an exclusive Sourcing Solved series of one-on-one interviews with job candidates, we asked about their experiences during a virtual versus in-person interview, and which they prefer. With this survey, we want to hear your thoughts. SURVEY TIME: 1-Minutes Create your own user feedback survey The results of this survey will be analysed and shared by way of a Special Report-Knowledge Note in the next quarter.
Sourcing Solved conducted a series of interviews with job candidates who had recently gone through a virtual interview process to get their take on the experience. The objective of the research is to gain much-needed insight into what is now - and for the foreseeable future, the new normal for candidate assessment. In the following article, we will share with you the results from three of these interviews. Person One (public sector role) – Remote interview conducted via Teams. Their first-ever meeting carried out virtually. Candidate was concerned with what to wear. After the interview candidate said, they felt uncomfortable 'entering' the room, in the absence of the usual handshake and intros. Candidate found the overall process more "robotic" than a typical interview, and quite stilted. Said they didn't know how to wrap up the meeting without the usual etiquette. Their general feeling was that it was not their best performance, due to unusually high nerves. The candidate didn't get the job. On a side note, this person is extremely competent, can always talk the talk and rarely walks away without winning the job. The whole process massively fazed him. The following comment illustrates this last point; "I feel you
There are some amazing women in the procurement profession. People such as Kelly Barner, Sylvie NOËL, Virginie VAST and Elvire Regnier Lussier, only to name a few who immediately come to mind. Thinking about all the things these women have accomplished, I am both confused and sadly disappointed regarding the results of a relatively recent CIPS survey regarding pay equity. Perhaps in writing this, you can help me to understand the statistics to gain some missing insight because no matter which way you look at it, like the Rubik's Cube on my desk the coloured squares do not line up. Just the Facts While the October 2019 results reported by CIPS indicates that the "average pay gap in the profession overall narrowed slightly, from 23% in 2015 to 21% in 2019,” when women are "promoted" to a higher position, this gap increases significantly – and not merely by a few percentage points. According to CIPS, the gender pay gap for a senior position has risen from 15% in 2015 to 35% in 2019. It is as if women are being " penalised " for excelling at their jobs. Regardless of gender, who in their right minds would take
INTRODUCTION: Reading the article on "unconscious bias" by Michael A Massetti who is the Vice President, Gartner for General Managers - High-tech, is one of those moments where harsh reality collides with passive illusion. What he has done is remind us that overt or intentional bias is not the biggest challenge in achieving equality. The following are my thoughts on the power of Michael Massetti's words and why we all need to pay more attention. There is a saying that ignorance of the law is not an excuse for breaking it. In the same way, a lack of "conscious" awareness is not an excuse for bias. However, not knowing you are exhibiting bias because of the ingrained views you have ingested over the years through a stereotyping osmosis is a more difficult problem with which to deal. There is, of course, the obvious visceral reactions that can occur within a blink of an eye. For example, if you take the same route home from work every day, eventually you do not think about the turns you make or the intersections at which you stop for a light. Your mind has gone on autopilot. The only time you are "awakened"
As EMEAI regional purchasing director at Dow Chemical John Everett provided leadership for 100 source-to-pay experts managing a spend of 5 Bn$. His career has included many highlights, including significant M&A synergies, working capital enhancements and digitalization, risk mitigation, category excellence and supplier innovation initiatives. My interest in Diversity and Inclusion intensified over five years ago. Three examples: 1. In 2016 I researched and published on the topic of Women in Procurement (1). Across the ensuing years, I’ve talked about the subject at several purchasing conferences. 2. At the beginning of 2020, when face-to-face was still allowed, I hosted Europe’s largest supplier diversity event together with four diversity amazing associations and >100 attendees (2). 3. More recently, I’ve helped get the first full certification of an Ethnic Minority Business owned chemicals distributor – an industry sector with a weak diversity ownership track record (3). But what of now and the future? Individual experiences over the last 2-3 months of employees working from home vary considerably. For some, it was business as usual – for many, it was novel – and novel can be both positive and extremely challenging. I’m hesitating to be universally optimistic about the near-term benefits of
In my article last week (HR’s role in transforming the global procurement practice), I talked about the role that HR will play in transforming the procurement practice through the introduction of the market-oriented ecosystem or “MOE.” For those who have not yet had the opportunity to read the article, you can access it through the above link. However, and for the sake of convenience, the following excerpt provides a quick overview of the MOE model. Under the MOE model, organisations are no longer “structured” as divisions within a “chain of command.” Instead, they become independent teams aligned with specific market opportunities in which said units are similar to holding companies. The big difference is that through this new structure, MOE connects the “independent teams in an “information, resource, and expertise” ecosystem. The belief from an HR standpoint is that with the introduction of the MOE “ecosystem” there will be a better focus on innovation and an improved agility to respond to changing market conditions. I then closed the article asking if HR’s perception of procurement and its needs on a go-forward basis was a surprise to procurement professionals and if it was in alignment with their view of transformation.
To help HR professionals deliver value through organisation, we have focused our work on helping them build the “right” culture, which is the identity of the firm in the mind of the key customers made real to employees. As such, the “right” culture turns an external brand into internal agendas for all HR practices. - Dave Ulrich and Arthur Yeung, HRD Connect (September 2019) If you are following many of the discussion streams in social media as of late, you will note that there is an increasing focus on the importance of how HR and procurement must work together to hire the best and the brightest talent in a very competitive job market. However, to be able to form a working relationship between procurement and HR, there has to be a greater understanding of the roles that each will play in this symbiotic exercise. The focus of this article is to provide procurement with a better understanding of what transformation means from an HR perspective and how it will impact recruiting and hiring practices. Beyond Cultural Transformation In the Ulrich and Yeung article, they talked about transformation involving more than a cultural shift in thinking. Specifically, the need for
In reading the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, emotional intelligence is “described” as being “the most important emerging soft skill heading into 2020.” From a procurement standpoint, during an interview Supply Chain VP Taras Korec identified emotional intelligence as “one of the most crucial soft skills for everyone in the field, from the analyst level up to the VP level.” In emphasising his point, he then said that he would instead hire “based on attitude and emotional intelligence rather than hard skills.” Make a note of this last point, because it will become important as you read further. The reason for his enthusiasm for EQ is that one who possesses it can; better deal with pressure facilitate a higher level of internal cooperation positively use feedback to fuel self-improvement improve leadership skills, and Possess better decision-making and adaptability skills. I do not think that anyone reading the above would disagree with Taras’ position. However, the real issue isn’t one of consensus, but the best way to identify and hire candidates who possess said EQ skills. Do resumes matter? Okay, I am purposely controversial by posing the question; do resume’s matter? Let’s face it, with automation and AI
The Uninitiated might have been shocked by the harsh ratings Procurement leaders gave their teams in Deloitte’s 2019 Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey. According to the responses, 76% of the 481 CPOs queried (managing over US$5 trillion of spend) rated the effectiveness of their teams as strategic business partners as fair (69%) or poor (6%). Also, a decreasing number of procurement leaders rated the skills and capabilities of their current teams (49% in 2018; 46% in 2019) as sufficient. A simple online search for “procurement talent gap” will richly confirm these results by highlighting the complexities, variety of stakeholders, and entrenched nature of this talent challenge. In short, this talent gap isn’t new but is certainly not getting solved. This article aims to provide answers to the first of two key questions: 1. What is the nature of the talent gap and why it continues to be an issue? 2. What can executive (C-Suite) leadership do to address it? The Persistent and Growing Talent Gap Like all support functions, procurement is being “challenged” to evolve to more tangibly support and align with the respective businesses’ strategy. In this regard, there is a twofold challenge that procurement leaders face. On
I was recently asked to write an article for CPO Strategy magazine regarding how organizations can attract, identify and hire procurement leaders. Specifically, what are the key elements of a successful supply chain executive recruiters strategy. Here is the excerpt with a link to the full article at the end. What recruiting strategies are companies using to attract the best talent, and how does it align with what senior procurement candidates are doing to assess if the company they are considering is the right fit for them. Whenever someone asks me this question, I always say that the hiring process should not be a game of hide-and-seek between a company and candidate, but a communicative process of mutual discovery. Specifically, are you using the right methods to attract, identify and ultimately hire the right person within the needed timeframe. It is an important question and based on the ongoing challenges companies are having in finding their next procurement leader; there does not appear to be a ready answer. The purpose of this article is to provide you and your talent sourcing team with that answer. Understanding the gap When we discuss the ongoing topic of the war on talent
