Category Archives: Talent

A Procurement Professional’s Guide to International Assignments

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The experience and perspective gained through an international assignment is ever-more valuable in today’s global supply chains and increases a procurement executive’s marketability in the long run. But making an international assignment work requires a well-thought out plan and a lot of flexibility from everyone involved-employer, employee and family.

So what should you do if you are thinking of making such a move? A recent article in Purchasing, which attempted to be “a procurement professional’s guide to international assignments”, had some good starting tips.

  • Does your company have a support structure in place for the region being relocated to?
    For example, IBM has had an established program since the 1980s where employees considering an international assignment were sent to an orientation session that addressed tax implication issues, handling your house in the US, school and church options, etc. Then, there was a look-see trip for those still serious about the idea.
  • Will your family be able to integrate into the community?
    Will there be support groups to help your family when you’re at work and traveling for work?
  • Will you be close to your suppliers?
    Not only should that be the primary benefit to the company, but it should be the primary benefit for you … you should be able to visit your suppliers regularly and develop real relationships on a professional and personal level that will help both your company and you.
  • Is the language you speak spoken there?
    It doesn’t have to be the primary language of the region, but at least a subset of people should speak it commonly as a second language.
  • Are you interested in learning a new language?
    While it may not be a necessity, it will certainly make your life easier if you are willing to learn the basics and soak it in.
  • Can you talk to people who have made the move?
    Find out about their daily lives and if you will be able to relate to their experiences.

It also had a list of do’s from Associates for International Research:

  • ensure that your company has a formal set of policies and practices
  • visit the location prior to accepting the assignment
  • have a clear understanding of the financial implications
  • understand how daily living will be different
  • obtain a proper and complete Letter of Understanding
  • read the relocation policy in advance
  • take care of any major medical or dental needs beforehand
  • get an idea of the expected outcomes of the assignment
  • obtain details on the type of security and medical services that will be offered
  • have an understanding of the tax implications and your compliance responsibilities

Five Secrets of Team Building

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In “Why Teams Don’t Work”, J. Richard Hackman of Harvard laid bare the five critical conditions that mark the difference between success and failure. Given that these trying times are requiring your team to do more with less and that the ultimate secret of supply chain success often boils down to cross-functional teams managing needs from product inception to final product disposal, successful teams are more important than ever. Here are Hackman’s five basic conditions of effective teams and ultimate success:

  1. Teams Must Be Real
    People need to know who’s on the team, who’s not, and who has what responsibilities. A virtual team or vague team concept won’t get the job done.
  2. Teams Need a Compelling Direction
    Members need to know what they’re supposed to be doing together. Without a clear direction, there is a real risk that different members will pursue different agendas.
  3. Teams Need Enabling Structures
    Teams with poorly designed tasks, the wrong mix of members, and un-enforced norms gravitate towards trouble.
  4. Teams Need a Supportive Organization
    The organizational context must facilitate teamwork in a manner that is conducive to the team and its members.
  5. Teams Need Expert Coaching
    A focus on individual performance does not necessarily improve the team. Teams need to be coached as a group in team processes.

Is Your Supply Chain Ready For The Millennials?

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The Millennials — better known as Generation Y, the children of the Baby Boomers born between 1980-1999, are beginning to flood the global job markets … at least to the extent that they can find work in this recession. And like each generation before, they’ll need to be integrated and trained because, if you don’t, the resultant turn over (which will cost you between 50% and 150% of their salary) will be huge … and the cost on global supply chains will run into the Billions.

The Millennials bring with them a unique perspective and work ethic that stymies older works and frequently leads to intergenerational conflict. They need to be challenged, given regular feedback, cross-trained, and shown a career path. They have high expectations for success, and they are looking for an organization that can help them achieve it. They are the most technologically savvy multi-tasking generation to-date, and they work best when collaborating. They’re a work-hard and play-hard generation looking for “cool” employers and organizations that provide them with:

  • career laddering,
  • socialization,
  • mentoring, and
  • positive reinforcement.

The SSON’s Top Ten Tips for Talent Development

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The ultimate key to supply chain success is having a great team. More than anything else, supply chain is about people who implement the processes, use the technology, and use the physical assets you have to create value that consumers will buy. That’s why this blog keeps hammering on the importance of talent and why you should at least browse this article on the “top ten tips for talent development” from the SSON because, more than anything else, top talent is what is going to get you through this downturn.

So let’s get to them.

  1. Hire With Development in Mind
    The great thing about top talent is they want to be top talent, and they recognize that this means continued development and proving themselves every day (because Shift Happens). If you show you’re committed to workforce development, you’ll attract a much better pool of candidates from the start.
  2. Observe and Encourage
    Identify the star performers who are already within your organization and offer them the training and opportunities they need to shine.
  3. Provide the Bigger Picture
    Not only is the whole greater than the sum of its parts, but an employee who understands the whole will create a much better part.
  4. Create Uniformity throughout the Organization
    Make talent development an organizational effort, not just a spot-effort by individual managers.
  5. Create Development Centers
    This institutionalizes development in your organization.
  6. Acknowledge the Benefits of External Development
    Not all expertise is within your organization, in fact, most of it is outside the four walls. Taking advantage of external expertise is what really allows your organization to shine.
  7. Encourage Participation in Industry Events
    Not only will your employees learn, but they’ll meet people who can help them keep learning.
  8. Leverage Internal Events
    This gives more junior employees the chance to increase their skills and abilities and eventually take full advantage of the opportunities external events have to offer.
  9. Have the Right Trainers in Place
    The right trainer makes all the difference.
  10. Don’t Forget the Incentives
    That’s what incentivizes your employees to learn as much as they can and excel at their jobs … which is what provides the most value to your organization.

Get Noticed and Keep Your Sourcing or Procurement Job

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SupplyManagement.com recently ran a good article on “10 ways to get noticed” and lift your profile during this recession. Most are pretty obvious, but it’s still a good refresher article.

  1. Cut Costs
    Even though best-in-class procurement is about cost avoidance, not savings, in troubled time, cutting costs is what gets you noticed. So attack those sacred cow service categories with strategic sourcing and decision optimization, save big, and be an organizational hero.
  2. Engage Colleagues
    The best results come from cross-functional teams who work together to identify not the best price, but the best overall value for the company when all factors are considered, and the most recognition goes to the procurement professional who can organize a team and lead them down a path to success.
  3. Demonstrate SRM Skills
    When times are tough, they’re doubly so for your suppliers. To get the most from any supplier relationship, the relationship has to be managed. That takes a special breed of procurement professional who can work with the supplier, and not just beat them over the head demanding cost reductions.
  4. Consider Cash Flow
    Right now, the CFO likely only has one thing on her mind … making the next payroll while keeping the lights on. Anything you can do to help her will make you an instant organizational hero.
  5. Eliminate Risk
    Chances are, your organization is currently facing more risks than any one individual can count, let alone keep track of. If you can eliminate just one major risk, you’ll get noticed.
  6. Innovate and Be Flexible
    Smart organizations are starting to realize the same-old, same-old isn’t good enough any more and that they need to innovate. This means that they’re looking for innovators to lead the transformation. It could be you …
  7. Be A Leader
    There are lots of followers out there. But not enough leaders to lead the transformations that will be necessary for most businesses to survive.
  8. Stay Up To Speed With Training
    Your company needs someone who can thrive in today’s marketplace, not yesterday’s.
  9. Know Your Strengths
    Leverage them and stick to them.
  10. A Little Self Publicity Goes a Long Way
    Be sure to publicize and capture your successes. A hint of modesty is good, but too much will find you lost in the crowd.