Organisations willing to apply the same procurement processes to recruiting human capital as they do to other processes are making big strides to advancing their supply chains, Clarence Manuhwa of TechPro Personnel, tells SmartProcurement.
Supply Chain Management has always been a topical and pivotal field because of its significance to the bottom line of organisations. Organisations the world over are revamping their supply chains to keep up with change, which is the only constant in this continually developing world.
The human chain (i.e. people) and intellectual property have taken centre stage in differentiating organisations with superior supply chain processes from their lesser counterparts who will have to follow suit to if they want to keep up with the changes.
Organisations require the “right people” who will stay and contribute to the profitability of a company. This, in turn, as P Lenge (1990) states, “requires a company to hire the right people who fit into the organisational culture and who are continuously gaining knowledge and enhancing their capabilities to aid the organisation to adapt to the dynamic environment and remain competitively superior over competitors”. He goes on to say that the driving force behind such an organisation is its ability to effectively manage knowledge.
Finding skilled / technical people in supply chain is not as challenging as finding people with the right competencies for a job. And it is having the right competencies that results in a job fit between the employee and organisation. These competencies embody rare skills for which there is a high demand in the supply chain arena.
“This type of person is not likely to walk in looking for a job and probably won’t be scanning the classifieds either,” says Manuhwa.
Connecting with these top-talent supply chain professionals requires partnering with the right HR solutions organisation rather than engaging in a ‘once-off’ recruitment process.
This builds lasting relationships which are cemented in trust, which is fundamental to building organisational success both internally and externally, he says.
Under investing in trust may result in an organisation missing out on opportunities to create cost savings vital for the realisation of its objectives. This then highlights the importance of supply chain organisations partnering with supply chain recruitment specialists.
However, organisations should be wary of placing recruitment contracts under the stewardship of Procurement if Procurement’s main concern is saving on recruitment fees and not the total cost of ownership of the recruitment process, advises Manuhwa.
“Procurement should look beyond saving money today and partner with service providers that know the organisation’s business: they will provide the best opportunities for meeting the ‘greatest players’ in the field, but, importantly, the greatest players who will fit the organisation’s business culture well.”
Organisations willing to apply the same procurement processes to recruitment (human capital) as they do to other processes are making big strides to advancing their supply chains.
Procurement should be taking the centre stage in building relationships with recruitment specialists and move away from once-off deals so as to move with changing dynamics in supply chain management.
For more information on developing relationships with Procurement recruitments email cmanuhwa@tech-pro.co.za.
