6 Places To Find Top Procurement Talent

As Australia continues to enforce stringent COVID-19 restrictions, the hunt for top procurement and supply chain talent has become tougher than ever before.

The latest ABS data reports that one in four Australian businesses are struggling to find suitable staff to fill job vacancies, and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is forecasting a wage increase of 2% by June 2022.

To identify, attract, and recruit highly qualified professionals in this candidate-driven recruitment market, employers must explore multiple avenues including social media, targeted jobs boards, career fairs, recruitment agencies, and employee referral schemes.

1. Social media

Leveraging social media for recruitment purposes is particularly important when it comes to identifying passive candidates – those who are not actively searching for a new role. These professionals, who may be happy in their current role, are less likely to be registered with recruiters or active on jobs boards, but they might well be receptive to an attractive job opportunity.

Social media sites, including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram can not only be used to help employers identify prospective talent, but are also a great way to build brand awareness.

Consider sharing thought leadership blogs, employee profiles, information about latest job openings, and engaging video content to engage prospective talent. 

2. Jobs boards

Employers looking to hire highly specialised procurement and supply chain talent will need to cover all bases, which extends to posting and searching on various jobs boards.

 It’s worth posting on generalist job boards, such as Indeed, Seek and CareerOne, as well as targeting the more niche procurement-focussed job boards. While the latter enables employers to drill down on their specific hiring requirements, there is every chance that the perfect candidate is lurking on a generalist jobs board.

3. Career fairs and networking events

Career fairs and networking events provide employers with an opportunity to meet and engage with talent on a more personal level.  It’s a chance for hiring organisations to identify the most suitable and appealing candidates, answer questions, sell their brand, and build out their talent pool.

While events like these are an investment of time and money, it can significantly reduce an organisations time-to-hire and cost-to-hire.

4. Recruitment agencies

For organisations with more limited resources or those looking to hire multiple people at once, engaging with a procurement and supply chain recruitment firm might be the most attractive option.

It’s important to conduct thorough research before partnering with a recruiter. They will need a good understand of the hiring organisation’s top priorities, business objectives, and preferred recruitment methods. An successful employer-recruiter partnership will be both time and cost effective.

5. Employee referrals

It makes sense for hiring organizations to leverage their existing procurement and supply chain talent to source new employees.

Employee referral schemes incentivize employees to recommend professionals in their networks for open positions by rewarding them with bonuses or additional benefits. Not only is this a great way to reduce the time-to-hire, because less vigorous screening processes are required, but it also improves retention rates, since these hires are more likely to assimilate easily into the workplace.

6. Professional associations

Hiring managers should consider joining a professional association to meet new talent, grow their networks and build brand awareness.

Organisations like CIPS host regular events and training sessions, both virtually and in person, which are great places to meet prospective talent.