Like almost every office-based role,
procurement can theoretically be a remote position. However, I have seen only
rare cases of attempting to do so.
Like almost every office-based role, procurement can theoretically be a remote position. However, I have seen only rare cases of attempting to do so.
According to Statista, about 14% of the US workforce is doing partial or full remote work. So, why not Procurement teams?
There are reasons which are common for any office worker. People are less engaged when not in the office. In functions where the output is not always measurable on an hourly/daily level, productivity can drop.
On the other hand, workers with this flexibility are often motivated to work harder and can have a better work-life balance. They also benefit from geo-arbitrage when looking for a home.
Why not?
Lack of face-to-face interactions
Procurement is a profession that involves constant communication with people. Despite the existing technology, it is still not the same level of connection you will have with a person you see only on Teams versus someone you meet in person.
Data and cybersecurity-related risks
Working from home is IT’s worst nightmare. You may access the company data from your device, in a café with unsecured Wi-Fi. Someone may steal your laptop. So many things could go wrong. If you are dealing with highly sensitive data, the fact that you could be sitting with the competition and discussing the latest details of your deal makes the CIO uncomfortable.
Response times
Imagine working in a different time zone. A simple exchange of information can become a time-consuming task. The manager sends an email asking for information. You are already out of your working hours. In the morning, you reply, seeking clarification. The answer comes only around noon, once he is in office.
Risk of being skipped for the next promotion
“Out of sight, out of mind”
Yes, you are amazing at getting assigned tasks done. There are no complaints from the stakeholders. Your KPIs are above 80. Yet, another colleague got the managerial job. Here are a couple of reasons:
- The next level job requires onsite presence, and the management presumes you would not be willing to move
- They were there to help with an urgent requirement, which was outside your time zone working hours
- People know the person and recommend him.
At least partially
All right, full work from anywhere is not an option. How about a couple of days per week? Studies have shown that this increases employee happiness.
Organizing the week
In one of my roles, I had “open” and “closed” days due to productivity reasons. During open days, I would schedule internal and external meetings. Closed days were dedicated to deep work, learning and other matters that required large chunks of uninterrupted time. As an introvert, I need time to recover after meetings. Hence, this system helped me optimize my time.
Meeting stacking
Meeting stacking means organizing all your meetings for the week one after another for one (or two) full days. Depending on the nature of your business, this may be one week every month.
This approach has several benefits:
- You can focus on deep work undistracted by the need to join meetings
- Still, there is a face-to-face interaction
- It significantly reduces the non-productive time used to come to meeting rooms and wait for meetings
There shall be a short break between meetings, allowing you to process the details, grab notes and get ready for the next meeting. Here I would suggest as well one or two coffee breaks for unstructured meetings with team members and stakeholders.
In this article, you will learn more about companies that implemented one-day meeting strategies and how it impacted their employee well-being as well their productivity.
Some benefits we do not think about
There are cases were working from home (basically anywhere) suits procurement teams perfectly. I came across a couple of real stories, and here they are.
You can have your teams closer to the vendor of your critical materials
I have read about the case where a Canada-based company had their Procurement Manager stationed in Australia. Why? Most of the materials they sourced were in Vietnam and China. So, they strategically hired local buyers. Having a manager in their time zone seemed like a better solution than hiring him in Canada. All positions were home-office based.
Cost reduction in office space and salaries
This is an obvious one. When people are not in the office, you do not need to have one. Also, people can save money on rent and commuting costs. So, they will settle for lower wages. The company also saves on lease, utilities, and upkeep. It is a real win-win.
Larger talent pool
Tax and Social care-related regulations make hiring employees from abroad a bit complicated. It is not easy to hire permanently someone from another Country. Remote work still allows you to expand the talent pool from the people living up to 50 kilometers from your office to the whole country.
According to Statista, an additional 40% of the currently unemployed persons could take full-time positions if remote work were available.
Considering that procurement does not need any special education, imagine how big your talent pool suddenly becomes
Part-time Procurement team members
As in any department, we require special knowledge. And getting a full-time employee does not make sense. They will either be underutilized, or we will have to assign some tasks that are not relevant to their expertise.
Part-time can be a solution to this problem. You can hire someone with the knowledge you require for a couple of hours per day or week. Also, work can be project-based, which means you will hire the employee only for the duration of the project.
If properly organized, and supported by technology, procurement can work partially remotely and have even better results compared to a fully office-based team. Full remote can challenge the stakeholder engagement and communication channels procurement must keep open with all.
