The Collaborative Effort of HR and Procurement | #hrmanagement #hrexecutive

Running a successful business is not without its challenges. There are many things you need to consider, and human capital makes up a huge part of running operations and managing finances. Hiring the right individuals whose work ethic and ideas align with your vision can be time-consuming and expensive, making this an issue for HR and procurement teams both. However, the effort is worth it as no business can run without the right talent to keep it going.  

HR and procurement processes go hand in hand, even though HR recruits and manages the workforce while procurement caters to all the purchasing tasks involving goods and services. In this article, we’ll explain why these roles should be a part of a collaborative effort and the benefits of this united front. 

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1. Integration and Management of Contingent Employees

Contingent personnel are employees who you outsource temporary work to, be it long-term or short-term. These include freelancers, contractors, and consultants. In a collaborative environment, HR can focus on maximizing the hunt for talented individuals, and procurement can ensure that this is achieved within a budget. 

With a common goal in mind, HR and procurement can share knowledge and observed patterns with each other to make improved staffing choices and solutions in the future and fuel work productivity by saving time and money. If the priorities of these teams don’t align and expenses are cut down, the quality of work produced is often subpar. Another extreme can be irresponsible spending on labor which is why monitoring recruitment and expenses should be regulated and contributed by both parties. 

2. Equipping Recruits

Fresh hires need to be equipped with the necessary tools and technology to carry out tasks effectively. Any added convenience also helps in boosting their morale. Orientation seminars leave a great first impression when employees are supplied with a collection of welcome equipment ranging from coffee mugs to notepads. You also need to offer machinery or devices necessary for daily tasks. 

None of this will be possible without the incorporation of procurement functionality into the HR department. Procurement can note down everything HR needs and assign a budget for these toolkits. It can seek out vendors putting out these products and even request samples before placing a big order. HR can then test these samples to observe if they achieve the goal of facilitating new workers. When these two departments work together, they can ensure a seamless and satisfactory transition for new employees to adjust to the work environment quickly. 

3. Onboarding Vendors for Management Programs and Talent Acquisition

Buyer–supplier relationship dynamics are integral in ensuring an organization keeps prospering. You may require specialized human resources, but a chosen vendor is unable to understand the requests put forth by the procurement team, leading to wasted time and financial losses. However, if the HR and procurement departments work together, they can recruit the best talent available.

Experienced in market intelligence and vendor management, the procurement team can utilize its technology to acquire talented vendors and companies. With HR tracking employee performance, workers can attain incentives and bonuses as tokens of appreciation, promoting talent retention. 

4. Dealing With the Shift in Strategies

In prior years, the procurement process of obtaining products, services, or human capital mainly revolved around a source-and-pay method. Nobody paid it more attention than was necessary. However, as the market expands rapidly, companies have started to adopt leaner and meaner policies to avoid drowning in the competitive industry. This requires procuring and sourcing to be treated as strategic functions. 

The concept for acquiring human capital is also shifting more towards quality and entrepreneurs are now less concerned with cost. With the advent of interactive tech tools, even a few individuals can get a lot done if they possess the skills required to operate the right software. Establishing a mutually secure, beneficial, and reverent relationship with HR can enable procurement to pinpoint risks and produce solutions at a faster rate, come up with improved talent acquisition techniques, and get impressive returns.

5. Improved Contracting Fluency

By working together, both HR and procurement can obtain a better understanding of the services a supplier is providing and the contract obligations of both parties that need to be carried to term. Questions like ‘Are you aware of what you have signed up for and what you’ll be receiving from your supplier?’ and ‘Are you satisfied with the service levels that have been decided upon?” become easier to navigate in a collaborative effort between HR and procurement. 

Endnote

For an effective partnership between the procurement and HR team, it’s essential that roles are defined early on and maintained later during decision-making processes. This helps streamline business dealings and leaves little room for confusion on matters. HR should also be equipped with basic procurement knowledge to help with the coordination, such as basic terms, purchase order vs. invoice, and basic procurement technology. If you haven’t already, encourage the HR and procurement teams to collaborate so that your organization can reap maximum benefits from its operations.