Working from home is the new normal and has altered the way almost everyone operates day to day. Enabling Procurement co-founder Olivier Durand and Rolls-Royce Director of Procurement David Loseby have been exchanging ideas on how to manage this new normal from contrasting but connected perspectives. They got together again (remotely) to explain what’s changed for them and to share advice on overcoming the key challenges in consultancy and procurement practice.
Olivier Durand: Co-founder of Enabling Procurement, a European consultancy that focuses on profoundly transforming clients’ approach to procurement.
Procurement’s work has changed hugely. The profession is a connector, it acts like an electrician linking companies with the outside market. It aids the exchange of information, which we want to flow at maximum capacity. To do this, procurement typically visits current or potential providers and builds relationships with stakeholders both inside and outside the business. While these activities are on hold, we have had to find ways to do things differently.As a consultancy we were always paperless and could work anywhere but we too spent a huge amount of time travelling to and from clients and suppliers. Adapting to virtual meetings has required a new approach and some creative thinking. For instance, with suppliers we ensure we don’t get stuck inside the four walls of a meeting room. Instead we ask people to become TV producers – to pick up their laptop and take us with them to the factory floor. This enables us to assess what’s happening and what progress has been made. It’s more cumbersome than face-to-face interactions but very important to do.
We’ve also changed the way we work with clients. Previously we would set up a project desk, ideally in an open space at the heart of the action, so we could see and speak to all the key contacts. Now we allot two hours every day as the window in which we can call our clients for anything we need. We have a call scheduled with our main operational contact at the business who facilitates connections and points us to the information we need. This helps us to understand how the organisation functions and feel part of it as we establish ourselves. We can also use this opportunity to chat about things outside of the project to get to know them and the business better. Additionally, I have 30 minutes set aside every day to update the customer on what we’ve done and what we’re doing next. We weren’t sure if it would work, but our approach has been a massive success and we’ve taken on lots of new clients since Covid began.Sometimes meetings may now take two hours instead of one, but they are more focused and productive. We’re also saving a huge amount of time in travel and expenses, which enables us to do more projects for clients, more quickly and at a lower cost. We’ve quickly adapted to this new way of working and been able to produce increased value for our customers. I’m confident we are delivering more and at a greater rate than in 2019.Another change has been the lack of those opportunities to confirm or clarify key messages or informally get to know someone a little more on the way to or from a client or supplier meeting. To counter this, we are doing more brief (10 minute), one-to-one or small group meetings with clients and suppliers. These act as quick catch ups about work or simply the chance to touch base. They reinvent the corridor conversations we’re all missing. They help us understand one another’s priorities and challenges in and outside of work. And internally we’ve been having informal breakfast meetings or pizza lunches to check in with one another.The ability to form relationships is a skill. Some procurement professionals may require some training or coaching if it doesn’t come naturally and they will need performance indicators against these behaviours to be clear on what’s required and why. Typically, the younger generation are more used to forming virtual friendships with individuals they’ve never met, while others are less used to this, so will need support.There is a genuine change of the reality, which will be here for some time, and if we find the right flow we can all be more effective, but I’m not sure everyone is addressing it.
David Loseby: Director of Procurement (Group CPO) at Rolls-Royce, member of the CIPS Global Board of Trustees and editorial team for the International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management (IJOPDLM).
Before Covid-19, if I needed something I would jump on a plane to see someone. It’s different now, you have to be a chameleon and change to suit your environment. That’s where I see some people struggling, they may be technically brilliant but if they can’t adapt, it’s ‘game over’ and they will not be the next leaders.The whole protocol around video calls and conferences has required a reset of the rulebook. When two young children appeared in the background of their Dad’s live TV interview in 2017 it made the news; now a child, cat or dog appears at some point nearly every day and it’s just part of the richness of the experience. What we actually need to do is formalise the informal. We’re missing the depth that comes from making personal connections while grabbing a coffee or seeing people in person. Finding ways to retain that is a vital skill we need to cultivate.
I instigated a series of ‘coffee no work’ sessions for my team, 20 minutes in which to catch up and talk about something other than work. They’re about getting to know each other, how people are, what interests and motivates them. It’s not about what people do in their private life, it’s about understanding the different layers of that individual. As the senior person I’ve found it’s important I make the first move and share something about myself. I might tell them why I am fluent in Portuguese or that I’m a qualified scuba diving instructor. Through that conversation I might learn, for instance, that they’re not a morning person and I can schedule meetings at a more productive time. If you create the right environment you achieve a richness you won’t get from an ordinary, functional approach. If we’re not careful we’ll lose that ‘je ne sais quoi’ that can be the difference between a good and a great-performing team.Also, don’t forget to give permission for staff to have some thinking time away from their desk. No-one can do back-to-back calls all day every day.I joined Rolls-Royce at the beginning of 2020, so I have had to get to know stakeholders remotely too. I put together an A4 sheet covering what I’ve done, what I’m good at, how I can help, and a little bit about myself. It has been a catalyst to a new channel of communication and I believe it’s helped me to establish relationships that are as strong as I would have done in person. Achieving this depends how you set the stage for the relationship, if you’re 100% formal you will only achieve a formal relationship.It’s also key to appreciate the agenda of the executive team, their issues and aims. That means not only understanding their terminology but the intent behind the messaging. Where previously you could clarify something in person, now you need to interpret even more closely what is meant in emails. Take the time to play a conversation in your head to empathise with them and see their perspective. Some people will need to be trained to take the time to do this, but getting it right will make us more efficient and effective. It will lead to the decisions you want and make everything as frictionless as possible.We also need new ways of gathering information on third parties. Fresh mechanisms to help guide us on everything from our approach to selections, negotiations and the structure of meetings. I have an academic background in behavioural science, so I understand the importance of cognitive framing and non-verbal signals, but some will need help to recognise this. Communication comes in lots of different forms, we need ways to reintroduce this peripheral information to get the most successful outcome. To do this, we must apply a process of critical thinking and examine situations through a new lens.
Building effective relationships and maintaining adaptability are crucial for procurement professionals – with or without in-person interaction
Despite coming at it from different angles, the key challenges for procurement consultancy and practice are the same. Both must find creative new ways to collect and share information from and between stakeholders, suppliers and their own teams. And both must strive to establish strong relationships with all parties to achieve the best outcomes, without in-person interaction.
Although some things may change in future as the world begins to open up once more, it is likely the way procurement works will never be the same again. It can use this opportunity to demonstrate its adaptability and become even more efficient, but must not neglect the vital role of relationships on which everything rests.
