Ep 116: Winning the Mythical Talent War feat. Jon Hansen

Despite investments in education and efforts to recruit from a strong and diverse talent pool, CEOs have always been worried about procurement skill sets. They refuse to believe that the talent they have in house is ‘up to’ the strategic objectives they plan to set forth. Perhaps the problem is less the talent they have in house, and more the way they evaluate and incentivize the application of that talent. 

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jon Hansen. When it comes to procurement podcasting, Jon is the ‘OG,’ with a show that dates back to 2009. Jon is also the co-author for the book Procurement at a Crossroads, and he has covered the procurement space more thoroughly and honestly than anyone else in the industry. 

In this interview, Jon addresses what he describes as the ‘mythical’ talent war and provides his recommendations for how procurement can win it:

• Why C-level concerns about the match between procurement skill sets and what the company requires from procurement may be misplaced
• How procurement can address the fact that just as many people seem to fall out of procurement as fall into it
• Why the post-pandemic era may be one of the best recruiting opportunities procurement will ever get