Motivate your procurement and supply team: the benefits they really care about

Procurement professionals look for working environments that are fair, secure and that nurture their personal development. That’s according to the latest CIPS Procurement & Supply Salary Guide. Here are the employee benefits that meet their needs.

The CIPS Procurement & Supply Salary Guide 2024, in partnership with Hays, shows a global profession grappling with skills shortages and a talent challenge. This means that providing the right benefits can help you attract and keep your best people – and build a culture that promotes continuous learning.

According to the latest guide, 58% of those responsible for hiring procurement and supply professionals globally have struggled to find and retain talent in the past 12 months. Many employers are on the hunt for specific capabilities and knowledge, while procurement professionals – as well as wanting roles that pay well – are seeking employee benefits that promote flexibility, autonomy and self-development.

The employee benefits that procurement professionals want

Employee benefits are non-cash provisions within the reward package that, as CIPD research highlights, “offer a way to attract and keep people, contribute towards improving wellbeing, and encourage required behaviours, achievements, values, and skills.”

For this year’s CIPS Salary Guide, we surveyed procurement professionals on their experience of employee benefits, including the benefits they’ve received in the past 12 months and the benefits they value most. We also asked procurement professionals about the factors that are driving them to apply for new jobs.

Globally, the most in-demand benefits for procurement and supply professionals are:

• Working from home (50%)
• Flexible working hours (46%)
• Private medical insurance (46%)
• Support for studying/career development (37%)
• Provision of a car allowance/company car (32%)

For those looking to change jobs or thinking about it, salary is the most important factor. After that, career development and job security are the next most important issues:

• Salary (81%)
• Career progression opportunities (72%)
• Reassurance about job security (69%)
• Company is committed to staff training and development (67%)
• The content of the work (66%)

Taken on their own, the benefits that procurement professionals want most are those related to flexibility, autonomy and self-development. However, when looked at together with the bonuses that employees are receiving – and how they’d like their bonuses defined – we see a more nuanced picture of a desire for personal recognition.

Preference for bonuses is also important

Respondents in all regions were asked to select how bonuses are defined in their organisations and how they’d like them defined. In each case, they could choose up to four options.

The overwhelming finding globally is procurement and supply professionals want bonuses defined by the achieving of personal targets, not company targets.

Respondents globally who’d like bonuses to be based on achievement of personal targets (%)

• UK – 79%
• ANZ – 82%
• Asia – 80%
• Europe – 85%
• MENA – 66%
• South Africa – 75%
• Sub-Saharan Africa – 60%

This matters because bonuses, like benefits, form an integral part of the total reward package, and need careful aligning with the needs of employees if the total reward package is to work as a whole. Employers who want to attract and keep talented procurement professionals must, therefore, work on their bonus schemes as well as their benefits packages.

Procurement professionals want agency and autonomy

Taken together, our global findings on benefits and bonuses show procurement professionals want more agency and autonomy in their work, including flexibility in how and where they work and greater access to benefits that promote wellbeing and personal development.

What this ultimately amounts to is organisations needing to provide benefits that work for employer and employee; benefits employers can afford that, where possible, satisfy the specific needs of the procurement and supply professionals evidenced in our survey.

The employee benefits to get right

Here are four benefits to dial up as an employer of procurement professionals.

Offer flexible working

Flexible working means giving employees freedom in how they work and where they work. Providing flexible working will allow you to cater for a diverse range of needs and preferences -from those who want to start or finish at different times, to those wanting to work in different locations. Employers who offer flexible working can improve workplace diversity by making jobs more accessible for disabled people, those with caring responsibilities, and younger and older workers.

Provide private medical insurance

Private medical insurance carries long-term benefits for both individual employees and the company as a whole. Providing private medical insurance can help with all sorts of things, from reducing employee sickness and absence, to ensuring employees receive timelier care and treatment. Employers who offer private medical insurance should do so as part of a wider wellbeing policy or strategy that ensures a healthy working environment overall where staff are paid fairly and have the right support in place generally.

Invest in training and development

Investing in training and development gives your employees opportunities to develop new skills and build on existing ones. This can help to minimise skill shortages and ensure your employees have opportunities to grow and progress in your organisation. Investing in training and development is also a great way to increase retention and build happy, high-performing teams. Encouraging your procurement teams to achieve MCIPS, for example, will equip them with a blend of skills that are not only valued now but will be valued in years to come. Organisations committed to developing their procurement professionals should have focused development plans in place and ensure their staff keep up to date with their CPD (Continued Professional Development).

Properly communicate the benefits you offer

Providing the right benefits is one thing but communicating what’s on offer is just as important. With many employees failing to take full advantage of the benefits available to them, your procurement professionals could well be missing out on vital perks that motivate them to work harder. To communicate the benefits you offer effectively, use a range of communication channels, including email, post and face-to-face. You should also target your communications carefully – ensuring they’re relevant, sensitive in tone, and properly segmented for different groups.

Looking to secure skilled procurement and supply professionals capable of navigating your organisation through an increasingly volatile world? Contact Scott Dance, Senior Procurement Engagement Director at Hays.