What strategies can Supplier Sourcing professionals use to foster employee engagement?

Aligned sourcing activities to the organization's goals and impact to foster purpose and engagement. Align individual efforts with the bigger picture by communicating how sourcing goals contribute to the organization's vision and benefit to the customers. This can drive collaboration, accountability, and workforce engagement.

Now more than ever, organizations need to have their sourcing goals aligned with the company values. Consumers care about a brands sourcing practices and if they are truly living up to their promises. Regulations are also forcing companies to be more strategic about sourcing to ensure that they have the right visibility into their supply chains.

To achieve the highest engagement from procurement professionals, it's necessary to provide them with appropriate inputs and align on the expected outcomes. Simply handing them the boat without the oar and compass won't suffice. Additionally, well-written standards and processes tailored to the company's reality should also be provided.

The word has suffered many different incidents with huge impact in the supply chain of different sectors, like the explosion in Jiangsu province (China) in 2019, which impacted, among others, the pharmaceutical sector, the pandemic in 2020, the Suez channel incident in 2021, Ukraine war… in this VUCA environment, the Sourcing teams face high amount of pressure while avoiding supply disruptions. This can demotivate them if they only work for money. So, I agree, a way of keeping them engaged is giving them a bigger purpose, communicating their goals, its alignment with the company’s vision and mission, but I would add that the company’s vision or mission should include somehow a commitment with the society (bigger purpose).

Aligning sourcing goals with the organizational vision fosters shared purpose, motivates employees, provides clarity of direction.It also enhances team cohesion, and increases the likelihood of recognition, contributing to overall employee engagement and organizational success.

Recognition is the best way to motivate the team to take out the best results from any level of employee. It will motivate employees to stretch their ideas beyond the limits. Management doesn’t even worry about the attrition of any departments

Feedback and recognition drive growth and engagement. Provide regular feedback, individually and as a team to help improvement. Recognize and reward accomplishments move towards to the positive work environment.

Feedback and Performance Reviews: Think of these as growth checkpoints. We'll chat regularly about how you're doing, and I'm here to help you reach your full potential.

I totally agree, one thing that helps professional growth and engagement is feedback and recognition; however, it is very important to understand that not all the people feel comfortable receiving them in the same way. Some may like public recognition, while others would prefer discretion, some may accept feedback after a mistake, others might feel attacked, so make sure you know a little bit the person in advance, so recognition and/or feedback have the desired impact.

I agree as I believe,sharing regular feedback engages employees by recognizing their efforts, fostering continuous improvement, providing clarity, promoting open communication, aligning goals, and supporting professional development.

Empower and listen to the subject matter experts within your company, and make them part of the process of finding and selecting suppliers. This could be engineers, product specialists, or other technical roles who deeply understand your market, and are tremendous sources of domain specific knowledge. By bringing them into the supplier sourcing process, you are leveraging their expertise and incentivizing them by making sure their voice is heard.

Empowerment: It's time to put on your superhero capes! I trust you to make important decisions and take charge. You've got this! Employee Well-being: This is like a wellness spa for your work life. We'll ensure you have the support and balance you need to thrive.

Ask many questions, fail many times. Get in the habit of walking the production floor and talking to the personnel. They know more about your supplier performance than you do. Ask them questions, listen to their complaints and follow up with the suppliers. Take their feedback and try to implement it. In the beginning, over-communicate what's being done. Maybe a complaint can't be resolved, but the fact that you as the "professional" listened, took action, and then followed up, means the production staff will begin coming to you with more ideas. Along with that, just start trying to do things differently. Ask "what happens if we try...' and then actually try the idea out. Worst thing, you learn something. Best thing, you succeed

Employee Surveys: Conduct regular employee engagement surveys to gather feedback and insights into their satisfaction and areas for improvement. Act on the survey results to address concerns. Lead by Example: Set a positive example through your own actions and behavior. Be a role model for the qualities and values you expect from your team.