Do We Still Care About Professional Associations?

Do procurement professionals across the globe still see the value in professionals associations? And, if not, what can these associations do to regain their appeal?

When Procurious put out a call for procurement survey participants, we were delighted when 500+ professionals across more than 50 countries shared their insights and wisdom.

We’ve investigated the finding that 54 per cent of procurement professionals don’t trust their boss and interviewed a number of global CPOs to find out why this figure is so alarmingly high.

We also asked them why it is that procurement staff are moving on from their current roles so quickly and how leaders can cope with this erratic workplace dynamic.

And thirdly, we looked at the scepticism the profession still feels towards social media – 77 per cent of global procurement professionals have never crowd-sourced a solution to a business challenge on social media.

Our final deep-dive into the survey’s results looks at the stat that 55 per cent of procurement professionals either don’t hold memberships in professional associations or do not regard membership as benefiicial to their career development.

This result would suggest that professional bodies need to re-group and reform in order to stay relevant in today’s world…

The Results Explained By Global CPOs

At The Big Ideas Summits in Chicago and Melbourne earlier this year we revealed the results of the survey to our CPO delegates.

In this video we ask what professional associations can do to maintain relevance and membership growth. Is there still a place for these organisations?

Have today’s procurement leaders benefitted from professional association memberships?

Many of the people  we interviewed admitted to placing a lot of value in professional associations, citing them as one of the key secrets to their success.

Tony C. Astorga, Supply Chain Management Consultant described his career path and explained  “I set my goals upon  what do I need to learn to be more successful and provide greater contributions to my company. I think through certifications, memberships allow us to have those tools to be able to grow.

Josh Teperman, Senior Consultant, The Source Recruitment “A membership organisation is going to have value. It gives you access to a community of people who are all thinking about what does the future of procurement look like. If you want to stay relevant you want to be part of a reall good  membership organisation where people are talking about the future leaders in procurement, what the technologies are going to look like,  what the macro economic and politial trends are that are goint to affect procurement. So there’s certainly a lot of benefit to be had in being part of those organisations.”

So what should professional associations do to up their game…?

1. Communicate their value

“I think the challenge here for organisations is helping people understand how to maximise the benefits” argues Alan Paul, SourceIt CEO. Of course, if  prospective members, don’t see the potential benefits of a membership – they simply won’t join.

Michelle Varble, Procurement Director, United Airlines concedes stating “I do think they need to reinvent their service offerings. But having said that I think these organisations need to focus on how they market themselves. We need to move past the idea that we have an affiliation with them and move to an area where we see them as resources.”

2. Stay relevant

“I am a member of an organisation in Australia. I would have to say it has not been very relevant to me,” says Jane Falconer. ” The generations coming through universities now will have to find different ways of commuting and embrace social media in its most modern form. If we use existing means it’s not going to work.”

Anne Berens, Principal AMB ProCures LLC agrees stating  “Organisations need to remain relevant. There are so many things that organisations offer whether its education or networking or develoment or futurisitc thinking that it’s important to not try to be everything to everyone. I think then it gets spread a little bit thin- be very focussed on what your mission is and allow the customers be discerning and select what’s appropriate.”

3. Be “on topic”

John Foody General Manager Procurement, U.S Steel believes that “Organisations have to be topical. Sometimes at the local level the meetings, the challenges, the issues aren’t topical to our people so the ability to address issues that are relevant in the moment and tie it up with that membership is the challenge that any organisation faces”

Keith Bird, Managing Director, The Faculty  shares this view arguing that “As long as you invite a membsership that adds value to the CPO, the CPO’s direct reports and the team overall that can bring the global insights to you then I think it’s worthwhile.”

Request your copy of the Gen NEXT Report

The Gen NEXT report, exclusively available to Procurious members, is packed with data, insights, recommendations, and links to over 20+ Procurious articles that further explore many of the findings that are raised in the report. Email us to request your copy.