On a recent call to discuss top trends in 2010, Chris Sawchuk of the Hackett Group said that procurement departments in many companies are looking to beef up their talent this year. It seems that the value of strategic-minded, savvy procurement pros became more clear during this brutal recession, where extracting value for every penny spent was key. Naturally, top organizations want to continue improving the level of expertise in an effort to prepare for the new normal.

So, if that’s the case (and given Chris’ insights into the market and the fact that his comments echo similar sentiments I heard many times last year, we should assume this focus on talent is for real), why are so many smart, capable, experienced people having so much trouble finding work? What is the bottleneck between the talent seeking companies and the talented?

We’ll be addressing this question on the March conference call for the LinkedIn Strategic Sourcing & Procurement group. Details for the call will go out shortly (so if you haven’t already, you’ll need to join the Group to get the info).

In the mean time, I’m putting together the panelists that I’d like to have leading this discussion and would LOVE some volunteers. I think it would be best to have these roles represented:

• Hiring/department manager: Someone who “owns” the requisition for procurement positions in the company. In other words, the talent seeker.
• HR representative: The person who helps facilitate finding and screening applicants for these positions.
• Recruiter: Similar to the HR rep but at an outside organization doing this on a larger scale across multiple customers.
• Job seekers: Someone representing the resume and experience that companies are seeking … yet has been unable to land a position that’s a fit.

If you think you could represent one of those roles, or if you think there’s another perspective that would be beneficial, please let me know. You can either post to the Comments below or reach out to me directly at jfogarty[at]ariba.com.

Justin Fogarty is Managing Editor of Supply Excellence. For any questions or feedback on the blog or its contributors, Justin can be reached at jfogarty[at]ariba.com.