Procurement is always evolving, and managers have the difficult job of ensuring their team’s day-to-day workload is running smoothly, while keeping an eye on the big picture to prepare for what’s next. To help with that, here are five great resources from around the internet for public procurement managers: 

1) Nifty Little Management Guide for New Managers  [ARTICLE ] 

Public procurement teams and startups share one thing in common: lots to do, and limited resources to get it done. Alan Seng wrote this article for startups, but it has lots of useful advice for public procurement managers as well. 

Seng discusses the two factors that managers can impact to maximize team output: time, and leverage. Time is finite (and let’s be honest, there’s never enough of it). Managers can give their employees more leverage to get work done by enabling greater efficiency, through:

• Processes and workflows to help teams be more systematic in their approach
• Technology to ease bottlenecks in the process
• Sharpening of skill-sets to enable individuals to be more productive

2)  Strategic Procurement as a Valuable Tool  [ARTICLE] 

In this article, government procurement expert Stephen Bauld lays out his vision for the procurement professional of the future. Get a sense for where your team is headed in terms of organizational impact: 

“Municipal procurement needs to be viewed as far more than the setting of rules and procedures to govern the manner in which goods and services are procured for the delivery of municipal public services and programs. It needs to be seen as an integral part of the process of service and program delivery.”

3) Invest in your procurement function for better outcomes organization-wide   [WEBINAR]

How do we get from here to there? It starts with procurement teams getting the right training and tools for the job. This webinar helps with that! 

Tune in to hear Bonfire’s Omar Salaymeh in conversation with Paul Brennan, procurement educator and Director of Purchasing for Rockland County. Together, they lay out a toolkit for public procurement teams to articulate procurement’s value to the organization and make a successful case for the investment in procurement technology and training. 

4)  GovEx Academy  [ONLINE COURSE] 

Data is often heralded as the new currency, and its application in procurement is growing. Fortunately, GovEx academy offers several free, self-guided introductory data courses to help you get started using data intelligently on your team. Developed by the Centre for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, they each take about two to three hours. 

Check out: 

• Getting Started with Data Management 
• Getting Started with Data Inventorying

5) The disengagement doldrums [ARTICLE] 

It probably won’t surprise anyone to hear that only about 30% of public sector employees report high engagement in their jobs. This is a concern for managers: not only are engaged employees happier, they also perform better and get more done.  

Government is often limited in the perks and monetary rewards that they can offer, but the good news is that there are far more meaningful and long-term ways to ensure engagement. This article gives a run-down of some successful programs at other public organizations. 

Coming up:

Don’t miss our upcoming webinar with NIGP, featuring Patrick Moore, Senior Fellow with the Centre for Digital Government.

Making Sense of Procurement Tech:  a practical guide to digital transformation

August 13, 2:00 pm ET