To attract procurement talent, governments need to show candidates what’s special about the job

Government agencies are often in a talent competition against the private sector, so they need to offer more than competitive pay and benefits, says Michael Boedewig, EY People Advisory Services Partner in the government and public sector.

EY (Ernst & Young) is a global professional services organization, providing services covering consulting, assurance, law, strategy, tax and transactions. It works to help create long-term value for clients, people and society, and build trust in the capital markets. EY’s Government & Public Services unit works with federal, state and local agencies on their modernization efforts. These can include developing agency employee value propositions, talent recruitment and retention, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

“Usually, it is difficult for government agencies to compete on compensation alone, but a well-articulated and well-communicated employee value proposition can help,” Boedewig tells Co-op Solutions. He explains that a local and state government procurement value proposition should focus on the agency’s overall mission being more meaningful, thereby making work more purposeful for prospective candidates. He adds that the public sector can offer candidates a career that may offer greater responsibility in a shorter timeframe, giving more opportunity for learning and career development. In government, candidates may have more flexibility from a work-life standpoint.

Government agencies, Boedewig adds, “may want to consider having current procurement team members articulate the employee value proposition through social media posts on platforms such as LinkedIn.” A value proposition is a short statement that communicates why job candidates should accept an agency’s job offer. This employee value proposition outlines the specific career solution that the agency provides, and the promise of value that a candidate can expect the agency to deliver.

No question, the pandemic has affected the national workforce. It has also impacted public procurement staffing levels and workloads. “Many have termed our recent period as ‘the great resignation’ when it comes to talent. It is clear that now there are more than 10 million jobs which have gone unfilled in total, and unemployment is at all-time lows,” Boedewig explains. He adds: “Like many organizational units, public procurement has been hit and there are unfilled open positions.”

As a result, public purchasing teams must do more in 2022. “Consequently, existing procurement staffers have to take on added responsibilities and it likely takes longer for work activities to be completed.”

As workers retire or move on from their jobs at government agencies, Boedewig says there are some tried-and-true recruiting tools that can help attract new staffers to public sector work. He says employee referrals continue to be the best place to recruit new professionals. “For more junior-level professionals, targeted academic institutions, including internships, remain a focus for recruiting. Other places to recruit procurement professionals include specialized professional networks, job boards, search firms and professional social media platforms.”

Yes, governments face a challenging environment today to recruit new talent. Government agencies, Boedewig says, can use several techniques to recruit more professionals from Black, Indigenous, people of color, women and other under-represented groups. “Organizations can’t afford to take a one-size-fits-all approach to recruiting. More organizations are focusing on DEI across multiple human resources programs such as career development, succession planning, and especially recruiting.”

Around recruiting, state and local governments need to analyze the broader current recruitment network landscape, Boedewig explains. “They need to pinpoint more targeted sources of talent (e.g., specific professional networks where diverse populations may interact) and non-traditional recruiting sources (e.g., spouses of military veterans) to complement the more traditional recruiting channels of employee referrals, government job postings, and academic institutions’ interns and graduating students.”

To boost diversity, equity and inclusion in recruiting, hiring, onboarding and training in local-state government procurement offices, Boedewig says actions speak louder than words. “One step to take in these areas is to make DEI an integral part of the office’s overall human resources strategy. DEI needs to be stated as an objective. However, putting it simply on paper is not sufficient as it needs to be put into practice to be meaningful. An organization’s leadership team needs to endorse and support it.”

Goal setting also is essential, Boedewig explains. “DEI also has to be a documented goal for performance-management purposes, both as a personal- and organization-wide metric. Training programs such as those aimed at avoiding unconscious bias can also be helpful for individuals responsible for interviewing and hiring.”

Success stories of diversity and inclusion efforts should be publicized, Boedewig believes. “They should be compiled and shared across the office and worked into the office’s employee value proposition as a way to foster continued efforts.”

The hiring process should be practical and friction-free for the applicant, Boedewig believes. “Another critical aspect is ensuring that a local or state government office’s candidate experience (i.e., time to hire, workflow process, candidate communication, etc.) is positive during this period. If such an experience is not easy or too time-consuming, candidates will move on to other opportunities.”

To help develop policies, EY has an EY Americas Inclusiveness Advisory Council (IAC). The council is made up of influential EY leaders from across the Americas, representing each service line, region and function. The council is dedicated to elevating and advancing diversity and inclusiveness (D&I) across the organization. It is part of the firm’s major investment in D&I as a key pillar of its business strategy and EY’s commitment to bring different perspectives to serve its clients.

National Urban League (NUL) Annual Conference and Career Fair

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Michael Keating is senior editor for American City & County. Contact him at [email protected].