On Monday evening, TOLSON hosted its monthly CPO Club at the beautiful Châteauform venue in the 7th arrondissement.
The topic of conversation was skill-building and training buyers. Here are some takeaways after an enriching roundtable discussion:
1. The content of training courses is aligned with same needs for all participants, more or less
- Specific purchasing training in order to improve procurement practices
- Induction of a manager, especially when the manager is coming from another department other than procurement
- General personal development courses organized at the company level
- Company-specific training to understand company culture
2. As for the method, things depend strongly on the nature of the training and the company
- e-Learning is growing in popularity but in person training is still essential for certain types of courses and to create a sense of community
3. One point strongly emerges: integrating training into daily life
- Mentorship, feedback, concrete case studies, coaching by external actors on specific categories: the goal is to become a learning company
4. The cost of training is poorly understood and the return on investment is difficult to assess
- Best method: evaluation by the employee AND his manager