adr international Procurement consultants

Getting buy-in before you buy

Management changes, mergers and market forces may have disrupted internal relationships, says Fred Parkinson. So now is the time to review how stakeholders are working together

After Edward Whitacre took control of General Motors as chief executive officer he replaced a third of the corporation’s 40 top executives within a year. That is just one very visible example of how the global recession generated staff upheavals in companies everywhere, potentially disrupting procurement initiatives that depended on close collaboration across divisions and functions. It’s also a reminder to review how well the stakeholders across your organisation are working together as a team.

Whether it’s part of the launch of a procurement initiative or to incorporate new individuals into an existing project, our consultants often follow a prescribed process to make sure all stakeholders, including senior management, are fully engaged in the work and committed to the project’s success.

Engaging stakeholders is not very complicated, but in practice steps are often overlooked or derailed when they hit an obstacle. So it is worthwhile to review a few key ideas and look for solutions to potential trouble spots.

Of course, high-level corporate executives are often responsible for launching projects to save costs or generate other value from an organisation’s supply chain. When their commitment of time and resources is clear, it sets the stage for a successful outcome. In fact, it can be an important motivator to overcome resistance to change among stakeholders at any level within the organisation.

Once senior managers have been brought into an initiative and laid out their goals, they should identify all the groups with a stake in the project and select the right people to represent them. In a manufacturing environment this usually means people from engineering or product development, production, finance, marketing and different geographical divisions as well as procurement managers.

The leader of the group is key to success. We’ve seen cases where the added responsibilities of leading a cross-functional team were just too much for an otherwise capable individual. When that issue emerges it is often best for senior managers to provide backup support – involve the outside consultants in some of the detail work, for instance – rather than replace the leader. Of course, we have also witnessed the reverse – individuals who used the opportunity as a chance to excel and receive promotions.

Once the team is in place, we like to run a tightly structured, two-day, face-to-face meeting with all the stakeholders. Making that resource commitment tells everyone involved how important the initiative is, and allows all team members to get to know each other and make a good start on the work in front of them.

Out of that session should come priorities for action, clear roles and assignments for each team member, a timeline and a communication system. The communication system is particularly important. We’ve seen cases where a team member falls out of the loop by missing meetings or not returning calls or emails. Planning to communicate through multiple channels can help address that pitfall.

The communication plan should also lay out a sequence of “telling the story” of the initiative to other stakeholders beyond the working group, covering all levels of the organisation. It should start with an explanation of the overall goals of the project – perhaps even giving it a name.

That helps signal the fact that the initiative will bring change. Since any kind of change can be uncomfortable, the communication plan has to sell the benefits of the programme and expected outcomes. In other words, it must convince the organisation that the change will be worth it. Often the best way to overcome scepticism – especially beyond the working group – is to identify a category of spending where a change can be made quickly that will show immediate results.

For example, you might conduct a competitive analysis on a category where the incumbent supplier’s contract is about to expire. The results may be surprising, especially if you choose a category where technology or other market forces are putting downward pressure on prices. As outside consultants, we can often suggest an area for a quick success that can motivate the team and bring positive attention to the project.

Every project is different, and even the best plans need midcourse corrections, so the communication plan must actively solicit feedback from all stakeholders. First, this allows the group to adjust plans based on actual results to date, and second, it continues to engage stakeholders as they see their ideas or concerns are heard.

Finally, set a time to bring the work of the engagement team back to senior management. Use the deadline to drive action, and present your results in a way that credits all stakeholders and ensures a successful implementation. Everyone likes to be a part of success, and once there’s a positive example, it makes it easier to move forward with more difficult categories.

Fred Parkinson is a senior consultant at ADR North America LLC, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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