Only 14% of procurement leaders express confidence in their talent’s ability to meet the future needs of the function, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc.

The finding comes as business acumen and competencies in technology and data have rapidly grown in importance over more traditional procurement skills.

“Procurement leaders are generally confident in the current state of their talent and the ability to meet their near-term objectives,” said Fareen Mehrzai, senior director analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain Practice.

“However, our data shows that chief procurement officers (CPOs) are worried about the future and having sufficient talent to meet transformative goals based around technology, as well as the ability to serve as a strategic advisor to the business.”

The Gartner survey of 111 procurement leaders in June 2023 showed a rift between procurement leaders’ assessments of current and future talent needs in the function.

While nearly half (46%) of respondents are confident in their current talent needs, only 14% agree they have adequate talent to meet future requirements.

The number of respondents who strongly felt that they did not have adequate talent tripled from current levels when asked about their future requirements, rising from 47% to 66%.

Driving the lack of confidence in future talent readiness is a shift in the key competencies CPOs need to help drive objectives associated with procurement transformation.

Over two thirds (69%) of respondents said business acumen had gained importance in the last 12 months, while 68% said technology and data skills had increased in importance.

Only about a quarter (26%) said “traditional procurement competencies” had gained importance in the same period.

“Procurement leaders are aware that the competencies required to drive transformation are different from traditional procurement skills, and that there are significant gaps between their current and future needs for the most important competencies,” said Mehrzai.

“Ninety-six percent of respondents reported at least a small gap in their needs for technology and data skills, while 86% reported the same when it came to business acumen.”

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Gartner’s survey data suggests that more work needs to be done in refining competency planning strategies to meet future talent needs in the procurement function.

While more than 65% of respondents reported that their organisations have dedicated strategies to target the most critical competencies, only a third (31%) believe that their current competency models are relevant to their staff’s work.

“In evaluating current competency levels, we see procurement leaders relying most on peer and stakeholder feedback, while less than half report engaging in competency-driven interviews to directly evaluate their staff’s skills,” said Mehrzai.

“Considering the significant gaps in the most critical future competencies, CPOs need to consider expanding their options in how they train and evaluate their staff.”