“The structure being put in place that hasn’t been there before, around all the components that sit within social value, is enabling an acceleration of the whole agenda around social value.”
There’s an element of procurement beyond the nitty gritty that’s steadily come to the forefront of the agenda, particularly in the last 10 years – social value. For Jonjo Hobbs, Managing Director of Capita Procurement Solutions, the idea is not a new concept, but one which has gained traction in the wake of Covid.
In today’s episode of Talent Talks we dive deep on how a focus on social value within procurement affects the sector’s perception both internally and externally, the impact that both Covid and Brexit have had on localisation of supply chains, and we build on our previous episode and consider the lessons that each of the private and public sectors can learn from each other.
This episode of Talent Talks covers:
- Social value in procurement, and its increased importance vs a decade ago
- Covid’s impact on Capita Procurement Solutions’ projects, and adapting to change
- Differing approaches in public and private sectors, and what each can learn from the other
- The renewed perception of supply chain’s value outside of procurement
- Covid and Brexit’s effects on localisation of supply chains
This episode of Talent Talks is sponsored by Capita Procurement Solutions, the client-facing procurement consulting business within the Capita Group. They deliver a wide range of leading procurement solutions from short-term strategic advice and projects to fully-managed procurement services.
Links & references
- Jonjo Hobbs, Managing Director of Capita Procurement Solutions https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonjo-hobbs-2223205/
- Capita Procurement Solutions https://www.linkedin.com/company/capita-procurement-&-commissioning/
- Martin Smith, Founder & Director of Talent Drive https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinsmith2009/
Episode highlights
“It’s not that this is the sudden arrival of social value in light of Covid and the environmental issues that are being pushed up today, but I think there is a moment where this is all gaining traction.” – 2:40 – Jonjo Hobbs
“We’ve certainly had lots of conversations over the last 10 years with with councils around how their money is being spent. I think the structure that is being put in place that hasn’t been in place before, around all the components that sit within social value, is enabling an acceleration of the whole agenda around social value.” – 7:00 – Jonjo Hobbs
“Outside of those areas which are key services, or continuity services depending on how you want to look at them, there’s absolutely going to be a need to really help people get back into work. I think you’re going to see government initiatives and those are going to drive us a long way.” – 11:05 – Jonjo Hobbs
“I’m slightly grayer and older than others, I’ve got kids. So not being on the road all the time is quite nice for the family. At the same time, you’ve got a lot of people who are starting their careers, and sitting in an office with colleagues doesn’t just create a working relationship, it’s part of your social life.” – 16:58 – Jonjo Hobbs
“There’s been a perception for many years that the public sector needs to learn from the private sector. Actually, both sectors need to learn from each other. The public sector procedures and processes, and the rigour that is applied within tendering under those rules, creates a very strong framework and methods to prevent errors, abuses, mistakes, the wrong thing, the wrong outcomes.” – 20:50 – Jonjo Hobbs
“In many ways it is the slightly more administrative tasks, I think, that will be gobbled up by technology in the short term, and then we’ll have to see just how clever artificial intelligence really gets. It’s going to be a very interesting 5-10 years.” – 36:45 – Jonjo Hobbs
“Be open to everything. There is so much change and opportunity within all of the activity that a procurement professional is involved in, that most people don’t really think sits within procurement.” – 37:30 – Jonjo Hobbs
