We were very interested to read this recent article from Supply Management, detailing how procurement professionals saw an average salary increase of 7.3% in the past 12 months – racing ahead of the national average of 6.5%.
Current talent shortages are forcing organisations to become more attractive in order to recruit and retain candidates, according to the UK CIPS Salary Guide 2023 released in partnership with Hays.
Worker and skills shortages mean procurement professionals are ‘increasingly highly sought after’ and are able to hold out for higher salaries and benefits, as well as be more selective towards organisations that match their personal values.
Martin Smith, Founder at Talent Drive, commented:
“We know there is a real war on talent across the procurement market and unfortunately, this has led to organisations offering more money for procurement talent, which in turn has distorted the market. It’s a buyers’ market out there right now, which means that candidates within reason can dictate their value, which creates massive headaches for hiring managers when trying to not only attract but retain talent.
To counteract this we are actively encouraging Hiring Managers to look at hiring more ‘junior’ talent, that they can invest time in to grow and develop or potentially looking at more generalists or short-term interim support, to plug an immediate need – rather than investing in a permanent headcount.”
Salary increases in the profession also outpaced last year when salaries grew by 4.9%, the guide, which surveyed 5,000 global procurement professionals throughout 2022, found.
The overall average salary for procurement professionals in 2023 stands at £53,359, compared with £49,743 in 2022, an increase of 7.3%. Almost three quarters (73%) of respondents reported receiving a pay increase in the last 12 months.
The biggest salaries were reported in the private sector and in London, and business services (£74,790), banking (£72,516), and energy and utilities (£64,009) procurement continued to dominate salary size in comparison to other sectors.
Brad Mills, Manager at Talent Drive, added:
“One thing to focus on if uplifting budgets is not possible due to constraints is to act swiftly and decisively in this competitive market. Any hesitation or delay through the process can leave it open for other organisations to swoop in and take the best talent off the market.
As part of the interview process, us as the agency and any hiring teams that we are supporting need to be ‘selling’ the opportunity to candidates given how competitive the market is. If you do not, others will, and this can be the difference in the outcome of securing the talent or missing out.”
We’d love to know what your thoughts are on this topic!
