Talent management is an evergreen challenge in any line of work, but it has reached high tide in public procurement, demanding focused resources. Specialized knowledge and training requirements, as well as high ethical standards[1], can make the field seem opaque. “Procurement is often lumped into other government work or functions, and it has yet to have its true breakout moment,” said Daniel May, who joined NASPO last year as the Director of Procurement Talent Development.
Shifting the Conversation
A 2022 study by McKinsey & Company revealed that 70 percent of Americans define their sense of purpose through their work, and the figures are even higher for young professionals.[2] Public procurement professionals can clear the opaqueness that May mentioned by communicating the profession’s impact. “We need to tell procurement’s story not as forms, rules, and documents, but as the hidden heroes of public service,” May said. One example he offered is the inspiring stories of first responders. Procurement professionals don’t save people from fires or heart attacks, but they typically provide the equipment needed to do so. “Once we show this impact, then we begin to shift the conversation,” May said.
Finding a sense of purpose through work, a key to attracting young talent, can be easier when the position is exciting or interesting. But because the procurement process can be tedious, speaking about it in an engaging way to people without procurement backgrounds can be difficult. One strategy can be to discuss unusual or interesting purchases, May said. “I will put it this way – if you go to dinner with a stranger, would you rather hear their story about how they once bought dinosaur bones for a museum or the time that they had to rewrite a 140-page document because there was a technical issue in one of the response criteria that did not hold up in an administrative hearing?”
Resources Available for Training
The programs and partnerships NASPO has created since May’s arrival respond to calls from NASPO’s Partnership Forum last year for specialized training for professionals of all experience levels.[3] More specifically, the participants highlighted the need for tailored, accessible training pathways, as well as stronger links between those training pathways and careers. “Our goal is to further publicize the opportunities within procurement, while simultaneously delivering highly trained talent to our state offices,” May said.
With more resources, more professionals ─ especially younger ones ─ might choose public procurement as a long-term profession with pathways for advancement. Since the Partnership Forum, NASPO has developed talent management graphics for NASPO members and other procurement professionals to help procurement offices and professionals navigate available resources to support career advancement at every stage. Additionally, there are several new talent management initiatives underway:
- an apprenticeship pilot program with the state of Maryland;
- a skills program for military service members transitioning to the civilian workforce; and
- a partnership with Work for America’s Civic Match program to create opportunities for those impacted by workforce reductions at the federal level.
- A potential degree program at Arizona State is also in the works, and NASPO is planning how to conduct outreach at the high school level, May said.
In addition to those developing programs, NASPO members may also take advantage of the organization’s professional development funds, with tens of thousands of dollars available to each state annually.
“When I was on the member side, we tried to build year-long training plans to expend as many of those dollars as possible to deliver constant professional development for our members,” said May, who previously worked for the State of Florida. May added that some states even develop internal programs without much funding ─ like shared libraries of videos, books, or online resources about which teams meet informally, but regularly, to discuss.
Free opportunities are also available for non-members, including:
- educational publications and databases
- introductory Procurement U courses
- internship programs, and
- scholarship programs.
As NASPO continues to cultivate talent development programs, procurement professionals can leverage these resources. In time, these efforts may lead to procurement’s “true breakout moment” and begin not only keeping talent but also attracting new, younger talent to enter the field. “I firmly believe that time is coming, and we are here to usher in an era in which procurement is recognized as an intentional career,” May said.
[1] “Importance of Ethical Procurement,” NASPO, accessed April 15, 2025, https://cdn.naspo.org/RI/ProcurementToolboxIssue2_ImportanceofEthicalProcurement.pdf.
[2] Swathi Bhaskaran, Andrew Davis, Christoph Desbriere, and Sara Wasserteil, “Bridging the advancement gap: What frontline employees want – and what employers think they want,” McKinsey & Company, July 21, 2022, https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/bridging-the-advancement-gap-what-frontline-employees-want-and-what-employers-think-they-want.
[3] Reed Stevens, “NASPO’s 2024 Partnership Forum on Workforce Challenges,” 4, NASPO, accessed April 10, 2025, https://cdn.naspo.org/RI/PartnershipForumReport.pdf.
