Identified as key resources because of their advanced technological expertise, IT Consultants are increasingly solicited by companies to assist in projects relating to digital transformations. Reaching out to external service providers raises a major challenge: their hiring must be in line with conflicting requirements set out by IT and purchasing departments.
Initially, Purchasing departments have been in charge of sourcing and managing this type of recruitment for intellectual services which enables IT teams to become more agile and efficient. In order to reach out to these highly requested profiles by the IT Services Department, Buyers identify third party service providers, such as those from platforms or digital agencies. However, IT Services Departments and Purchasing departments each have different requirements. IT services want to on-board the best profiles, that are high experienced and available on short notice, to develop their technical roadmap and staff their teams internally. As for Buyers, they are looking first and foremost to optimize costs. When it comes to recruiting the best talents for their internal customers, it is no longer just a question of cost, but also of performance and adequacy with IT needs. As a result, purchasing departments find themselves torn between the role of financial controllers and that of high-performance, agile, and innovative resource providers.
Each departments’ different and diverging needs is what is currently slowing down digital transformation projects within companies.
If companies want to successfully transform themselves digitally and remain both innovative and efficient, the buyer’s role need to go through a quick and radical change. They should no longer be limited to a “cost-killer” approach.
The Buyer needs to transition into a real community driver for their internal customers and not just a cost inspector. They should go beyond the limits of today’s ERP tools and give CIOs a larger role in identifying and recruiting external talents. With this joint collaboration, they will finally be able to provide effective solutions to successfully carry out the company’s major IT projects.