Holiday Hiring Remains Healthy

Damon Francis -- Purchasing, 12/22/2000

It is no secret that the economy is slowing. Throw in the fact that the holidays usually create a natural break in the hiring process, and there is cause for purchasing professionals to be apprehensive about the current job market. Many recruiters and purchasing pros, however, are reporting a steady, if unspectacular, earnings season and continued healthy demand on the hiring side.

Emery J. Zobro, president of the John Michael Personnel Group in Chattanooga, Tenn., says, "the purchasing hiring economic outlook over the next six months remains positive at this time but that is a conditional assessment based on the somewhat remote possibility of an economic turndown or recession over the next 12 months. Also, a few of our company clients have not totally assessed or budgeted their purchasing hiring requirements for 2001, pending the results of the U.S. presidential election, and the need to know

how government will manage funding/expenditures over the next four years."

Donna McMillan of McMillan Associates Inc. in Melbourne, Fla., says, "We have noticed no decrease in the number of requests placed with us for purchasing professionals. In fact, over the past quarter, requests for assistance from companies have shown a decided increase. I would say the general economic outlook still looks promising."

Seasonal considerations

"The major hurdle to hiring at this time of year is the anticipation of substantial end-of-the-year incentives. In recent years, companies have used sign-on bonuses to compensate for money 'left on the table,' but it will be interesting to see if companies will be as aggressive this year. There are indications that companies may be willing to wait rather than pay steep sign-on bonuses" says Kevin Rohan, purchasing specialist at JP Canon Associates in New York.

Levels doing the most hiring

Purely in terms of numbers, the majority of "new hires" are coming from the more junior levels in the purchasing function. Positions from buyer/analyst to first-level managers are abundant, but this month the manager-VP market was also strong. Rohan notes, "We have been engaged in more than 10 director/VP jobs in the past month and a half."

"Hiring in the low- to midrange level continues to be strong as companies build their departments. We have noticed a decided increase for senior-level purchasing professionals with expertise in B2B e-commerce" says McMillan.

Zobro adds that, "applicants with offshore or international purchasing experience are in high demand, particularly with regard to Asian-Pacific and Latin American countries."

Industry trends

Zobro says, "the split between strategic procurement and tactical purchasing is becoming more and more apparent. Many client companies now prefer that purchasing employees, irrespective of level, have a blend of both tactical and strategic applications and ability. This is somewhat different from a trend we saw developing in 1999 when some manufacturers were bent on only hiring the strategic purchasing practitioner."

McMillan notes that, "start-up e-commerce companies offering Web-hosted procurement software have developed over the past six months nationwide and are slowly impacting the purchasing practices of many companies, especially in MRO and indirect purchases. We have seen a resurgence of hiring within the service industry."