The top ten skills needed for contract management

Linton said that experienced contract managers are reinforcing the importance of soft skills more.

“Soft skills play a large part in how procurement and supply professionals can engage internal stakeholders. If we want that seat at the table, we must be able to engage more effectively internally with stakeholders,” he added.

Use leadership initiative

Linton said that while contract management has long since been a key tool, contract leadership has been neglected. 

“It’s interesting how we use the word ‘management’ a lot and ‘leadership’ not very much. We talk about contract management, performance management, supplier management, and category management, whereas the term leadership isn’t often used in the context of procurement-related activities,” he added. 

Linton recommended that procurement and supply professionals adopt a leadership role on the contracts which are “strategically important” to the organisation, and that they should be displaying the “top 10 key skills” while in a contract management leadership position. 

In the CIPS Procurement Salary Guide 2023, leadership is one of the top five skills in demand across the globe, highlighting that leadership skills are still highly sought after in the profession. If you do need to develop your leadership skills, CIPS Procurement Skills Training is a great place to start. Delivered online, the behavioural leadership course looks at adapting behaviours to deal with a range of scenarios, emotional intelligence and resilience and you’ll get the chance to critically assess and evaluate your own behaviours, both in positive and negative environments.

Close the contract management skills gap

The research showed that 82% received no formal training when entering their first contract management role, despite 90% of them being involved in the managing of a contract in excess of £1m, and only 10% had specific, formal training. 

Linton recommended that both the individual and employer take responsibility to ensure that the contract manager has the skills required to effectively lead the contract. 

Companies need to be ensuring there aren’t skills gaps and working with procurement and supply professionals to develop training plans where necessary.

He said individuals needed to recognise what skills were needed to do the job and those that are starting in first-time contract manager roles should seek guidance from experienced professionals, either directly within the organisation or through platforms such as LinkedIn and CIPS.

Learn the value of financial analysis

Financial analysis is also another core skill for procurement and supply professionals to master. Colin added: “Particularly now, in these very challenging times, the facts are that companies will be looking for all of their functional areas to be contributing positively towards profit and cashflow. Financial analysis skills, to a level, are crucial for any function, particularly for helping cost reduction. 

“Contract management is, in part, about risk management, and some of the risks that we deal with include reviewing finances of critical suppliers so that if they go bust, we can get on the front foot and anticipate it.”

Financial analysis skills are crucial to people working in procurement and supply roles. Colin Linton also spoke to CIPS in the podcast Financial Analysis Skills and discusses how contract managers can identify risks using the ICEBERGS® model and how a deeper financial understanding can help procurement and supply increase their profile and add value to their organisation.