5 Ways to Make the Most of your CIPS Membership in 2021
You’ve got the membership, but how are you going to make the most of it in the year to come? Check out our five top tips.
As we enter 2021, it’s a chance for both professionals and organisations to reap the benefits of their CIPS memberships. There are several advantages to this, but there are a few which could really help to move us all forward and ensure the profession remains aligned with organisational goals and strategies.
We’ve picked out our top five below.
1. Chartership
We know we’ve discussed this in other articles but that doesn’t mean we can’t emphasise that it’s a way you are certain to make the most of your CIPS membership.
Chartership comes with a significant investment in terms of time and effort, but for most professionals it will be an investment they want to make. Going from MCIPS to Chartership makes it clear to colleagues, peers and current and future employers that you are serious about taking your career in procurement to the very top level.
Clocking CPD hours through learning and development, attending events, collaborating with fellow professionals and possibly even teaching or mentoring others provides a wealth of benefits. You’ll be at the forefront for knowledge on industry trends, equipping yourself with the skills procurement departments are looking for in their search for the profession’s next leaders.
2. Global Standard for Procurement and Supply
Does your procurement department have a competency framework for all its roles and levels? Do you know how your current role measures up against the industry standard? If it doesn’t, or you aren’t sure, then help is at hand in the shape of CIPS’ Global Standard for Procurement and Supply.
CIPS has created a globally applicable competency framework which details exactly what ‘good’ looks across all industries and sectors. Individuals can use the Standard to benchmark their own role, whether that means understanding if they are at the right level, or identifying development needs to help them progress.
Organisations can also use the standard to assess how well they are performing against other procurement teams all around the world. They can create benchmarks for their team and identify any skills and/or knowledge gaps that they can fill with targeted investment and training.
3. Brexit
It’s almost impossible to think that something the size and importance of Brexit was pushed to one side, but that’s exactly what happened in 2020. However, with the UK’s exit from the EU confirmed on the 31st of December, it remains critical for organisations to focus on the on-going impact of Brexit on supply chains.
Supply chains were already disrupted in the run up to Christmas 2020, with the impact of COVID-19 likely to be felt for some time to come. With new regulations to follow for the import and export of goods, impacts on lead times and costs must be considered now. And that’s not to mention the impact on business travel between the UK and mainland Europe.
CIPS has pages of information, reports and knowledge sharing dedicated to Brexit for you to read and ensure you mitigate risks and build strong supply chains. It will continue to be updated and will be a valuable source of information for procurement professionals throughout 2021.
4. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
It’s easy to talk about Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace, but it’s more difficult to make it a key pillar of organisational strategy. This year, consider what you as an individual or manager, or your organisation, needs to do to make your workplace more respectful of all inputs and opinions.
CIPS has made resources, including videos, podcasts, webinars and guidance from experts in this field, available on its website. It has a LinkedIn Group that you can join and may also be in a position to run ‘Listen and Engage Workshops’ in 2021. These are aimed at sharing knowledge and ensuring procurement and supply chain play their part in the ED&I agenda.
This shouldn’t just be an internal focus either. There are also resources to help professionals expand their supplier diversity programmes, which in turn help with organisational ethical practices.
5. Corporate Ethics Mark
Procurement can no longer justify not having fully evidenced ethical and sustainable sourcing processes and activities. However, this is not a one-time commitment: it’s something that departments need to continuously refresh and ensure that individual and organisational qualifications and certifications are up to date.
CIPS’ “Ethical Services” can assist with this, providing resources and support organisations in operating ethically and sustainably. This includes training for individuals and departments on Modern Slavery and forms part of the training and commitment for organisations to be recognised with the CIPS Corporate Ethics Mark. Not only does this prove ethical and sustainable practices, but it also helps form the standard for the whole profession to meet.
There are our top five ideas for making the most of your CIPS membership in 2021. There are plenty others, so whatever you choose to do, make sure you really get the full benefit this year. Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comments below!
