How to Tell your Procurement Boss you Have too Much Work
It’s not uncommon for procurement professionals to have a lot of work on their plates, and sometimes, simply too much work. Many procurement professionals are already burnt out, with many more on the verge of quitting.
WIth procurement in the throes of the great talent shortage, no manager anywhere wants you to quit, despite how you might feel. So, if you’re in a situation where you simply have too much work, how do you fix it?
Talking to your boss about your work overload can be challenging. Of course, you naturally worry that they’ll think you can’t handle the work, and that you’re not working hard enough. However, if you let the work build up, you can end up delivering poor quality work, which can then lead to your manager to assume you’re unreliable.
For this reason, it’s important to talk to your procurement manager, and sooner rather than later. Here’s how you tackle this challenging topic:
- Don’t be too hard on yourself
If you’re feeling overworked and overwhelmed, it’s natural to think that the problem is you. However, especially in more challenging times, it’s important to remember that most organisations are trying to do more with less, so the first step when asking for help is to not be so hard on yourself.
If you’re a good performer typically, then asking for help won’t signify to your manager that this is no longer the case. In fact, it can signal the opposite: all procurement managers want employees who are honest and can come to them with issues, so speaking up can simply help them help you continue to perform.
- Get an outside perspective
When you start to feel overwhelmed and overworked, everything can feel too hard, and tasks that might not have taken you a long time before might, suddenly, take a long time. For this reason, it’s important to get an outsider’s perspective on your workload, including talking through how long things are taking you.
A potential person to consult about this is someone in your team who has either done your job, or is currently working at a similar level to you.
When discussing your workload with them, single out tasks that are taking you a long time, for example, perhaps you’re preparing a report for finance that is taking you six hours per month. Ask them how long certain tasks took them, and whether they have any suggestions on how to streamline things.
Part of this conversation may also include asking them for examples of what they did or how they did it. It might be possible that they were achieving the same outcomes as you, but with less effort or perfectionism … in this case, it may pay to take their approach.
- Be honest and provide solutions
When preparing to discuss your workload with your boss, it’s important to find a balance between wanting to continue to help with critical tasks, and effectively managing your workload. It’s even more important to come to your boss with not just the problem of your workload, but potential solutions.
To do so, try the following:
- Make a list of your current tasks, including how much time things are taking you (and how much effort you are putting in). This step is important – often managers simply don’t know how long things take.
- Create a priority list, with suggestions of what you might be able to prioritise versus what you feel might be able to be allocated elsewhere
- Leave some room in your plan for additional tasks your manager may deem important.
- Be honest about anything else that might be impacting your work performance (such as personal issues), and let your boss know when you might have more capacity.
What’s your procurement workload like at the moment? Have you ever had to have a challenging conversation with your manager about this? Let us know how it went in the comments below.
