The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics in the UK showed that unemployment had risen by 232,000 in the three months through April, and with a similar pattern emerging in Europe, procurement is being called on across the continent to manage a recruitment process that, for many companies, still represents one of their top three cost bases.

And according to Matthew Sanders, CEO of recruitment specialists de Poel consulting, procurement’s role is likely to gain in prominence – even as Europe begins to emerge from recession – as firms look to increase their use of temporary, rather than permanent staff. 

“As we come out of recession temp spend goes up and we’ll probably see this continue for, possibly, the next three or four years,” Sanders told Procurement Leaders. 

“Organisations don’t want to be seen as hiring and firing and while there’s an element of uncertainty in the economy then companies will hold off from embarking on major recruitment drives.

“Procurement is becoming far more actively involved in the recruitment process because spend is being scrutinised more closely than ever. CFOs are looking to get a firmer grip on what they spend and because procurement has a better grasp on spending then they’re taking the lead in front of operations and HR (human resources).

“Ten years ago procurement was a fairly blunt instrument now they’re a lot more commercially savvy – they’re now leading on recruitment in 90% of our contracts.”

In its annual salary survey, the US institute received more than 1,000 responses and found that the average salary of a supply management professional in 2008 was $98,117 – although a discrepancy in gender pay was clearly seen with the average male salary coming in at $106,679 compared to the average female salary of $84,090. 

Chief procurement officers, or the equivalent, earned an average of $256,560, while vice presidents earned $201,338 and directors $131,204. Managers, meanwhile, earned $93,132 and experienced supply management professionals could expect to be paid $69,780.