Overture Partners: IT Staffing Solutions
How Procurement and TA Can Align on IT Staffing Decisions
IT staffing decisions often sit at the intersection of two powerful but very different functions:
Talent Acquisition (TA) and Procurement.
Procurement is tasked with cost control, risk reduction, and vendor compliance
When these teams align, hiring is smoother, faster, and more cost-effective.
When they don’t? The result is frustration, delay, and friction—on both sides.
Here’s how smart enterprise teams bridge the gap and make better decisions together.
Start by Naming the Tension (It’s Real—and Normal)
This isn’t about miscommunication—it’s about misaligned incentives:
|
TA Focus |
Procurement Focus |
|
Fill roles fast |
Control spend |
|
Find best-fit candidates |
Enforce preferred vendor list |
|
Maintain hiring manager trust |
Reduce vendor sprawl |
|
Improve candidate experience |
Ensure process compliance |
Neither side is wrong. But not acknowledging this upfront leads to silent frustration.
High-performing teams get this tension on the table early—so it can be managed, not ignored.
Define a Shared Success Metric: Delivery Value per Dollar
TA and Procurement both want to avoid:
- Bad hires
- Budget bloat
- Burned-out internal teams
Instead of debating who owns what, define mutual success as:
“The highest-quality, lowest-risk hire at the best possible cost—delivered on time.”
That’s a shared goal both teams can work toward—without defaulting to cheapest or fastest as the only metric.
Use Role Risk to Guide Vendor Flexibility
Not every role needs the same level of vendor scrutiny.
Create a shared evaluation model like this:
|
Role Type |
Speed Priority |
Risk Level |
Procurement Flexibility |
|
Helpdesk Support |
Medium |
Low |
Use preferred vendor |
|
Cloud Engineer |
High |
Medium |
Allow shortlist from TA |
|
GenAI Architect |
High |
High |
Waive preferred vendor; allow specialist firm |
|
Project-Based Scrum Master |
Medium |
Medium |
Contract model review |
The higher the risk or urgency, the more procurement should flex.
The lower the risk, the more TA should follow preferred channels.
Create a Joint Vendor Review Cadence
TA often knows who delivers quality. Procurement knows who performs on paper.
The solution? Review together.
Set a quarterly cadence to:
- Share hiring manager feedback
- Compare speed, fill rates, and churn
- Discuss upcoming needs and possible gaps
- Align on vendor mix before crisis mode
This transforms vendor selection from firefight to strategy.
What Aligned Staffing Engagements Look Like
When TA and Procurement are aligned, the partnership looks like this:
✅ TA gets to move quickly on critical hires
✅ Procurement sees spending aligned with risk and outcomes
✅ Stakeholders feel supported—not blocked
✅ Vendors are accountable to both functions—not just one
Overture Insight:
At Overture, we work across both sides of the house.
We understand that a great candidate doesn’t matter if the vendor can’t pass procurement, and that low cost means nothing if the hire doesn’t deliver.
That’s why our model includes:
- Clear intake and quality gates for TA
- Transparent pricing and compliance for Procurement
- Real-world delivery metrics both teams can trust
Because when internal alignment is strong, external success follows.
