G4S
Willescroft also uses what he dubs “ positive tension ” as a management strategy .
“ By positive tension , I mean regions and categories challenging one another to drive value . It ’ s important that this exists between my global category leads – who deal with the international business – and the regional local procurement leads .
“ This is the matrix model I ' ve employed and I think it works pretty well .” Data is another weapon in his arsenal . “ The insight you drive from data is absolutely key . It ' s the glue that holds the procurement function together . Data allows us to talk about risk , performance , cost savings and sustainability in the same language , which makes it much more powerful to the wider business .”
Keeping his global team engaged , informed and motivated is another major challenge , says Willescroft : “ Given the complexity and the geographic spread of the team , my objective is to make everyone feel part of a single team – one global
“ If you don ’ t embed sustainability into your everyday processes and routines , then you ’ re just sticking stuff on that will eventually fall apart ”
JON WILLESCROFT CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER , G4S
68 March 2023