Your Workforce Is a Product. Procurement Is the Supply Chain.
As organizations rethink how work gets done, workforce strategy and procurement are increasingly intertwined. Mika J. Cross, a workforce transformation strategist and Founder of Strategy@Work, brings decades of experience advancing human-focused policy, flexible work, and workforce transformation across global organizations, government and private sectors. A founding member of The Future of Work Alliance, Mika shows leaders how to treat workforce development like product development—and why procurement is the supply chain that makes it possible.
A New Era for Workforce and Procurement
We’re living through a time of major transformation. Rapid shifts in workforce demographics, technology, and global events are reshaping how and where we work, and the skills we need to thrive.
In this new reality, we can’t afford to treat employees like just another line item on a budget. Instead, we need to think of our workforce like a product—something we design with intention, invest in consistently and continuously improve so people can grow, thrive, and deliver their best work.
Procurement is the supply chain for that product. It’s how organizations access the tools, training, technology, and partnerships needed to build and sustain a high-performing workforce. Whether it’s sourcing AI training, leadership development, or hybrid work solutions, procurement directly shapes the employee experience and drives organizational capability.
But here’s the thing: we can’t modernize procurement without investing in the people who make it happen.
The procurement workforce itself needs support—through upskilling, modern tools, and a seat at the strategy table. Too often, procurement is seen as a back-office function focused on compliance and cost-cutting. But in today’s fast-moving world, it must evolve into a strategic partner that fuels innovation, inclusion, and readiness. When we invest in the procurement workforce, we unlock its full potential to power workforce transformation across the board.
Strategic Procurement = Strategic Workforce Outcomes
For leaders navigating the future of work, procurement must evolve into a strategic function—one that builds capability, culture, and competitiveness. With intention, it becomes more than a process—it becomes a tool for transformation.
The most forward-thinking employers and institutions are already using procurement to invest in future-ready capabilities like AI literacy, agile leadership, and organizational health.
When aligned with workforce strategy, it empowers organizations to move beyond compliance toward innovation, agility, and impact.
The result? A talent ecosystem that’s not only prepared for change—but designed to lead it.
Procurement also opens the door to experimenting with new workforce models— hybrid work, project-based contracts, or outcome-driven performance systems—helping organizations stay adaptive and inclusive.
The Workforce as a Product: A New Lens for Change
So how do we make this shift? Let’s flip the paradigm and start treating workforce development like product development. Just like any great product, a high-performing workforce requires intentional design, continuous investment, and regular iteration.
Workforce Product Lifecycle Framework
Ideation – Identify emerging skill needs: AI literacy, resilience, digital fluency.
Design – Co-create workforce solutions with vendors, communities, and internal stakeholders.
Build – Use procurement to pilot and scale new workforce models like hybrid work or gig-style contracts.
Launch – Deploy talent strategies aligned with your organization’s mission and goals.
Optimize – Measure impact, refine contracts, and reinvest in what works.
This approach turns procurement into a continuous innovation engine—not just a paperwork process. It empowers organizations to treat workforce strategy as a living, evolving product.
From Framework to Action: Make RFPs Work for Your Workforce
If we’re going to treat workforce development like product development, then RFPs are the design specs. They’re where strategy meets execution.
By sourcing mission-aligned vendors, organizations can build talent pipelines that reflect their values and goals.
To align procurement with workforce strategy, we must evolve how we write Requests for Proposals (RFPs). That means:
Including language around employee engagement, inclusion, and skill-building
Asking vendors to demonstrate impact, not just deliverables
Tracking metrics like retention, readiness, and satisfaction
This shift requires deeper collaboration across HR, acquisition, and program leaders. When RFPs are written with intention, they become blueprints for building the workforce of the future.
Tools You Can Use: How to Activate Procurement for Workforce Transformation
Bringing this vision to life starts with rethinking procurement —not just as a process, but as a powerful lever for workforce transformation.
Procurement is more than a budget line; it’s a reflection of what we value. If we want a resilient, inclusive, and future-ready workforce, we must use procurement to build it. That means investing in people, partnering with purpose, and treating workforce strategy like a product we’re proud to deliver.
Global leaders can start today by auditing current contracts for workforce outcomes, engaging specialized businesses, rewriting RFPs to include workforce metrics, hosting cross-functional workshops, and tracking impact stories to build momentum. These steps may seem small, but together, they can shift procurement from a compliance function to a catalyst for innovation and inclusion.
Final Thought: Procurement Is Strategy in Action
The future workforce isn’t coming—it’s already here. And just like any great product, it requires intentional design, investment, and iteration. Procurement is the supply chain that makes it possible. Every contract is a chance to shape culture, build capability, and drive innovation.
When we treat workforce strategy like product strategy, procurement becomes not just a process—but a powerful catalyst for transformation.
You can read more of Mika’s insights on the Association of Talent Development (ATD) website: Smart Governance: Redefining the Business of Government With Data Literacy and Agile Teams or visit her congressional testimony here: “The Future of Federal Work” | Congress.gov | Library of Congress