Speaker Spotlight Q&A: Gregory Spearman, Purchasing Director; City of Tampa

Answer : It’s getting the satisfaction out of meeting or exceeding customer expectations. It’s important getting to understand what your customer’s business objectives are and how procurement plays a role into that process. It’s also important for the customer to understand the procurement process and to keep them informed and engaged every step of the way. Having the ability of offering different customer-based solutions is critical. Oftentimes customers have a limited “knowledge base” when it comes to procurement but once you build up their confidence that you’re there to help them, the walls come down and true strategic partnerships happen, and the lines of communications become very fluid.

Having a supplier diversity program is extremely important because of the need to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion (a/k/a DEI) in the bidding and contracting process. Small and minority owned businesses can and do perform well if there is a serious effort to de-mystify the bidding process, remove barriers that prevent them from bidding and unbundling large projects that are more attractive to small and minority businesses.

Also, reaching out to them to provide an orientation on “How To Do Business” with your entity is a necessary Outreach Initiative. DEI has to be intentional and a priority for any entity serious about increasing its spend with small and minority businesses. Having a dedicated Chief Diversity Officer and / or an Equal Business Opportunity Office (including staff to support the operation) specifically designed to design and implement programs and policies aligned with top management to include goals for inclusion and reporting of outcomes is an absolute necessity. If there is no formal structure in place, change will not happen.

Answer: Stay up to date on industry best practices, especially as it relates to public procurement. Show your employer the value you bring to the organization. Always be professional, ethical and have integrity. Follow your policies, procedures, City and or County Code of Ordinances meticulously. Public procurement demands a high degree of transparency because of the expenditure of taxpayer dollars. So, accountability is extremely important. You must operate in a manner where you not only have the public trust, but also that of your employer and governing board and the Team that you manage. Get actively engaged with Local, State and National procurement organizations. Become a panelist at conferences, volunteer and serve on boards and committees. Obtain national certification.