Emotional Skills: an Essential Axis of Pedagogical Innovation in the Training of Buyers/Managers of External Resources

Objective: The transformation of many jobs within companies should give rise to a necessary evolution of skills used by individuals. Whether it is to improve the relevance of decisions or to preserve people’s health, the development of emotional skills for the last ten years has often been presented as a necessity. Buyers, who are more and more seen as managers of external resources, are particularly concerned by this need. By strongly evolving, the purchasing function has become strategic and essential for achieving organizations’ performances. The development of soft skills like the emotional skills of the buyers implies a significant evolution of the training intended for them. It is true if we consider initial training at the University or Business School, as well as in the field of in-company training. Based on a presentation of new needs, we propose possible changes and additions that could be brought to current training. Methodology: The research was based on the analysis of literature review and real situations observed in companies (especially during training sessions). Findings: Because of the evolutions of their job, buyers who become more and more managers of external resources should develop their emotional skills. These skills can be developed using adapted training sessions. Value Added: The importance of emotional skills is pointed out and several ideas aimed at enabling the development of emotional skills are given. Recommendations: It is recommended to use the TSP chain (Task, Skill, Pedagogy) in order to define adapted pedagogy for the development of emotional skills.