Inside Mining: Passionate People
Procurement with Heart: A reminder that there is good in the world.
Balancing corporate needs and community reality is no mean feat. Between hitting key performance indicators and working with local resources, many a procurement officer has needed a river of coffee and numerous hail-marys. However, with a sensible head upon her shoulders, bottomless resolve, a huge heart and a tenacious work-ethic, Shannon Wilson of Newcrest mine has shown SEF what is possible for procurement and the local community, as working with Shannon has and continues to be a privilege for SEF. To share part of her story is to share what is possible, to highlight the greater goals that can be kicked off for mine and community, for entrepreneurs and small businesses, even amid significant challenges. Procurement success can be for long term and mean sustainable economic futures.
Procurement Challenges
There is no denying that procurement is tough. Large active mines have codes and standards of products they need to source, as well as requirements for local sourcing, that are many times at odds. Hitting necessary standards for products and tools is vital, which has left many procurement officers struggling to find these products in the local market. And yet buying from the local market ushers in countless positives for communities, the building up of a local economy, with opportunities and up-skilling meaning compounding benefits for mine and local community alike.
Doing It Right
For Shannon it starts with trust; Trust from all parties involved, from the mining side and the local community. There needs to be buy-in, an understanding before anyone can give their best. Value and excellence are always sought for but the bedrock must be trust and relationship. Hearing Shannon speak about how she approaches procurement is to hear someone who pairs patience with pragmatism, honoring her First Nations heritage and the opportunity to collaborate with new peoples.
Investing in Individuals
Shannon explains that no one should ever feel like a number, they need to be understood and welcomed into the process. If there is confusion, find an explanation If there is fear, walk alongside someone. No matter the item that is being filled, Shannon approaches the process and person with humanity. From engineering items to catering, Shannon advocates to see the importance of the person, to see the importance of the needs filled and from there the magic of great procurement can happen. Through her approach of creating connections and trust, Shannon has been able to hear, sense, and plan for best fits. It is from connection, trust, and patience that a person’s full value can be seen, where critique can be shared in safety and used to grow and develop.
Shannon also speaks of appreciation and respect. Where she has filled in a procurement need or role, no matter the scope or size of the procurement, she seeks to lean into appreciation and respect for people showing up and bringing value, time and services. This cycle of appreciation and respect can be positively contagious in the dynamic of a local economy, large mine, with potential and current entrepreneurs.
With her underlying passion to help and a great love of numbers, Shannon has gone on to carve out herself an approach to procurement that is progressive and practical. With fairness, going-the-extra mile, patience and bringing people together Shannon has shown that more can be done through procurement than commonly thought possible.
Going Beyond
Having three plans at any one given time and ready to help out with tedious paperwork where errors have been made, Shannon has balanced the human and value-adding mindset to partner local peoples and entrepreneurs with mining needs. SEF experienced Shannon’s patience and kindness first hand. Working together on a development project with SEF, Newcrest and Shannon were eye-deep in paperwork. While members of the SEF were busy flying around the world, Shannon spied a missing section of paperwork. Not only did Shannon highlight this but offered to dive in and get it sorted. It is this selflessness, tenacity, and desire to keep a partnership going from strength to strength which has brought out continuing successes between SEF, Newcrest, and Shannon. A collaborative procurement environment can mean the sky's the limit for all stakeholders, particularly established and new entrepreneurs.
Shannon’s pragmatism and heart are best shared as she chooses to share, through story, through inviting people to be a part of her community. Her gift of pragmatism and problem solving came through at an early age. Helping out her family members in counting out various bolts that were in trays according to their size. She took a step back, perhaps metaphorically and literally, and mused, “why don’t we just weigh them? That’ll save us so much time.” Taking a step back, asking questions and learning was to be how she, step by step, met challenges and grew.
A life of learning
SEF feels a great connection with Shannon as the desire to be constantly learning is shared. Wherever Shannon has found herself learning has felt the most natural thing to do. With a posture of inquisitiveness and humility Shannon has sought to learn from those she has rubbed shoulders with, whether in a formal role or having time on her hands in a warehouse. She encourages all to have a mindset that there will always be an opportunity to learn. This can mean growth in all circumstances, particularly from unlikely sources. With this approach she understands mistakes are inevitable and perfection shouldn’t be aimed for. However, learning from mistakes is what counts.
Small Steps Lead To Great Opportunities
An unlikely lesson came to Shannon out of the blue when a colleague took the time to pull her aside to show her how to create a purchase order (PO), integral to procurement. The colleague didn’t know when Shannon would need the knowledge but thought it would lift Shannon up if she was taught it, for the future. This approach of going the extra mile by bringing people in, sharing knowledge, and creating community, are the heartbeat of SEF and Shannon exudes them all. It is immensely encouraging when kinship is found in the pursuit of business and human excellence. Procurement can mean hitting key corporate objects and lifting up a community to grow, upskill and shape for itself a sustainable economic future.
While procurement may be tricky, Shannon shares the core principles that guide her. Honouring the process and the confidence of the company are important, and working from a place of conscience and integrity are vital. It is mixing upholding value sought from vendors (her mum instilled in her the principle that you shouldn’t have to buy something twice, the first time should stick), the responsibility to a mine, and honoring the people in the local community, that Shannon balances so deftly.
Stronger Together
Shannon traces her people to Gitxsan and Taltan peoples, and she has a heart to see good for the people through work, honesty and community. SEF sees much of its heart through Shannon’s approach to procurement. She believes there is always opportunity. There is always hope. There is always an opportunity for something new to happen. SEF and Shannon believe in momentum, in moving forward, through skills development, in starting a business, in providing value, there is always something around the corner.
She invites people in to journey with her in procurement. She has built up a network over years of interaction, trust and learning, that she continues to invest in. At the core of her operations, she cares about the endgame, and not being distracted from that. It is to the endgame that she directs her gaze, to get great products, yes, and also to lift up her community, her network of people, for their development and betterment. She sees the journey of procurement as a collaboration, she isn’t taking the journey alone. Small business owners, vendors of all categories come into her orbit but there may well be a time that she will need to rely on them. Her viewpoint is to see her community as a resource of value-added but also of reciprocal support and strength.
She emphasizes that the endgame is so important. Sustainability is so important. Mining companies come and go but it is the community that endures, needs to endure. Skills, collaboration, going the extra mile, trust, respect, honesty, responsibility, these are all non-negotiables for her. Shannon will continue to pursue procurement in her way, a way that SEF has had the honor of participating in and is significantly excited to be a part of in the future.