Increase Your Productivity

Have a Plan

On Sunday evening take a moment to define the week.  Craft of a vision of how the week will unfold.  Define items you need to accomplish and set reminders for things like doctor appointments, recitals, or when your big report is due. Little things such as setting out your clothes or making the kids' lunches the evening before will  avoid the morning rush to make the day to flow more smoothly.  

Make a List

To-do lists help organize what you need to do but they need to be realistic.  Having a list of 50 things and only 2 hours to complete the list isn’t going to happen.  Assign time to each task such as 15 minutes or an hour.  This helps evaluate the time needed for each task. Prioritize your list by most important. Now you know what you need to do by when and the time needed for each item.

Block out Time

Life has a way of interrupting when you are trying to get work done. A phone call, the urgent email, or the coworker who needs immediate help inevitably impedes progress. To combat this block off time in your day to tackle specific items. Close your door, turn off the email, put your phone on do not disturb.  You will accomplish much more if you focus solely on a dedicated task.

Avoid digital distractions

We love to see the latest tweets, facebook updates, or read emails immediately but we can get in the habit of always being connected. This leads to a feeling of constant multitasking. Turn off email alerts and check messages every 30 or 60 minutes. You can fully engaged on the project at hand. Another tip is to consolidate all your different emails accounts into one by automated forwards. Then you aren’t having to check various accounts so often.

Have a Life

Create blocks of time to focus on having fun with your family or friends.  Schedule an evening out or enjoy some of your hobbies .You need to make time to decompress. This helps clear your mind providing the ability to focus more intensely when you need to.

You can increase your productivity and actually have more free time just by making small changes to how you approach each day.  Have other productivity tips to share?  Please comment below and let’s get more stuff done together!

Be a Rock Star Buying Agent

Being a buyer in the medical industry has become more challenging in the last few years. Juggling issues such as reform, competitive bidding, and pressures to reduce costs seem to decrease the odds of your success.  Here are few tips to help you improve and reach rock star status!

Eye for Details

Missing notes makes any rocker sound bad.  Keep an eye on details such as pricing, terms, freight, and the fine print in contact agreements.  Although pricing is always top of mind, paying attention to quality of your buys is critical.  Saving a few pennies isn’t always worth products falling apart, not servicing a patient well, or the complaints that will later roll back to your desk.

Negotiate

Get the best gig. Strong negotiation skills go a long way to securing the best deals.  Remember negotiation includes details beyond pricing. Securing beneficial terms and conditions often go further than a price decrease.  Remember to think about payment terms such as discounts for early payment or including freight on your POs.  These can add up to big wins for the bottom line.

Create Efficient Reports

Have the right sheet music. Setting up systems for reordering, alerts for low items, price discrepancies, and freight changes will make your work day flow like practiced orchestra.  Work with your IT department and administrators to create automated reports that run on demand or generate automatically.  Having the right data at the right time will help you work efficiently and effectively.

Build Relationships

Create your fan base. Setting phone calls with your vendors allows you to stand out from the crowd in the world of email and voicemail tag.  Try using humor and knowing a bit about your vendors’ personal lives and interests.  Asking how Johnny did in his last ballgame or the discussing the latest reality show your vendor can’t live without can lead to bonding moments.  These stronger relationships will drive more successful negotiations and longer term agreements allowing you to work smarter not harder.

Team Player
Don’t always perform the guitar solo.  Find ways to help your co-workers and vendors. Avoid the big ego and my way or the highway approach. Inevitably situations will arise and favors will need to be called upon.  Being able to work together as a team will get fires put out and make solutions a win-win for all parties. 

To stay a relevant rock star one must keep evolving. Invest in continuing education, read trade publications and incorporate some of these tips in your daily processes.  You can be a Rock Star Buyer that keeps climbing the charts!

Healthcare Industry Trends for 2014

Change is all around us - from how we interact with our family, buy groceries, or do our jobs. Just like our daily lives, these shifts impact the medical world. Here are 5 leading trends we will see in the healthcare industry for 2014. 

ACO
What are ACO's? Accountable Care Organizations are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who coordinate their work together to provide care for Medicare patients.  Basically these organizations are accountable for how they are using medicare funds and making collective decisions for the best care and best costs for patients.  ACO's continue to grow in numbers and many are looking at ways to become involved.

Price Transparency
The demand for better price transparency continues to increase.  From confusing medical bills and insurance-speak, consumers are left confused and frustrated.  Providers who are making it a priority to have stronger transparency will likely win over patients and consumer appeal.

Digital Technology
Technology is integrated all we do. The medical world needs to keep up.  Mobile, social, and cloud technologies will impact how organizations interact with their patients, suppliers, and within their business.  Patient want access to medical assistant beyond the clinic or doctor's office.  The most successful providers will be embracing these technologies.

Home Care Expansion
Driving care into the patient homes continues to grow.  Home care drastically reduces overhead, cutting some costs by 30%, it is convenient for the patients, and overall increases the quality of care because patients generally do better in home environments.

Wellness Incentives
Companies large and small are now offering incentives for healthy behaviors.  These incentives can be gift cards, cash rewards, or discounts on health insurance. The organization has a healthier work force which reduces sick days and insurance costs.  Employees are rewarded with health and incentive perks.

How are you seeing or capitalizing on these trends within your organization?  Please share your thoughts below. Wishing you a very Happy New Year - let's make it the best one yet!

Setting Goals and Sticking to Them

It's January and many of us are diving into our resolutions with a passionate cry that this year I will stick with my goals! Wait -- didn’t we say that last year….and the year before that? Sticking to new goals is a challenge. Here are some ways to set appropriate goals and successfully accomplish them.

 

Define the Goals
- Create a clear definition of what your goal is.

- Be clear on the “why” of the goal which is your motivation.

- If you have more than one goal, group them into categories
- Tackling too many goals is a recipe for failure. Stick to a few key goals.

 

The Road Map

- A critical step is defining the how-to with monthly, daily, weekly steps.

- Put each step on a calendar to keep it top of mind and direct a clear path.

 

Evaluation – Practice not Perfection

- Put check-ins on the calendar to review progress

- Reviewing will drive more meaning to the goal and redirect efforts if needed.

- Each quarter ask questions such as - is the goal still relevant, how would you grade your progress, can you do other things to improve?

Celebrate the Wins

- Encouragement along the way keeps you engaged to accomplish your goals.

- Changing isn’t all or nothing. Celebrate victories with small rewards.

  

Example Goals

• Business Goal:
  Define - grow sales by 5%
  Motivation - a more profitable business
  Map - create monthly retail sales promotion with help of sales team
  Evaluation - monthly review of sales results,what worked what didn't
  Celebration - quarterly catered lunch, bonus at year end if achieve goal
• Health Goal:
  Define - Reach my goal weight of 150 lbs
  Motivation - a healthier me to be active and live longer
  Map - sign up and calendar an exercise class and attend 3 days a week
  Evaluation - monthly weigh in and review of efforts
  Celebration - quarterly get new shoes, year end a full spa day

Remember that life is about the journey. You will learn, you will fall, and you will grow– with focused intention, a plan, and self awareness you can stick with those goals and make them happen!

End of the Year Budgets

The year is quickly speeding to a close.  Many buyers have budget they want to use up before the year end. Here are some tips to maximize your remaining budget before the new year ball drops!

Most Purchased Items
Take inventory of items purchased the most frequently. Can you stock up and obtain a bigger volume discount? Keep in mind the needed product storage or your distribution center warehouse space.  Review with your teams anticipated usage that might impact the need for higher or lower quantities.  If you can afford to hold the inventory, it might be worth the savings for a bulk price and freight to buy now.

Highest Spend Products
Are there products that are a big hit to your budget? If it is something you purchase every year, evaluate if your current excess budget might cover it now.  This will keep the expense off the books next year and allow funds to be used for other items.

Vendor Closeout Savings
Keep your eye out for vendor promotions or special offers.  Many suppliers want to get products off their books and are slashing prices.  Keys to success are to evaluate if you need the products and if the savings is truly a value. Evaluate price per unit, carrying costs, install expenses and all the incidentals. Once you crunch the numbers you might score some great deals.

Negotiate Terms
Many suppliers are willing to negotiate for bigger ticket purchases. Discuss more favorable terms or spreading out payments. This can help with cash flow is tight. Vendors are happy to record the sale before the close the year and typically are willing to work with you.  Another option is to work closely with your Controller. Many companies want to part with cash before year end for tax purposes.  Ask your vendors for pre-payment discountsby pre-paying up front. You shave off some cost and enjoy the tax break.

The New Year will be here before you know it. Don't delay. Now is the time to use those budget wisely!

Small Business Stress Buster Tips

Stress is a normal part of each day. As manager or buying agent you're burden with the accountability of the buck stops here. You likely feel elevated levels of stress during the holiday busy season. Here are some tips to keep your stress in check to survive, thrive, and enjoy the season!

Set Priorities
Shooting from the hip can create chaos because your team has no defined course of action. Having a plan is half the battle. Set yearly- quarterly-monthly-weekly-daily goals. This allows you to break down your goals into smaller pieces and work through them on a manageable level. Start each day by reviewing your priority list. This keeps you on schedule and you know you are covering your bases.

Re-evaluate Results and Goals
Don’t set it and forget it. Check in with how you are tracking towards your goals. Did something change where your goals or tactics need to be reconsidered? Maybe your buying contract didn't pan out to the savings you needed or your medical supply shipment didn't arrive. Be prepared to come up with plan B such as a back up vendor source or re-evaluate your analysis for additional savings. Revisiting goals will nip concerns in the bud before they become bigger stressors.

Uncover the Root Cause
Stress can cause us to overact to challenging situations or be upset at the messenger. Remember to take a deep breath and attempt to get at the heart of the matter as quickly as possible. What caused the effort to fail – billing error, shipment issue, patient usage estimate was off, or was it a staffing issue? Try to put the issue in perspective with the big picture of your business. Attempting to stay calm and look objectively at events can steer you to the right solution faster.

Teamwork
You are not alone. Your staff or co-workers are there to support you and make the business a success. Train them well and empower them to take on more responsibilities. Reach out to them when your to-do list is overwhelming. Letting go of your internal control-freak can be the best thing for your stress level and helps your staff grow.

Get a Life
You need a life beyond your business. When you leave for the day check out of business mode. Enjoy your family, friends, hobbies, and outside interests not related to your work. Decompress and let your mind enjoy other topics. This refreshes your body and soul to tackle the next business day ahead.

Stress is an unavoidable part of life, but with a little pre-planning and getting down to the root causes of challenges you can overcome stress and drive your business to success. A little chocolate can always help too!

The Personal Touch

Technology creates efficiency, streamlines operations, and makes our jobs easier. However there can be a draw back to all this digital communication. We often lose the interpersonal communication that drives a deeper understanding of others. Consciously utilizing a more personal approach can build better relationships with your coworkers and business partners. 

Why are stronger relationships important?  Businesses need coworkers and partners to work closely together to succeed. We all inevitability need a favor or extra effort to make goals reality.  Tapping our strong relationships, we can pull off these magical business feats and both savor the success!

Here are some easy ways to add the personal touch to your communication.

Handwritten Notes
Written notes are memorable.  Did you get help on securing that new buying contract? Did a coworker work overtime to finish up that demanded report? Pop a handwritten thank you note in the mail or place it on their desk. You will be amazed how much people appreciate the small gesture and it takes mere moments to do.

Phone Call
Instead of sending your 100th email today, why not pick up the phone and have a conversation with your business partner. Pepper the call with personal questions about their family, holiday plans, or their weekend.  A call might take more time than firing off an email, but can have a lasting impact on your relationship. Strategically target a few a day with your key partners or with coworkers. Much more might be accomplished in a quick call and you are building rapport.

Voicemail
Instead of the same blah-blah message, make yours more memorable.  Change it up each day or each week. Match your personality such as a quote of the day, or the latest sports score, or what the weather is like where you are at.  Keep it short but a bit difference than the rest.  You might find people are disappointed to get you on the phone because they are dying to know what you said on your message!  This is all about adding your personality to your work.

Think of ways you can be memorable and take a more personal approach to your communication. Building stronger relationships will help you succeed - and have a bit more fun along the way!