Make Savings A Team Effort!
Our research, surveys and empirical data tell us that too many supply chain professionals are trying to make all or most of the supply chain savings for their hospital, system or IDN themselves. While this is a commendable effort, it isn’t productive, prudent or cost effective in the long run.
A much better way is to share the workload with your value analysis team members. I will guarantee that by doing so, you will increase your savings output by 300%, 400% or even 500%. If you don’t have a value analysis team(s) now, then it is high time you establish one to lighten your workload, increase your throughput and boost your buy-in on your savings ideas.
It then becomes your job to facilitate, coach, train and consult with your VA team leaders and VA team members to ensure that your VA team is on track, on budget and on target to save big for your healthcare organization.
One of the secrets of personal productivity is DELEGATION: Assigning others your responsibility, but not your accountability to get things done! That’s what a VA team can do for you. It will provide you with many extra experienced hands that you will need to operate at peak performance. The alternative is to continue to be swamped, frazzled and overworked while getting little, if any, real, robust savings work done.
How to Select the Best VA Team Leaders
Indentifying the best value analysis team leader candidates can be like playing a game of roulette if you don’t have a list of proven characteristics that are known to be a good predictor of success. To help you in your selection here are four characteristics you should look for in your Value Analysis leaders:
1. Team leadership experience
Your candidates should have managed at least one team previously, before even being considered as a VA team leader. This is not the time for on-the-job training if you are looking for a high-level of performance for your value analysis teams.
2. Problem-Solving Skills
This is an essential skill that your team leaders must possess, since this will be a big part of their job as a VA team leader. This important skill will help their project managers when they hit the wall on their projects and think that no solution can be found to move their projects forward.
3. Proven Track Record
Just because a candidate has led a team before, doesn’t mean that they have done it successfully. Look for candidates with a proven track record of results (quantitative and qualitative) before assuming that they have the leadership abilities necessary to lead one of your VA teams.
4. Excellent Communications Skills
One of the most important leadership skills a VA leader can have is to be an excellent communicator, since this is 80% of what a VA leader does. A VA leader must provide frequent, consistent and timely verbal and written communications to their team members that are clear, motivating, and goal oriented. If a leader doesn’t have this skill they will be ineffective in leading their VA team in the right direction.
These are just a few of the characteristics we have found that VA team leaders must exhibit if they are to be effective, successful and competent in leading their VA teams. Don’t forget to use them the next time you make the important selection of a VA team leader. This will ensure your ability to get a good fit – not a mismatch!
