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Did You Know...?
That Value Analysis Was Developed Back In the 1940's After World War II as a Way to Find Lower Cost but Higher Quality Alternative products and methods. This was Due to the Lack of Material Resources At The End of The War.
Savings Beyond Price -Weekly E-Zine- December 13, 2006
Robert T. Yokl
President & Chief Value Strategist
Greetings!
Quickly Improve Your Savings Yield By Using Focus Groups
One powerful savings technique that I have found to dig out savings is to use focus groups after you have identified a savings opportunity.
For example, one of our clients was using 100% disposable BP units to the tune of $100,000 annually, which didn’t make sense to us. When a focus group was conducted, at our suggestion, with their nursing personnel it was quickly found that the reason they were doing so was that they couldn’t get their maintenance department to fix their re-usable BP units, so they bought disposable ones instead. Hence, a one-hour focus group saved our client $92,222.33 annually once this problem was fixed.
You can experience these same quick and tangible savings results with your own focus groups by: (i) not assuming an outcome, (ii) keeping an open mind, (iii) run one more focus group, if you’re not sure of the results, and (iv) don’t stop listening when the session is over, since you may hear valuable information as the attendees are leaving the session.
Focus groups are another tool in your savings toolbox that is a perfect fit when your instincts (or benchmarks) tell you there are savings to be harvested at your healthcare organization.
Your Partner in Supply Chain Savings,
Robert T. Yokl
President & Chief Value Strategist
P.S. Are you ready to start a new and fruitful savings and quality improvement year? Is it time to re-energize your team/committee or program with value analysis training and strategic supply chain planning? SVAH has successfully trained over 5,707 healthcare professionals in the advanced savings strategies of strategic value analysis for 20 years now (since 1987)!
Incentivizing Your Value Analysis Teams Doesn’t Need To Be With Money!
“A Recent Study Shows That Non-Cash Incentives Are The Best Motivators In All But Short-Term Incentive Programs”
I have preached for over the last 10 years now that supply value analysis teams need to be recognized and rewarded for their work. Most of our clients have bought into this and reaped huge benefits from doing so. I have also lectured our clients that the rewards don’t need to be money, but can be in the form of plaques, thank you letters, days off, gift certificates, merchandise, travel and special events like lunches or pizza parties. These non-cash rewards and recognitions can be just as meaningful and as important as money.
On the other hand, if you want to incentivize your supply value analysis team to achieve BIG short-term savings goals, like saving $3 million dollars in three months, the best motivator is cold CASH. Most healthcare organizations however don’t have this kind of challenge; they generally are looking for long-term savings and quality improvements where non-cash awards are a better fit.
In fact, a recent study by the National Conference of People Performance Management found that employee recognition was the most effective motivator, followed by gift certificates and special events to motivate employees or teams. They found that non-cash rewards and recognition programs are perceived to be superior to cash-based programs when it comes to motivating employees.
With these important motivational facts in mind, if your hospital, system or IDN doesn’t have a rewards and recognition program for your supply value analysis teams, you are missing an important critical success factor that will energize and strengthen your supply value analysis program – almost overnight!
DID YOU KNOW…
That 120,000 letters to Santa go the North Pole, Alaska, from 26 countries, every year to this town of 1,600. Volunteers from the town try to answer the letters, so no little child is every disappointed by not getting a reply from Santa before the big day.
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