Professional Development Professional Development Professional Development 
Professional Development Ease Working From Home
The COVID-19 pandemic has left many organizations to figure out how to best adjust their workflows and training programs to meet the changing demands of our current work environment. This means many organizations (NASPO and Procurement U included) are moving to remote work options. While it is important for every organization to do something, the reality is that it can be much more challenging for some organizations to quickly ramp up a work-from-home situation, and training programs are left evaluating their ability to deliver effective training in a virtual environment.
Below are some tips and resources that could help you manage virtual training or remote work options. Read more “Ease Working From Home”
Professional Development Executive Leadership Training: Why You Should Consider It
Let’s face it, the workplace changes fast. Change is a topic that is daunting to some, but with proactively trained leaders change can and should be embraced. Read more “Executive Leadership Training: Why You Should Consider It”
Professional Development Be a Better Boss
When I became a new supervisor in 2008, I realized right away that I was woefully under-prepared. My agency offered no training at all! I was a newly minted public librarian so I dug into our collection and started reading. I spent the next decade reading every kind of management book, psychology book, and motivational book I could find.
Here are my reading recommendations for your path to being a better boss: Read more “Be a Better Boss”
Professional Development Succession Planning: Don’t Just Plan for Your Future
As a greater proportion of the workforce reaches retirement age each year, the importance of succession planning has never been more apparent. Talent management and succession planning ranked #6 on NASPO’s Top Ten priorities for 2020 . Never fear! Pulse is here to help with some tips and tricks for a successful planning process. Read more “Succession Planning: Don’t Just Plan for Your Future”
Professional Development Eliminate these four Productivity Killers in 2020!
At NASPO, we know our members are usually involved in multiple projects at one time. Not only is each project timely, and essential, but chances are it’s complex by nature too. Do you want 2020 to be your most productive year yet? Let us help. Thanks to our friends at TopThink and Forbes, we want to highlight four common habits to avoid to help make you as productive as possible.
Read more “Eliminate these four Productivity Killers in 2020!”
Professional Development Keeping Up with Continuous Improvement
No matter how well your office is running, there is always room for improvement! Consistently looking for ways to improve your processes can lead to greater efficiencies and cost savings in the long run. Models like Six Sigma and Kaizen are often used to help identify ways to improve on a day-to-day basis. This process of continuous improvement can help eliminate inefficiencies and wasteful activities or time-consuming steps in the procurement cycle. It’s about taking a critical look at your processes, finding gaps and opportunities for improvement. Read more “Keeping Up with Continuous Improvement”
Professional Development Don’t Get Left Behind, Get Certified!
Many professionals reach a point in their career when they ask themselves: Should I get certified? Whether you work in IT or the healthcare industry, public procurement or supply chain management, we all know certifications matter. We also know that getting certified is a big-time commitment and requires financial resources.
Professional Development Get Your Certification ON!
Public procurement professionals are the gatekeepers of taxpayer dollars and are held to a higher standard of conduct, excellence, and integrity. The continuous development of academic degrees related to procurement as well as national certifications are necessary to elevate the public procurement profession as a recognized and highly regarded career path. For procurement professionals who are interested in elevating their career, getting certified, and having fun along the way, where should they go? The answer is the UPPCC! Read more “Get Your Certification ON!”
Professional Development Major Procurement Trends: Helping Your Office Move Forward
In the past twelve months, what significant challenges has your procurement office faced? Have you had internal conversation about the struggle to replace a retirement-age workforce? Did you have to adjust in order to overcome a supply chain disruption caused by a major weather event? Chances are that you have- and you are not alone. For every qualified individual, there are six vacancies in the procurement sector, and we all have watched the news as natural and man-made disasters like devastating wildfires have affected millions of people. So, what should you and your fellow procurement officials do in the face of all of this uncertainty?
Read more “Major Procurement Trends: Helping Your Office Move Forward”