Professional Development Professional Development Professional Development 
Professional Development Fix Your Meeting!
We have all been there. The moment you left the meeting, and you feel that nothing got done. You are not alone. All organizations, whether it is a private business or a government entity, are guilty of it. Here are 6 tips to break out of that cycle!
Emergency Procurement & Risk Management 3 Tips for Re-Building Your Post-Pandemic Office
Both the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the National Conference of State Legislatures project that budget shortfalls for FY 2020 and FY 2021 could create millions of dollars’ worth of deficits. In order to save money, some state information technology workers are already planning to work permanently from home, even after the pandemic has subsided. Keep the possibility of permanently working from home in mind as budgets shrink and innovative solutions are explored. What could your procurement office look like in the post-pandemic? Here are 3 tips for re-building your post-pandemic procurement office. Read more “3 Tips for Re-Building Your Post-Pandemic Office”
Emergency Procurement & Risk Management Preparing for Simultaneous Emergencies
If the COVID-19 pandemic has had a silver lining, it has been the forced shift to working from home and decentralizing the office building. While this transition to working from home has not been without growing pains, the benefits outweigh the costs in terms of preparing for emergencies on the horizon. Now that we know we can work efficiently from home; it is time to explore options to make our offices even more resilient in the face of future emergencies.
Professional Development Accelerated Innovation During a Pandemic?
Despite the pandemic’s disruption of normal work life, innovation can still take place. A disruption can often be the catalyst of systemic change. This is because in a disruption, there is a push to quickly fix inefficiencies within the system. The main killer of innovation is often habit. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted businesses and government across the country, but it doesn’t mean your office cannot capitalize on the opportunity for innovation. Although the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented, the techniques used to fuel innovation from disruption are still applicable today.[1]
Professional Development Managing Remote Workers
Managing a remote team of workers for the first time can be challenging in the best of circumstances, much less now in what feels like a disorienting wave of bad news and emergency actions. It can feel uncomfortable to not be able to swing by someone’s office to talk to them face to face or have meetings where you can see expressions and body language.
Here are some tips and resources to help you manage your team remotely:
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”
Market Research Back to the Value
Thirty-Five years ago, when the Value Chain Model was first introduced, procurement was viewed narrowly as cut and dry cost savings. But as suppliers become more citizen-centric, central procurement officers (CPOs) need to become more value-aware of procurement’s unique position. Public procurement should no longer be viewed narrowly for cut and dry cost savings, but for the additional value the procurement process can add as a strategic partner. 
Read more “Back to the Value”