Procurement Office Development Procurement Office Development Procurement Office Development 
Technology & IT Procurement Finding IT Talent in a Haystack! Part II
Is IT Procurement for you? Explore ways you may already be the best choice to fill that IT procurement position in your agency!
Agency Relations & Customer Service Customer Service to Agency Stakeholders
A successful procurement relies on quality customer service from the procurement specialist. An important component of customer service is early collaboration between agencies. The initial interaction provides the procurement specialist the opportunity to establish trust and start a relationship through personal engagement with agency stakeholders. This is the best time for the specialist to set clear expectations, listen and respond to concerns, and build a partnership.
Professional Development Everything is NOT Awesome – Difficult Customer Situations
Imagine this – a state agency has come to you with frustrations about a lack of communication from the central procurement office. They have not heard back from the office in over three days, and they are frustrated that they do not know what is going on with their solicitation. This is just one example of a frustrated customer situation you might run into in your operations. When these unhappy customers arise, there are steps you can take in order to recover from a bad customer service experience. Read more “Everything is NOT Awesome – Difficult Customer Situations”
Professional Development How to Cope with Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity
By one estimate, this spring we leapt 5 years into the future in 8 weeks’ time so if you feel like you have mental whiplash, that might be why. Read more “How to Cope with Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity”
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 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”
NASPO Events & Education NASPO Welcomes New Academic Partner
The National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) and George Washington Law (GW Law) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to foster and promote public procurement education together. Dr. Karen Thornton, the Director of the GW Government Program Law Program, and Dianne Lancaster, NASPO Chief Learning Officer, are the representatives for each organization. Read more “NASPO Welcomes New Academic Partner”
NASPO Events & Education A Day in the Life: Norma Hall
During the Annual Conference we announce that year’s recipient of the Mazzone Award. The prestigious Mazzone Award recognizes the exemplary service of procurement officials to the public purchasing profession. Today we are catching up with Norma Hall, the 2019 Mazzone Award winner who discusses her career accomplishments and the importance of certification and giving back to the public procurement community. Her passion for public procurement was palpable throughout our interview and incredibly inspiring.
Norma Hall’s career in public procurement is the very definition of exemplary service to the state of South Carolina. A NASPO member for 15 years, Norma has served on numerous boards and committees for almost every public procurement association. Norma is a multi-award-winning procurement professional with a dedicated mission of giving back to the profession that she cares for so much. Read more “A Day in the Life: Norma Hall”
Professional Development