Five traits make high performers
different
by Robert T. Yokl
We
all toss around the word "analytics" (or the science of data analysis),
which sounds very impressive, but what does it really mean to you and your
hospital, system or IDN? And what makes high performers different, more
engaged and masters in this discipline?
For one thing, high performers in supply
chain management are five times more likely than their peers to view
analytics as a core supply chain function, not just as something we do upon
request.
These same supply chain organizations
employ their analytics to gain a much more sophisticated understanding of
how their products, services and technologies are used after they are
bought. They not only look backward, but forward to predict what is likely
to happen, and adjust their supply spend accordingly. This leads these
healthcare organizations to breakthrough double-digit savings as well as
command and control their total supply spend.
Make it count
Jeane Harris, Thomas Davenport and Robert
Morrison of Accenture tell us that there are five traits that make analytic
high performers different from their peers. They:
-
Generate good, clean and actionable data. While others are trying to get
their data in order, high performers focus on having their data in
pristine condition at all times. We see this in our value analysis
analytics practice. The clients who have the most success in identifying
savings opportunities utilizing value analysis analytics take great care
and discipline in keeping their data in order.
-
Think in terms of the entire enterprise. If you are only performing your
value analysis analytics on your medical/surgical supplies, then you are
missing 50 percent or more of the achievable savings available to your
healthcare organization. Just the other day we uncovered for a client
$65,329 in savings in their hand sanitizers category that wouldn’t have
been discovered if we had limited the scope of our value analysis
analytics work to a few categories of purchase.
-
Promote analytical leadership in their ranks. Top to bottom support of
your analytical work is necessary to obtain the time, money and resources
necessary to become a high achiever. This leadership always begins and
ends with a strong analytical leader who sets the pace, promotes the
standards and lays out the goals and objectives for his or her department.
-
Understand what their targets should be. Where to get started? Price
analytics is only one area of concentration for these top-tier supply
chain organizations. They also give equal attention to their demand,
utilization and operational analytics so they touch all of their bases. If
you are only analyzing your prices, then your analytical work is only half
done!
-
Focus on hiring the best and the brightest. High performers also hire the
best and the brightest, but then they make sure that they are happy in
their jobs. Furthermore, they have them work closely with their customers
so that they can bring integrity, credibility and synergy to their
workplace.
This framework will enable healthcare
organizations to employ their analytics in a more strategic fashion by
putting their data to work in an organized, logical and systematic way. At
the same time, it will provide the necessary leadership to raise this new
discipline to its rightful place in the hierarchy of your healthcare
organization.
Optimal approach
As you can see, just hiring an analytic
specialist and saying to them "go save me money" isn’t the optimal approach
for your healthcare organization to become a high-performing supply chain
analytics factory. It takes fact-based insights to make better decisions
about what you are buying, together with strategic framework to achieve the
highest performance level with your analytics.
Then all it takes is practice, practice,
and more practice to become proficient in this new and emerging discipline.
Robert T. Yokl is president and
Chief Value Strategist of
Strategic Value
Analysis In Healthcare, which is a leading healthcare firm in supply and
process value analysis. Yokl has nearly 38 years of experience as a
healthcare materials manager and supply chain consultant, and also is the
co-creator of the Utilizer Dashboard that extends beyond spend management
for deeper and broader utilization savings. For more information, visit
www.strategicva.com.
For questions or comments e-mail Yokl at
bobpres@strategicva.com.