Analyzing business operations PLAYBOOK

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1 Analyzing business operations 2016 HME BUSINESS PLAYBOOK Brought to you by VGM Group, Inc. second half strategy 1

2 Introduction This playbook has been designed to assist you, the HME business owner or manager, in assessing your people, processes and technology. The goal? To provide solutions to better position your company for an industry in transition. Table of Contents People Solutions for Managing People...1 Beyond Technical Skills: Hiring a Good Fit... 2 Using Personality Assessments Tests to Benefit Your HME... 3 Three Inexpensive, User-Friendly Personality Tests... 3 Leading Employees Through Change... 5 The Art of Leading with Integrity... 7 Processes Solutions for Managing Workflow, Processes and Continuous Improvement...8 Make Process Improvement Part of Your Business Culture... 9 Determine Your Business KPIs... 9 Discover and Prioritize Pain Points Mapping Processes to Revolve Issues Steps to Mapping an Existing Process Optimizing Front-End Operations Five Lean Solutions to Front-End Process Issues Create a Lean HME Warehouse Operation Lean Tips for Smoother, More Efficient Warehouse Flow Technology Solutions for Technology and Your HME...16 Making the Case for Technology in HME Solving Common HME Business Challenges with Technology Six Technology Solutions to Improve Efficiency, Bottom Line: An HME s Story (Home Oxygen Co., LLC) Vetting and Implementing New Technology Technology Solutions from VGM Vendor Partners... 21

3 people Solutions for Managing People Promoting behaviors that encourage teamwork and leadership can be one of the toughest challenges owners of small- to medium-sized businesses face. This chapter focuses on the dual arts of hiring a great team and leading them to success. The ideas and tips explored here are feasible whether or not your business includes a human resources department. 1

4 Beyond Technical Skills: Hiring a Good Fit In today s business climate, HME businesses can t take the risk of hiring ineffective employees. A bad hire can cause many problems for the business. As identified on Entrepreneur.com, a bad hire can cost your company in the following ways. How a bad recruit hurts your business Financials Productivity Employee Morale Reputation You ll spend money on salary, training costs and possible severance pay, all for someone who is not performing to your expectations. Hours devoted to training your bad hire means less time to produce more for your business. Supervisors typically spend 17 percent of their time the equivalent of one day per week managing employees who perform poorly, notes staffing agency Robert Half. Time spent responding to personality conflicts with your bad hire means other staff are less productive. The long-term effect is tough to gauge, but other employees will become dissatisfied or disengaged while you spend time trying to correct your bad hire mistake. Your bad hire s online comments may affect how your customers view your business. Future hiring can be affected by a bad hire. Job seekers can easily read online comments by dissatisfied employees. A common practice during the recruitment process that results in bad hires is relying heavily on self-appraisals such as resumes and LinkedIn profiles. The next time you have an open position, take your time to recruit, interview and monitor effectively. TRY THESE NON-TRADITIONAL HIRING TECHNIQUES PRO TIP Application first, resumé later Require candidates to complete an application customized to your business. You ll weed out job seekers who may not be serious about your open position. It also prevents you from weeding through a lengthy resumé not tailored to your company s needs and already sent to dozens of companies. References References will likely be full of praise for the candidate; they are a wealth of information about how your candidate performs. Ask for specific examples of how the candidate worked with others and details about their work ethic. 2

5 Tasks before hire During the interview, give your candidate an opportunity to show off skills listed on their application and resumé. Provide them with a job-related task, and monitor how well they work under pressure. Trial period Consider letting your candidate test-drive the job before committing to hiring full time. You will experience how they perform on a daily basis and how they interact with your team and customers. Some applicants who seem like a great fit initially may be excellent at interviews but poor performers in the workplace. Using Personality Assessment Tests to Benefit Your Company Employees are typically an organization s biggest asset and biggest expense. You need them to utilize their individual strengths to benefit your company and perform at a high level. There are easy-to-use tools and resources to assist the small business owner in developing human capital that s human resources lingo for employees for enhanced professional growth. One type of tool is personality assessment tests, which have been around since the 1920 s. Nearly 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies use these tests to assess employees for coaching, development and team building, notes Psychology Today. Test results allow business owners and managers to identify personality types or themes and uncover motivators unique to each. Results also provide techniques on how best to communicate with employees based on their individual communications style. VGM s Manager of Talent Acquisition and Employee Development Amy Streeter describes several advantages of using a personality assessment test to develop human capital: Embrace and recognize employees strengths, values and preferences to position them for success, Formulate project groups based on individual work style, and Gain an understanding of each employee s communication, leadership and learning style. These training tools help us better communicate and work with each other. We need to align their role with their strengths so the organization can be better. If you understand how each other is wired, you will be able to utilize people to their full abilities. Amy Streeter Manager of Talent Acquisition and Employee Development, VGM Group, Inc. Implementing personality testing within any size organization can significantly increase employee engagement, productivity and strengthen staff communication. To the employee, a personality test helps them identify strengths and areas for improvement. Knowing each employee s identified personality type provides a common understanding for working through conflict or to helping accomplish assigned group tasks. Three Inexpensive, User-Friendly Personality Tests Most HME providers don t have full-time HR managers to hire, train and develop employees. Streeter recommends selecting a personality profile tool, taking the assessment then asking your team to do the same to identify each staff member s dominant talents. This allows you and your team a better understanding of the style or personality of each team member. 3

6 1 DISC DOMINANT TASK CAUTIOUS OUTGOING D I C S RESERVED PEOPLE INSPIRING SUPPORTIVE The DISC model is the quickest and most costeffective of the three tests outlined here. DISC is built to understand two motivators that drive human behaviors: motor drive and compass drive. The acronym DISC is defined in different ways: Dominant or Decisive, Inspiring or Influencing, Supportive or Steady, Cautious or Conscientious. Through a series of questions, the DISC test analyzes the intensity level of each employee s tendencies as they relate to motor drive whether they are outgoing or reserved and compass drive whether they are task-oriented or people-oriented. Test results will inform you under which quadrant each employee falls on the DISC Model of Human Behavior. A free assessment is available online and should take less than 10 minutes to complete. An optional upgrade provides an in-depth evaluation and personalized analysis. 2 Real Colors The Real Colors personality test identifies four personality types that are common to all people and associates each with a color gold, green, blue and orange. For example, if your real personality color is orange, some of your strengths would be that you are action-oriented, creative and a problem solver. If you d like more information about the Real Colors program and how it can help your business, please contact Amy Streeter at amy.streeter@vgm.com. Clifton StrengthFinders With nearly 15 million personality assessments taken, StrengthsFinders is one of the more popular personality profiling tools. StrengthFinders measures the presence of 34 talent themes/strengths. Theme examples include Maximizer, Achiever and Learner. Based on test results, the more dominant a person s theme, the greater impact that theme has on their behavior and performance. 3 It is an easily understood tool to associate personality traits through four different colors as opposed to a bunch of terms. Amy Streeter Access to StrenthFinders is available by purchasing the access code online. Find the link on page 27. 4

7 Leading Employees Through Change It s a fact that many people resist change. But change is part of doing business, whether that business is selling cars, building skyscrapers or providing home medical equipment. Big changes e.g., new leadership, new location, new systems can often result in employees who struggle to remain productive and optimistic. Here are suggestions to help you lead your organization through a transition. 1. Keep communication wide open. Employees turn to management for answers in times of stress and uncertainty. You may be able to have a positive impact on your employees initial reactions by keeping them informed. Be as specific as you can to prevent the rumor mill from working overtime. Throughout the change process, provide them with answers to these six questions: What is the change? Where will it happen? Who will it affect? When will it happen? How will it happen? Why will it happen? 2. Listen really listen. Even armed with those answers, your employees may still express reservations. It s critical that you listen carefully to their concerns, take seriously what they have to say and offer reassurances where needed. Changes within an organization don t happen in a vacuum; the most seamless execution of change occurs when everyone takes ownership of the transition. 3. Get employees involved. One way to gain employee buy-in is to encourage them to participate in the change process. Humans are creatures of habit. Once we establish a stable routine whether at work or home a level of comfort sets in. Upsetting that routine can be extremely unsettling. Including your employees in the change process when and how appropriate will demonstrate that you re in this together and can better ensure a smoother, successful transition. Employees are not so much against change as they are against being changed. Peter Barron Stark nationally recognized management consultant 4. Accentuate the positive. Just as employees look to management for answers, they often mimic their leaders attitudes toward change. Focus on the positive side of change, and discuss how the change will benefit the company, your customers and your employees. Simple gestures can have a much larger impact than you might think, e.g., a sincere word of thanks, a short handwritten note of appreciation, or group recognition for a job well done. 5. Focus on what you can control. There are always aspects of change that you and your employees can control and others you cannot. The Serenity Prayer has provided direction to many as they go through difficult periods: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Reinhold Niebuhr American theologian 5

8 The point? You will accomplish little by trying to address something that is beyond our scope. Instead, focus your attention on what you and your employees can impact. Involve them in the transition process, urging them to focus on what they can control. 6. Provide an opportunity to learn. Plan time for your employees to gain new skills if the pending change will alter their job duties or requires new processes or procedures. Additional training can help alleviate concerns and may turn resistant employees into proponents of a new way of doing business. 7. Establish new expectations. With a change in business should come a corresponding change in expectations. During the transition period, you should be defining and communicating what will be expected of each employee when the company implements the change. During change, employees are more likely to alter their work habits, so reach for the opportunity and push them to try harder and work smarter. Peter Barron Stark nationally recognized management consultant Communicate change to your employees by answering the Big Six questions: BIG SIX 1 What is the change? 4 2 Who will it affect? 5 3 When will it happen? 6 Where will it happen? How will it happen? And in many cases the most important question to answer: Why will it happen? 6

9 The Art of Leading with Integrity By Miriam Lieber In my travels throughout the country, I have met with a variety of leaders. Many are successful while others lack the leadership qualities one would expect. What leadership characteristics personify a great leader? I have found a common theme among the most successful leaders: trust and respect that trigger a level of integrity. Specifically, when a leader is genuine honest and leads by example, employees attempt to emulate this type of behavior. As a leader, you can establish trust and integrity by serving your employees. Always act as you want staff to behave. Take steps to be genuine, foster teamwork and measure results, and you ll build the team you need for success. Create a Collaborative Environment If you have a healthy relationship with your employees, you are more likely to be an effective leader. To gain a level of trust and respect, enable staff to engage in goal setting, and allow them to work in a collaborative environment. Leaders must learn how to partner for performance by improving their relationships with the people they work with. It s about teaching leaders how to value the relationships they have while simultaneously channeling people s energy in the right direction. Ken Blanchard author of The One Minute Manager and other popular business books Show Your Vulnerability One way to gain the trust and respect of your employees is to allow them to see your weaknesses. Talk to your staff when you make a mistake. Most errors can be corrected show them that. Explain your thought process and the effort you expend to get to your goal. That way, if they don t understand a concept or task, or if they make a mistake, they will be more apt to seek assistance rather than hide mistakes. Set Measurable Achievements and Hold Employees Accountable To understand if your leadership style is effective, you will need to establish objectives and goals. Involve staff in goal-setting exercises to ensure buy-in: employees will have a vested interest in achieving the goals they helped develop. Monitor and track results and review with staff; revise as necessary. Performance and productivity should be self-evaluated; use software to extract data. Hold employees accountable by requiring them to meet the goals they set for themselves. Those who lag behind often switch roles or leave your company. Miriam Lieber President, Lieber Consulting Do you like what you read? For exclusive access to the full Playbook, HME business solutions, education and vendor pricing, click here to become a member