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AHGPA CHAPTER NEWSLETTER
Professional Development Scholarships
Volume 1 Issue 4 September 2017
Board Meeting Date: October 3, 2017 Time: 10 - 11 A.M. HST / 12 - 1 P.M. AKST Board Meeting Date: November 7, 2017 Time: 10 - 11 A.M. HST / 11 A.M. - 12 P.M. AKST Board Meeting Date: December 5, 2017 Time: 10 - 11 A.M. HST / 11 A.M. - 12 P.M. AKST
UPCOMING EVENTS (Click event title for more Info)
The 2017 National Institute of Government Procurement (NIGP) held it's annual Forum in Salt Lake City, Utah this past month. Over 1,000 procurement professionals attend from around the Country, including approximately fifteen from the states of Alaska and Hawaii. This four day conference consisted of sessions focused on technical purchasing skills, leadership skills, contract administration skills, along with recognition of member excellence in our field. Along with all the work related activities, there were plenty of opportunities to network with fellow purchasing professionals. In a time when we are asked to do more with less, having the opportunity to pick the brains of so many professionals in one place is truly a special experience. For our Chapter members that could attend, it was for many of us the first opportunity to meet in person. While having a virtual chapter is setting the trend at NIGP, you cannot beat getting together in person to talk story. The Chapter held a Chapter dinner one evening for dinner at a local steak house and a few of us got the opportunity to catch up. Otherwise, we tried to sit together at the general session to see how everyone's day was going or share ideas. Contract administration seemed to be the popular topic this year. Since all the conference information was on a conference app (very cool), many of us took to social media to recognize and thank each other. If you get a chance, check out the Chapter's social media accounts, links on the Chapter website, or see the activity on Twitter searching for #nigpforum2017. This was a great way to recognize our Chapter, other chapters, or individual accomplishments in real time at the conference. As I talked with those who attended, they all said they had a good time and found the conference worthwhile and could take back information to their agencies. The group from the DOE specifically stated they were happily surprised to see so many school districts being represented at the conference. So as I write this on the plane heading back to Hawaii, I am very thankful for the people and friendships I made this past week, and I hopeful that we can meet again at the NIGP2018 Forum in Nashville. I am also hopeful that even in times of tight budgets, the groups from Alaska and Hawaii can double the attendees from fifteen to thirty next year, allowing us to both share our unique experiences, but bring back new ideas to our home agencies. Aloha and Mahalo! Jeff Dansdill AHGPA President
AHGPA’s scholarship program is for Chapter members interested in enhancing their procurement careers through professional development. AHGPA scholarships fund a wide range of professional development activities, including courses, webinars, workshops, conferences, association memberships, and certification exam preparation, application and testing. AHGPA Chapter members are strongly encouraged to participate in these scholarship opportunities to obtain financial assistance that will help them grow professionally and enhance their procurement careers. Financial assistance is limited and applications must be received by 10/31/17. Application forms and information are available at the AHGPA website at https://www.ahgpa.org/chapters/nigp-ahgpa/scholarship.cfm
2017 NIGP FORUM IN SALT LAKE CITY
Member Reflections of NIGP Forum 2017
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One word to describe the Forum: AWESOME. It was such an awesome experience to further my procurement knowledge and meet new friends. The opportunity to network, connect, and learn from other professionals in-person really meant a lot to me since these opportunities are not normally available locally. By meeting in person, I could really connect with others. The forum was also very informative, especially for topics/projects that rarely surface. I would highly recommend attending the NIGP Forum to anyone who has the chance to attend. Starla Takara AHGPA Education Committee Chair
BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!
By Jeff Dansdill, AHGPA President As I am sitting here, I have recently accepted a new position as a Senior Contract Manager with the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, a government entity charged with overseeing the State hospital system. While the last couple of weeks I am been sharing the many successes of the Purchasing Division I manage, including e-solicitation software implementation, electronic documents recordkeeping, use of electronic signatures to decrease the time to have a contract signed, I find myself sitting across from my supervisor when they ask who would I recommend be considered for my replacement. I don’t have an easy answer. For the record, I have a great staff. They are all long term employees that know their job and the County that we work for. They are quick to help the departments and address the issues that arise. They are dependable and have helped me out more than a couple of times. In short, they have allowed me to focus on division-wide improvements to increase efficiency and the procurement service we provide our customers. So why don’t I recommend one of them and that’s the end of this blog. Because professional development for my staff was a priority for me, but never priority number one on my to do list, and for that I want to apologize to my staff. Taking professional development classes was important and I required it as part of their annual evaluation. They complied, but I never took this opportunity to push management or leadership classes. We joined NIGP and this Chapter and I hoped they would get involved and use these organizations as resources. In hindsight, I believe I hoped more than pushed, and this is why I am partially unable to answer my supervisor’s question. In addition to professional development we cross trained on the basic’s of our positions, completing one or more procurements that each are responsible for. But that does not take into consideration some of the more difficult procurements or questions I received as a manager on a daily basis. Can you cross train for these situations or is it just a part of the manager’s job? Like most everything, you cannot fully understand it unless you have experienced it. And if that is the case, how do you fully prepare your staff when they are unable to experience these situations while the manager is present? If you have a free minute, I would like to hear successful stories of how managers have provided professional development opportunities and once that manager left the position, one or more of the staff were prepared to take on that leadership role. It would be interesting to hear what worked and what didn’t add any value to the process. Lastly, if you are a procurement leader and want to work with a great staff, keep an eye out for an upcoming job announcement for the Purchasing Agent for the County of Hawaii. Take care and please share your success stories, and if you believe it would be helpful, your not so successful stories that we can learn from as we are all in this together. -- Good Luck in your new adventure, Jeff!
By Starla Takara, AHGPA Education Committee Chair June 30 th , 2017 – the day books close for some City and State agencies. This year will only be the second time that I experience the fiscal year-end pressure, and gosh, I can feel it. For the first time in the whole year, I have stacks of specification books ready for executed contracts. With all the pressure mounting, it made me think, why? Why does this happen? Why do we need to feel this pressure? Why do all the requests for goods, services, etc., come in June? Why? The important question is not “why” but “what”. What can we do to reduce this pressure? Answer: Planning. Procurement planning. Here are a few things I think are needed for effective planning: – Goal Setting – Communication – Action Goal setting and enforcing is crucial for effective planning. What procurement goals do you and your agencies wish to achieve? By establishing goals, everyone is able to monitor the procurement’s process. This will ensure timeliness and that funds are encumbered. It is also important to set specific dates and for tasks. It will be clear if a goal/task is met. Next, communication is essential so that all parties involved in the procurement process are aware of the goals and expectations. Expectations can range from the necessary paperwork to be submitted to the responsibilities of each individual. With strong communication, the necessary actions can be taken to push the procurement process along. Finally, action must be taken. Without action, there is no movement. This is where the communication must continue. If action is needed by a party, it’s important that the need is communicated. By implementing these three items in your procurement planning process and your personal lives, you can achieve anything that you set out to achieve. Fellow AHGPA members, what specific planning techniques do you and your team use?
Preparing Your Staff for when you leave
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