David Shavzin, CMC to Speak at IMC USA’s National Conference, ConsultCon 2019

David Shavzin, CMC to Speak at IMC USA’s National Conference, ConsultCon 2019

 

David Shavzin

David, exit planning advisor, is Founder of The Value Track. He will speak to conference attendees on “Riding the Wealth Transfer Wave, Helping Clients Maximize Their Exit.”

Four million business will be sold in the next 5-10 years, resulting in a multibillion-dollar transfer of value. This is a significant opportunity for consultants because most business owners are not preparing an exit strategy. The right advisory team, working together, will help clients maximize the eventual sale of their business.

David created The Value Track to help business owners build value and create a path toward a successful exit. Too often, they have not built the value they need and are unprepared when the time comes to put their transition into action. David helps his clients improve their quality of life, build value in their company and exit on their own terms.

 

ConsultCon 2019, IMC USA’s National Conference (Dallas Oct. 4 – 6). Speakers also include Dave Copps, Melinda Marcus, CSP, and Alan Weiss. Starting out or a seasoned consultant, please join us to connect with other consultants, learn & form potential alliances. Info & Register: https://www.imcusa.org/page/ConsultCon2019  

 

David Shavzin, CMC

david@GetOnTheValueTrack.com

https://getonthevaluetrack.com/

 

Jim Weber, Managing Partner – ITB Partners North Fulton Business RadioX interviews

John Ray of North Fulton Business RadioX interviews Jim Weber, Managing Partner – ITB Partners  September 26, 2019

“North Fulton Business Radio,” Episode 167:  Jim Weber, ITB Partners

On this edition of “North Fulton Business Radio,” Jim Weber, Managing Partner of ITB Partners joins host John Ray to talk about his consortium of independent management consultants which serves start-ups to midcap companies and beyond. “North Fulton Business Radio” is broadcast from inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Jim Weber, ITB Partners

Jim Weber

Jim Weber is Managing Partner of ITB Partners, a consortium of independent management consultants providing high value-added solutions to your problems. ITB Partners helps business managers solve their problems by connecting them with high-quality independent management consultants. ITB’s consultants are experienced leaders, discipline experts, and project managers. Clients are publicly and privately owned mid-caps; private equity groups and their portfolio companies, start-ups, acquisitions, and turnarounds. The firm’s industry expertise ranges from consumer packaged goods and manufacturing to supply/chain, logistics, and the service sector. Additionally, they have depth in consumer services franchising, specifically restaurant, hospitality, and retail. The core of the firm’s business is the belief that client success is paramount. This belief ensures that the focus is fixed on delivering a high-quality product. This client-focused approach is simple: Listen to understand the client’s needs analysis to provide insight; foster trust to forge a true business partnership; plan, implement and follow-through; and be accountable for results. ITB has a solid track record of success and long-term relationships with high repeat business. The firm’s referenced client list shows high client satisfaction. In addition, the consortium’s depth and breadth of skills, abilities, and experience include more than 25 years in multi-industry environments, leadership positions in large multi-national organizations, as well as experience in building and leading successful businesses.

For more information visit itbpartners.com, or email Jim directly.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

 

 

 

Jim Weber, Managing Partner

ITB PARTNERS

Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators, Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

Big Challenges for Small Business Owners

Small business owners wear many hats and make many decisions each day. Most of these decisions are small and have minor impacts. Some decisions, however, are common to most small businesses and can have far-reaching, fundamental impacts. As a starting point, let’s look at three fundamental challenges:

The first big challenge facing most small business owners is finances. As the CEO of a start-up frequently said to me, “Cash is king.” Businesses exist to make money and most small business owners run their finances without adequate planning or oversight. They monitor bank balances, accounts receivables, and expenses, but most don’t have a basic financial forecasting, reporting, and review structure in place. Additionally, many don’t have the forethought to establish a line of credit or other funding sources to help them remain solvent when inevitable financial speed bumps occur.

If your business needs some help in the financial area, here is a short “best practices” checklist to consider:

  • Get help to create a basic financial reporting (KPI) structure, such as within QuickBooks or your chosen accounting software
  • Document financial reporting requirements and ensure they are followed by you, your employees, 1099’s, etc.
  • Establish a recurring schedule for reviewing results and forecasts for all important financial data, such as cash, revenue, accounts receivable, and major expense categories
  • If not yet established, investigate funding options such as a bank/SBA loan, line of credit, credit card, silent investor, or personal funds… before you need the money

The second big challenge facing most small business owners is people because every person is critical to the operation. One poor performer can have unforeseen negative impacts. A sudden resignation by a key contributor can slow production. Finding new talent can be difficult, or motivating and retaining talent can be overlooked.

If your business needs some help in the people area, here are a few ideas to consider:

  • Take the time to consider carefully the performance of each member of your current team
  • Determine those employees who are critical to your success and what you will do to motivate and retain them
  • Determine those employees who are not performing and what actions you will take to address this

The third big challenge facing most small business owners is time. Few seem to have enough of it, even if they are working 60 hours a week or more. After working long hours for years, they begin to feel they have become a slave to their business … that the business is running them rather than they are running the business.

If you are working more hours than you want and not on a track to improving this, here are some ideas to get more of your life back:

  • Jot down the actions you take for a day or two, then review your list and decide what you can stop doing with no/minimal impact
  • Take a good long look in the mirror and ask yourself “Am I failing to delegate work that others could be doing?”, then delegate appropriately (the topic of a future blog post!)
  • Establish more organizational structure in your daily activities, such as a daily “to-do” list and time scheduling for key activities to do daily, weekly, and monthly
  • Make a commitment to yourself to reasonable work hours and hold yourself to them, which will motivate you to eliminate or delegate low-value work

Most small business owners I meet have all of these problems, in varying degrees. If you are a business owner who doesn’t have any of these big challenges, it’s possible you are overlooking one or more of them.

Think again. Don’t skip over this opportunity to improve your business and your work/life balance!

————————

Richard Kirby (www.richardkirby.net) is “The K Factor”, an executive coach who provides inspiration and guidance to small business owners and corporate executives who genuinely seek success at a higher level.

 

Richard Kirby, Executive Impact

Richard Kirby (www.richardkirby.net) is “The K Factor”, an executive coach who provides inspiration and guidance to small business owners and corporate executives who genuinely seek success at a higher level.

 

 

richard@richardkirby.net

www.richardkirby.net

770-366-5875

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

 

 

 

Jim Weber, Managing Partner

ITB PARTNERS

Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators, Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

 

Webinar – Three Pillars For Success – October 10 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern

“Three Pillars For Success” Webinar

 

Join Us, October 10 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern  To Hear Jim Weber Present

The Three Pillars To Success

Description

Get Serious about creating an effective business development plan!
 
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

Jim Weber is President of New Century Dynamics Executive Search, and Managing Partner of ITB Partners, Management Consultants. He will be presenting “The Three Pillars for Success.”

This webinar is designed to help you if you are trying to attract new clients/customers, looking for a new full-time job, or considering a career as a Freelancer.
ITB Partners is a Consortium of independent management consultants providing high value-added solutions to your problems. For more information, please visit our website at www.ITBPartners.com
For more information about ITB Partners, please visit our website;  https://itbpartners.com
Thank You!
| Jim Weber | Managing Partner | ITB Partners |
| 770-649-7051 | Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com |

Anatomy of a Fractional CFO Engagement

Drew Garner

In the spring of 2018, Rebecca Holderread connected Jim Weber, Managing Partner of ITB Partners, to the CEO for a 30-year-old Atlanta area-based not-for-profit. Rebecca is a member of ITB Partners and a fractional CFO. As she had taken a full-time CFO assignment with one of her clients, she was not able to pursue this engagement herself.

 

When Jim was introduced to the CEO the extent of his understanding was that this not-for-profit needed a new CFO.  After a few email exchanges, Jim and the prospective client scheduled a face-to-face meeting, late in the day at the prospect’s offices.   The point was to conduct the meeting without alerting the incumbent Director of Finance. Jim said that the meeting consisted of the CEO and two of her board members. The first part of their meeting was an opportunity for Jim to understand the prospective client’s situation.

The prospect is a non-profit organization [501(c)(3)] established in 1988 by the CEO.  This company became Georgia’s first licensed therapeutic foster care agency. In addition to placement and care for foster children, the client provides host home care for adults with developmental and physical disabilities, provides behavioral and life skills coaching for foster youth and adults and through a dedicated program, provides support, guidance, and assistance needed by teen mothers & fathers to succeed as adults and parents.

The CEO told Jim that the current Director of Finance refused to provide financial information in a format that enabled the leadership to effectively manage their business.  She went on to say that he had failed to provide analysis to facilitate thoughtful decisions. Additionally, whereas the CEO wanted to install a budgeting process, the incumbent had no interest in accommodating her directive.  Furthermore, this gentleman had become belligerent and insubordinate toward leadership. The situation had become intolerable, so a change had to be made

Not surprisingly, there were budgeting constraints on the compensation available for a replacement.  Based on his understanding of the situation, Jim pitched them on engaging a fractional CFO.  He explained the concept to the prospect, ensuring them that they could achieve their objectives without significantly impacting the P&L.   The CEO liked that idea and agreed to interview several highly capable fractional CFOs affiliated with ITB Partners.  I was the first on the list and met with the CEO.  We connected so well that leadership decided not to talk to anyone else.  I was hired for the engagement and their Director of Finance was terminated.

CFO Services Engagement:

When I started the engagement, I understood that the client was looking for better team collaboration and alignment with the fractional CFO. The CEO and the new Board of Directors (BOD) expected me to lead the financial position, to provide more timely and insightful financial statements and analytics, budgeting/forecasting, cash flow management, and strategic planning.  What I soon learned that the timing of taking on this assignment and the termination of the Director of Finance was problematic.  It was tax and reporting season, so I had to scramble.

 

Focus Areas and Results to Date:

  • Fully conformed financial statements to GAAP
  • Transitioned accounting package from desktop to the online version to improve efficiency and data security
  • Created a new monthly financial statement package meeting both internal & BOD requirements
  • Refined and extended forward view of cash forecasting, with a focus on liquidity management
  • Provided counsel/analysis to CEO leading to a favorable outcome in renegotiating a material vendor debt
  • Developed financial analysis to evaluate the profitability of various programs
  • Partnered with the CEO, to develop strategies and related financial plans for key programs
  • Developed annual budget for each dept and consolidated agency
  • Improved internal controls
  • With CEO, developed components of strategy and management template for execution of a first-ever, multi-year capital campaign
  • Ongoing training of new full-time CFO

 

A year and a half later, I’m still working with the client.  I provide ongoing support to the CFO with annual audit, regulatory reporting, cash flow forecasting, monthly financial package, and various financial analyses, as needed.  I also participate in BOD meetings, as required.

Jim likes to remind us of the importance of the Fractional CFO.  I believe the value-added services I provided for this client proves his point.  They were able to achieve their goals to improve the management of their business without compromising their financial resources.  Today, they are in a far better position to deliver on their mission.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

 

 

 

Jim Weber, Managing Partner

ITB PARTNERS

Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators, Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

Self Awareness and Career Alignment

I landed a new client this week, referred to me by another of our coaches. The client, John, had recently purchased a franchise for an online business.  He reached out to us because he’s having trouble generating revenue. John’s an occupational therapist.  This is his first experience as an entrepreneur; however, he has the presence of mind to know that he needs help.  As we were getting to know one another over the phone I asked about the training he had received from the franchisor.   He provided a brief overview but admitted that he wasn’t comfortable with some aspects of the Brand’s training, especially regarding customer acquisition.  That revelation gave me a clear direction for our first meeting.  There is obviously a disconnect between John’s desire to have a business and his willingness to follow the franchiser’s model for success.  To be helpful, I must understand his rationale for acquiring the franchise compared to his personal strengths and interests.

 

After reflecting on our conversation, I thought of another friend and former colleague, Susan.  I recall that Susan and I left a previous employer at the same time.  She immediately signed up for a seminar to help her chart her next career move.  One important topic of the seminar was achieving self-awareness.  After the seminar, she told me that her biggest revelation was that she was not meant to be in sales, that she should look to further her career in a staff function.  That made sense to me.  Later, she told me that she had taken a position with a major financial services company as a Financial Advisor, a euphemistic term for sales.  Of course, she wasn’t happy in that role and soon moved on.

 

You’ve probably noticed that people employed in the same occupation have similar personalities and interests.  The differences become more evident when one considers vastly different occupations, like engineers and people engaged in the performing arts.  Consider the personalities of salespeople as compared to librarians or academics.  Or, more to the point of my work, employees compared to entrepreneurs.  The most significant attributes of entrepreneurs include creativity, passion, persistence, optimism, and decisiveness. They are also independent, confident, and disciplined.  These attributes make sense to me given the risks assumed by entrepreneurs.  Any given line of work will have the greatest appeal to a specific type of individual.  To the extent that you “know yourself,” you will be in a better position to choose an appropriate career path.

 

It is said that knowing who you are, self-awareness, is of critical importance for a successful life.  So, what does one need to know about oneself to achieve self-awareness?  In business, companies begin their strategic planning cycle by conducting a SWOT Analysis.  SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats underlying the planning process.  These four areas of interest are evaluated against the competition.  They may continue their internal assessment by evaluating their capabilities, i.e. market penetration, distribution network, financial resources, adaptability, intellectual capital, R&D, etc.  The evaluation of these attributes and issues will result in strategic options to consider and ultimately a three to five-year plan.

 

Achieving self-awareness for an individual involves a similar process.  Taking stock of one’s skills, strengths, and weaknesses is easily understood.  What are you good at doing?   Additionally, one should be familiar with their belief system, including values, interests, and the general direction you want to take in life.  What is important to you?  What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning?  Understanding the personality types that give you energy as opposed to those that zap your energy may be important.  What situations do you find stressful and try to avoid, compared to those you find exhilarating and attractive?   Fortunately, there are diagnostics to help you understand yourself, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Predictive Index Behavioral Assessment, Birkman, and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).  One of the benefits of these diagnostics is that they provide general guidelines as to occupations that align with your personality and interests.  To the extent that you are aligned with your work’s occupational requirements and skill set, you will have a greater likelihood of success and happiness.  If you haven’t had an opportunity to take one of these diagnostics, or if significant time has passed since you did, I recommend that you do so.  In doing research for this post I found several articles that present thoughtful questions to help you better understand yourself.  Links to some useful articles are included hereinbelow.

In “The Art of War,” Sun Tzu restated the already established axiom, “Know yourself, know your enemy, and you shall win a hundred battles without loss.” Socrates said that the unexamined life was not worth living. When asked if he could be more specific, he replied: ‘Know yourself.’

 

Articles of interest:

https://learnoutlive.com/sun-tzu-didnt-invent-know-yourself-know-your-enemy/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/changepower/201603/know-yourself-6-specific-ways-know-who-you-are

https://www.essentiallifeskills.net/knowyourself.html

https://www.prolificliving.com/get-to-know-yourself/

https://www.aconsciousrethink.com/7419/get-to-know-yourself-better/

https://www.aconsciousrethink.com/7419/get-to-know-yourself-better/

https://www.wikihow.com/Get-to-Know-Yourself

https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/know-yourself/

https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/career/know-yourself

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber, Managing Partner

ITB PARTNERS

Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators, Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

 

 

The Three Pillars of Success

Jim Weber Presents “The Three Pillars of Success “to the August Atlanta BENG Chapter Meeting 

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

Jim Weber, Managing Partner ITB Partners, founder of New Century Dynamics Executive Search and the author of “Fighting Alligators: Job Search Strategy For The New Normal”  presented “The Three Pillars For Success”  to The BENG Atlanta Chapter in August.

This discussion is meant for career-minded professionals who are gainfully employed, or between situations, and independent business owners looking to become more successful.

To view this presentation, Click Here!

Thank you for interest in ITB Partners.

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber, Managing Partner

ITB PARTNERS

Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators, Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

 

 

Drew Garner to Lead ITB Partners Accounting and Finance Practice Group

Drew Garner

Drew Garner is a C-Level financial executive with over 30 years of progressive leadership roles with market-leading Fortune 100, privately held and private equity-owned companies in the consumer products, retail, construction services, manufacturing and foodservice sectors in both B2B and B2C environments. He has consistently demonstrated strong leadership through collaboration with executive teams to develop and implement strategy, gain organizational buy-in, develop execution methodologies, deliver profitable results and manage positive change in growth companies as well as turnaround scenarios. Drew is a Certified Public Accountant and has an MBA degree from the University of Georgia.

Drew Garner has been a member of ITB Partners since May of 2017.  For the past year, and currently, Drew has been engaged as a Fractional CFO for Creative Community Solutions, a Norcross-based not-for-profit.

Please join me in welcoming Drew to his new role as leader/facilitator of the Accounting and Finance Practice Group.

Our Business Is Your Success

 

ITB Partners

ITB Partners is a Consortium of independent
management consultants providing high value-added solutions to your problems.

We help Managers solve their problems by connecting them with high-quality
Independent Management Consultants.
Our consultants are experienced leaders, discipline experts, and project managers. Our clients are publicly and privately owned mid-caps; private equity groups and their portfolio companies, start-ups, acquisitions, and turnarounds.

Our industry expertise ranges from consumer packaged goods and
manufacturing to supply/chain, logistics, and the service sector.
Additionally, we have depth in consumer services franchising, specifically
restaurant, hospitality, retail.

Call us now to determine how we can help your business succeed.

Thank you for visiting ITB Partners.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber, Managing Partner

ITB PARTNERS

Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators, Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

 

 

My Business is Worth HOW MUCH?!?!

The Problem

We recently spent 2 hours explaining to two business partners what their business was worth and why. They were disappointed but excited to understand the value and how they would manage the business going forward.

 

Buying or selling a business is not easy, even for professionals who spend all their time evaluating deals. Granted, professionals have a far better understanding of the market, the supply and demand for businesses.  If they specialize in a specific industry, as many do, they have an even better perspective on the market and the competitive dynamics for that sector. They understand the challenges of that line of business, including the anticipated cost of innovation required to remain competitive.

 

Even so, the professional must deal with challenges unique to each individual deal. Depending on the strategies employed by competing buyers, whether they’re strategic or financial buyers, the professional may be at a competitive disadvantage for the same acquisition target.  In other words, buyers seldom have the same cost of capital.  For any given transaction this dynamic will work in the favor of one or the other buyer.  There are no guarantees as to an outcome.

 

For someone looking to sell their business, the challenge becomes monumentally greater.  It is likely that these owners have been completely focused on their day-to-day operations, probably paying little attention to the details of merger and acquisition activity in their industry.  As a result, they are not savvy sellers. They must learn as much as they can as quickly as possible to realize the most value from the sale of their company.

 

When we present a valuation to our clients, they are usually horrified. The value is most often nowhere near their expectations or needs. The disbelief and devastation are apparent. Why is this?  Business owners do not have a full understanding of what drives business value.

 

Ultimately, the value of a company depends on internal and external factors to the enterprise. Clearly, internal factors are more straightforward. Most people understand that sustained revenue generation is a key driving force, along with the margins generated on that revenue, and non-cash expenses, i.e. depreciation and amortization.

 

External factors in play include the overall state of the economy and the attractiveness of other businesses for sale in the same industry segment.  This will provide an indication as to the interest level for the business and other potential sellers.  Whereas buyers may be active in a depressed economy when prices may be lower, sellers are less motivated.  On the other hand, the least competitive companies may be forced to sell during a recession.

Research says that 4 million businesses will be sold over the next 5 – 10 years. If that’s even close, you know that most will be selling for well under what their value could have been…IF THEY SELL AT ALL.

 

When is the Best Time to Get on The Value Track?

The ideal time to begin building value is the moment you start your business. But most of us are scrambling to get going – and then get so busy with growth – that we delay focusing on building value and exit planning. We are caught up in putting out fires, it remains a lifestyle business, value suffers.

 

The Value Track – 7 Steps in the Process

The Value Track is a proven, 7-step process of improving profitability and building the transferable value – the real value – of your business. Embracing the Value Track approach will help you exit ownership on your own terms, create your best possible future and improve your quality of life.

Whatever stage you are at in your business’ lifecycle, this process gets you beyond all of that and onto a serious Value-Building track for your company. Click here for 3 client stories at three stages.

 

  1. Get Everyone on the Same Page
  2. Understand Current Business Value
  3. Build Your Advisory Team
  4. Exit-Readiness Assessment
  5. Build Value
  6. Determine Exit Structure
  7. Execute the Transaction

 

Are You on The Value Track? Learn More About the 7 Steps here: The Value Track

 

David Shavzin

David Shavzin, CMC
Founder & President, The Value Track

770-329-5224
david@GetOnTheValueTrack.com

Succession Planning / Exit Planning, Building Transferable Value for Sale
Our BLOG  // LinkedIn // www.GetOnTheValueTrack.com

Tags: exit plan, Exit Planning, exit strategy, transferable value, value, Value track

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber, Managing Partner

ITB PARTNERS

Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators, Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

 

 

Convergence: Applications to Ensure Compliance

SharePoint Logo

Have you ever had one of those weeks where your conversations all seem to be about the same type of issue, converging on one theme or course of action?  Well, I just experienced one of those weeks. Then again, it could be the way my mind works, as I continually look for links and connections. Whatever the case, I experienced a very interesting convergence of situations which I believe is was worth sharing.  The week began by talking with one of our consultants, Stan.  He is working with a client that helps companies optimize the benefits of SharePoint.  We are helping this client on several fronts, so the conversation lasted a little longer than usual. Before he signed off,  Stan told me how impressed he is with SharePoint‘s ability to improve communication, collaboration, and productivity for the enterprise.

 

A few days later I was talking with another consultant, Paul, regarding his progress marketing an integrated program/project management software product.  This SAAS product provides a comprehensive solution for franchisers to better manage its business development program.  The program enables management to easily determine the company’s progress toward meeting their goals and gaps at every stage in the process.

 

Convergence occurred when I remembered a conversation the prior week with another consultant, Faith.  She had told me about an adverse situation created when a patient received a new heart, but the system hadn’t been updated to reflect the candidate’s eligibility for a transplant.   That breakdown in the process created a question as to who’s responsible for the $1.4 million approximate costs of the procedure.  Faith explained that this glitch was an administrative error as the candidate still needed the heart and was qualified to receive the transplant, however, an updated authorization wasn’t secured.    I can only imagine how bad the situation could have been if the patient had died, prevented from receiving the transplant due to an administrative mistake.  It occurred to me that the system has a fundamental flaw that can be mitigated with a technical solution.  Faith continued by providing an overview of additional risk and complexity created by Federal Agencies and Laws regulating the Health Care Industry.

 

Federal Agencies and Laws regulating the Health Care Industry

  • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Health Care
  • Department of Labor and Health Care
  • Americans with Disabilities Act and Health Care
  • Homeland Security and Health Care
  • Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and Health Care

 

The mandate of the EEOC is to facilitate good management by ensuring that employment decisions are unaffected by discrimination.  Toward this end, hiring decisions, performance reviews, pay and benefits packages, and other employer offerings should exclude consideration for race, sex, age or religious affiliation (Gómez-Mejía, Balkin, & Cardy, 2016).

The Department of Labor (DOL) mandates that employers are responsible for scheduling, recording and reporting hours worked; including pre- and post-shift duties, scheduled travel time from job site to job site, or travel time related to training or on-site client meetings. Wages and deductions for all hours worked must be monitored and reported.  Overtime must be paid for hours worked exceeding 40 hours in a 7-day workweek.

The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities.  The original bill was passed in 1990 and amended in 2008 with clarifying definitions.  If the applicant or employee is qualified for ADA purposes, reasonable accommodations must be made for the employee.  ADA provides guidance as to when and how applicants or employees may be asked about their medical condition or requirements for a medical examination.

Homeland Security relies on the health care community’s readiness to respond to disasters, natural or man-made.  Preparedness depends on staffing and training.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act, (OHSA) was passed in 1970 in response to the deaths of 78 coal miners working under questionable safety conditions.  Medical practitioners are exposed to a wide range of workplace hazards. Today, the health care and social assistance sectors experience more worker injuries and illnesses than any other industry.

These regulatory requirements, whatever the justification or good intentions, have injected additional complexity and risk into the Health Care Industry.  Failure to comply with these regulations may result in fines, litigation costs, lost contracts, and damage to brand equity.  Proactive expenses include continuing education to help employees stay current with relevant changes in laws and regulations.  Ignorance is no excuse for non-compliance and it can be costly.

In years past, we were left to devise elementary processes to ensure compliance with legislation and its mandates.  Today, however, we have powerful technological alternatives.  More to the point, technical solutions are readily available to help minimize risk and ensure compliance.  Share Point is one of several tools worth consideration.  The question is how to know which application to select?  This is where professionals can be of tremendous value.  Credentialed, seasoned experts are available to advise us on evaluation, selection, and the implementation of alternative platforms.  A professional fee for services is much less costly than a civil crime for a legislative error.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber, Managing Partner

ITB PARTNERS

Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators, Job Search Strategy For The New Normal