Hire a Web Vendor with Confidence - Geonetric Webinar
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Take a new approach to hiring a Web vendor. Everyone knows that job interview questions can be daunting — and quite telling. Why aren't these same types of questions used during your vendor selection process? They should be! Learn why your Web vendor is one of the most important hires you'll make. You'll learn how to go beyond traditional content management software demonstrations and score cards, to ask the questions that allow you to evaluate potential candidates just as carefully as you would for an internal position. Don't let a poor hire set your website — or market position — back!
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Hire a Web Vendor with Confidence - Geonetric Webinar
- 1. Hire a Web Vendor with Confidence KEVIN STEJSKAL | SALES DIRECTOR, GEONETRIC
- 2. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Webinar Information • Webinar lasts one hour • Enter questions in the Q&A field at any time • Recording will be posted on geonetric.com within 48 hours • Please take the post-webinar survey which will appear at the conclusion of the webinar • Follow along on Twitter using the #GEONETRIC hashtag
- 3. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Today’s Presenter • Sales Director at Geonetric • Helps clients stay ahead of their competition and make informed decisions about their eHealth initiatives • Regional Teamwork Award winner • Experienced in helping clients gain buy-in for their Web strategies • Has a bachelor’s in communications from Clarke College
- 5. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC About Geonetric Geonetric develops the VitalSite Healthcare CMS, and provides online marketing services to hospitals, physician practices and health systems.
- 6. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Video Of This Webinar Watch the Video "Tell me about a time..." Everyone knows that job interview questions can be daunting — and quite telling. Why aren't these same types of questions used during your vendor selection process? They should be! Learn how to go beyond traditional content management software demonstrations and score cards to ask the questions that allow you to evaluate potential candidates just as carefully as you would for an internal position. Don't let a poor hire set your website — or market position — back! Watch the webinar!
- 7. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC eBook & Whitepaper Available Request your free ebooks!
- 8. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Hire for Skills & Behavior! ↓ Hiring costs + ↓ Total compensation + ↓ Cost to maintain employee (time/financial) + ↓ Disruption costs + ↓ Severance + ↓ Un-measured costs + $201,000* x3 *Based on a second-level manager who earns $62,000/year and has been terminated after 2.5 years. Source: US Department of Labor and statistics
- 9. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Top 10 Vendor Traits 1. Dependability 2. Expertise 3. Problem solver 4. Confidence 5. Coachability 6. Flexible and focused 7. Creativity 8. Creativity 9. Process curator 10. Cultural fit
- 11. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Dependability Traits Accountability Meets project deadlines Delivers on promises
- 13. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Dependability Questions Tell us about a time you failed to deliver on a go-live website redesign commitment. Tell us about a time when a client gave you an unreasonable deadline. How often do you check in with a client before and after go-live of a redesign?
- 15. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Expertise Traits Make me / department better Knowledge of HIPPA, PCI compliance Experience with similar clients
- 17. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Expertise Questions Tell us about your experience with interacting with a range of employees such as our CEO to service line directors. Our team is responsible for making quarterly presentations to our CMO, tell us how you’d contribute to the success of these presentations? How do you keep up with the healthcare industry changes?
- 18. Trait #3: Problem Solver
- 19. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Problem Solver Traits Active listening Critical thinking Cognitive processing Solution giver
- 21. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Problem Solver Questions How do you go about deeply understanding your clients’ problems? Tell us about a time you brought a solution to a relationship which was met with resistance? Describe a time in which you worked with a client to introduce a solution which produced tangible results?
- 23. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Confidence Traits Self-confidence Positive attitude Lacks arrogance
- 25. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Confidence Questions Describe a time in which you halted progress on a client project which was headed in the wrong direction. Describe a time you had to break the news about missing a goal. Tell me about a time in which you were asked to build internal buy-in for a project.
- 27. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Coachability Traits Humility Commitment Self-awareness Willingness to learn
- 29. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Coachability Questions How do you seek improvement from your clients? What would your clients say are your biggest weakness? How do you act on client feedback?
- 31. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Flexible/Focused Traits Adaptability Productive with little to no direction Deals accordingly with ambiguity Measures success regularly
- 33. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Flexible/Focused Questions Tell us about a time when you had to deal with unplanned scope changes. Tell us what steps you’d take if your main contact would depart mid project. How would you handle a client who’s going through a major organizational change in the middle of a project.
- 35. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Creativity Traits Sets you apart in the market Highly productive with little to no direction Deals accordingly with ambiguity
- 37. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Creativity Questions What do you think will be the next BIG design trend? How do you balance creativity with usability? Where does your design team find its creative inspiration?
- 38. Trait #9: Process Curator
- 39. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Process Curator Traits Doesn’t accept established failing process. Regularly evaluates current process and curates new ones. Applies process to current business problems and gets results!
- 41. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Process Curator Questions Tell us how you continually improve your process and product. How do you determine if a process is broken? How do you receive and act upon product feedback?
- 42. Trait #10: Cultural Fit
- 43. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Cultural Fit Traits Shared core values Cultural and job fit Service based leadership Delivers WOW results!
- 44. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Geonetric Core Values • Own it. We’re accountable to ourselves, each other and our clients. We keep our promises. • Bring it. We deliver exceptional service and value every day. We’re aiming for WOW! • Push it. We’re always moving forward or learning from our mistakes. Standing still is not an option. • Say it. We’ve torn down walls so ideas and information flow freely. Candid and direct is a way of life. • Unite. We are strategic and creative, thoughtful and candid, fun and different. We’re one team, united by a common vision.
- 46. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Cultural Fit Questions Why do you want to be our new vendor? What are your expectations of how our partnership will function? Will you move other members of the team forward? Tell us about your preferred work style?
- 48. Questions
- 49. Tweet it: #GEONETRIC Video Of This Webinar Watch the Video "Tell me about a time..." Everyone knows that job interview questions can be daunting — and quite telling. Why aren't these same types of questions used during your vendor selection process? They should be! Learn how to go beyond traditional content management software demonstrations and score cards to ask the questions that allow you to evaluate potential candidates just as carefully as you would for an internal position. Don't let a poor hire set your website — or market position — back! Watch the webinar!
- 50. Take Away – Digital Marketing in Healthcare Tweet it: #GEONETRIC eBook Request your free copy!
- 51. Thank You!
Editor's Notes
- Hire a Web Vendor with Confidence Thursday, October 30, 2014 — 3:00 PM "Tell me about a time..." Everyone knows that job interview questions can be daunting – and quite telling. Why aren't these same types of questions used during your vendor selection process? They should be. In this webinar we'll explain why your Web vendor is one of the most important hires you'll make. You'll learn how to go beyond traditional content management software demonstrations and score cards, to ask the questions that allow you to evaluate potential candidates just as carefully as you would for an internal position. Don't let a poor hire set your website – or market position – back! Attend this webinar and learn how to: Look beyond software to see if your current or prospective Web vendors have all the skills necessary to move your website forward and become a true partner Determine if your current vendor is offering the types of skills and service you need Identify the soft skills – such as flexibility and cultural fit – that make for a truly great partnership Treat vendor selection more like an interview process and ask questions that uncover what type of company you’d be working with Choose the right company for a successful, long-term partnership Register for the Hire a Web Vendor with Confidence webinar
- Intro script...
- Intro script…
- We provide marketing services to leading healthcare systems, hospitals, and practices. <http://www.geonetric.com/campaigns-and-content/marketing-campaigns/> We create VitalSite, the Healthcare CMS for hospitals, systems and healthcare organizations. <http://www.geonetric.com/websites-and-cms/vitalsite-cms/>
- Unable to attend the webinar? No problem…we recorded it! http://www.geonetric.com/resources/webinars/2014/improve-online-conversions/
- http://www.geonetric.com/learn-and-share/?example=eBooksandWhitePapers
- In our conversations with hospitals, much like human relations experts, they’ll tell you organizations hire for skills and fire for behavior. What surprises and bothers me simultaneously is we rarely get behavior types of questions when speaking with potential clients. We do get a tremendous number of questions centered on content management systems and functionality requirements. I’m not, for a moment, saying these are questions aren’t important, they are. What I am saying is a new focus should be spent on asking vendors situational based behavior questions since this has a real potential to costing an organization significant amounts of money over time. Cost calculations: The average cost of a bad hiring decision can equal 30% of the individual’s first-year potential earnings. Tweet this stat. (From the US Department of Labor and Statistics) $64,000 x 2.5 = $155,000 / 2.5 = $46,000 + $155,000 = $201,000. http://greenjobinterview.com/2014/01/10-important-statistics-on-bad-hiring-decisions/ http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235101
- Which leads us to the top 10 vendor traits you should consider when hiring a new Web vendor. Make sure you ask for questions related to these types of traits when interviewing your next long term partnership! Years of research has shown us these are among the top ten traits to look for when hiring a new vendor! And in case you're wondering, the inspiration for these traits comes from Entrepreneur Media and other sources.
- Not surprisingly to some, dependability is our first trait.
- You need a vendor who’s dependable, in both good times and in bad. Yes, it does sound a bit like marriage vows. You should have a vendor who’s going to stick within the budget parameters you’ve set forth. Your vendor should keep promises long after a website redesign is complete. It’s no longer acceptable to allow yourself to let your current vendor miss deadlines and provide excuses.
- So, if a client asks you to go-live with a new website redesign within a four month time frame, and you agree to doing so, you should be able to deliver on this deadline without sacrificing quality. Additionally, you should be asking your vendor what sorts of steps will you be taking in order to make sure project milestones are met, status calls are held, and annual strategic planning onsets happen. Does your current vendor make these clear to you today? Don’t settle for excuses when it comes to dependability. If you’re in a situation which warrants you having a conversation with your vendor, you should speak up! Especially if they’re not. They might not even know they’re letting you down by failing to meet your expected level of dependability.
- When it comes to dependability, questions should be centered on what I like to call, the “boulevard of broken dreams”. Asking for specific examples helps provide real clarity to experience and level of dependability. Because let’s face it, anyone can say they’re dependable. You need to make sure your vendor is proving they have a track record of being dependable.
- Now. Being an expert vendor takes much more than just a deep knowledge set. It requires this knowledge is shared and transferred to people and outcomes.
- Start by asking how your vendors knowledge will impact your responsibilities? You don’t want to get in a situation where you're having to train a vendor on healthcare specific knowledge such as HIPPA, PCI compliance and other policies which need to be followed. That’s why it’s important you hire a vendor who’s healthcare focused. You should ask about their experience with similar clients. For example, if they’ve never worked with large health systems, you might be running the risk of disaster because of their lack of experience. And for those who are working with you, don’t be afraid to ask for resumes.
- Non-healthcare specific vendors might bring outside experience to your partnership, however, they don’t bring in inside experience which is crucial to success. Additionally, we’ve heard from clients who want to compare doctors. You might be limiting yourself to do something like a physician compare feature with someone who understands healthcare.
- Think though these questions and ask yourself, are we comfortable with this vendor interacting with service line directors during stake holder interviews. On the other side of the coin, are you comfortable with a vendor who’s going to be in front of your CEO? Many organizations I heard from have monthly, if not annually, meetings with executive leadership. These meetings often include vendors who are involved on strategic initiatives which directly impact a hospitals bottom line. If your vendor can’t communicate effectively, you’ve lost not only your departments credibility, but any future stake in getting buy-in for similar types of projects. Ask vendors, how do you keep up with healthcare industry trends? The answer in which a vendor provides isn’t as important as how they’re keeping up with industry trends. They might not get every single trend correct, however, it would be nice if they could bring you a emerging trend. (responsive design and/or content marketing come to mind)
- Who doesn’t want an additional expert problem solver on their team?
- It’s important you look for individuals who embody the following problem solver traits. I’ve heard of a number of stories where vendors pitch ideas which have nothing to do with an organizations goal. They have their own agenda and ax to grind, and somehow seem to discount what they’ve been told during the discovery phase of a project. You need a vendor who provides solutions which work for your organization and not just for their bottom lines. I’m not saying a situation doesn’t exists where it’s mutually beneficial for both parties, this should be what we’re striving to achieve each and every time.
- If you tell your vendor driving service line volume is important, do they come back to you with recommendations like having clear calls to action, cross linking strategies, or measuring conversions on landing pages? Or, are they taking this a step further then just telling you these are our recommendations –with no ability to follow through and deliver upon said recommendations. A great problem solver will help you solve a communication problem which are un-related to the Web. Say for instance, your building a new hospital (Clay County Hospital blog)
- Sometimes you need a vendor to persuade you of an idea or recommendation. Other times you may not. Think back to a time where everyone was talking about mobile websites and having a mobile presence. Then how the conversation shifted from mobile web presence to having a responsive design. Did your vendor bring you and idea like responsive design prior to you hearing it from the market, or worse yet, your competition? Additionally, you should ask your vendor about solutions which produce results. And it’s more than just increased site traffic. You should have agreed upon measures of success, and your vendor should proactively make sure these objectives are being met.
- Ah, confidence. Not to be confused with arrogance. We all have those top of mind examples which come to mind.
- A positive attitude goes a long way when you have a vendor who’s confident. On the extreme side of this you don’t want a vendor who’s living in a world of rainbows and unicorns. Some might call these individuals cultural mavens. Definitely avoid those who lack aggressive traits.
- Would your vendor have the confidence to stop a going-live from happening because the project was headed in the wrong direction? (Renown Health) Along the same lines, would your vendor be confident make recommendations on eliminating a mobile site because it’s not an industry best practice to have a stand alone mobile site. (All Geonetric clients) I’m simply amazed by the number of folks who are being told by vendors you should continue to invest dollars into mobile sites, knowing full well, they’ll have to fix this problem down the road and invest additional dollars. What a nice gig for those vendors!
- What happens when your vendor misses a goal? How are you going to hold them accountable? Do you hold your vendor accountable today? Is the vendor your considering able to describe a time in which their confidence helped a client achieve buy-in for a project.
- Coachability is about being open to feedback and changing based on that feedback.
- Great vendors should be open to learning while simultaneously teaching. It’s easy to find vendors who fall in one camp or the other when it comes to being coachable. The first being, folks who are extremely closed to feedback, yet act like they’re open to hearing your opinion. The second camp, is folks who are open to your feedback, but so much so they can’t help but say yes to every piece of advice you provide. You need a vendor who embodies both of these traits.
- Talk about the relationship between Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson. When thinking of healthcare organizations, you need a vendor who continually brings thoughts and recommendations to your relationship. Or are you only hearing from your vendor when it’s time to sign a contract renewal?
- You should be asking how vendors go about measuring their level of satisfaction on a regular basis, then take this feedback and make changes for the better. How do you handle criticism? Can you think of situations with your current vendor which caused un-necessary anxiety? What do you do with the criticism to make you’re relationship stronger?
- Being flexible and focused is something which we all have to deal with on a daily basis.
- This speaks to more than just the ability to meet scope / product deadlines. What about after your site goes live? Is your vendor flexible enough to deal with your changing organizational priorities? Are these being measured on a regular basis? Your vendor focus should be trusted so much, you shouldn’t have to worry about them completing a deadline.
- We frequently hear of clients forging new brands, affiliations, or even exploring merger/acquisitions, etc. (Cone Health / Alamance) How will your vendor be flexible and focused when said scope changes happen? All while meeting a project go-lives, without sacrificing quality of build. (Iterative approach) We hear this type of feedback from the market on a regular basis.
- Ask your vendor exactly what steps they’d take to meet your end goal, despite the radical departure from the planned scope being thrown in their laps. Other scenarios to ask about might include a major organizational change. What would you do if it was announced mid way through a website redesign project two key members of the marketing team have left their positions? Or what about the roll out of a new physician medical group. These are all real scenarios which are happening across the country. The good news is a great vendor will help you move forward without creating devastating new risk and losing site of your goals.
- Ah, to be a maverick! But not so far off the reservation you get labeled a “cowboy”.
- Creativity is far more then design. It’s about having a vendor who helps set you apart in your market. It’s also about having a vendor who challenges the status quo. But not so much so they’re raddling cages for the sake of drama. Find and forge relationships with a vendor who provides originality and a fresh perspective with out straying so far out of bounds it impacts you negatively.
- We hear a lot of request from clients who want a Web design which “doesn’t look like every other design”. Then rightfully so, they have all sorts of requirements and inputs which influences what design gets built. (Halifax Health) You need a vendor who’s able to produce a great design, without sacrificing usability. To do both will really set your brand apart in the market. You also need a design that allows for future flexibility in case your brand changes. We see vendors who are creative when it comes to evolving a design process for instance. Designers will tell you the old way of creating a design use to be a vendor worked with you to come up with a website redesign by gathering all source materials, going away for months on end and coming back to reveal your new design. All the while running the risk of missing the mark. The new way your vendor should be focused on nailing your website redesign right off the bad is by working through an iterative process of creating the right design with your input from start to finish.
- You should ask a vendor to show you sites which prove their best work examples. How do you keep up to date with current trends? Where does your inspiration come from and how is it applied to your vendor relationships? How do you keep yourself from going off the reservation?
- Will this vendor evaluate current process? And to that point, are they able to identify which process are broken and come up with new fixes. Do these process tie directly into business problems? Or are they just creating process for the sake or process. Because they love order in their lives. And that’s not a knock and project managers, I personally have this tendency myself.
- Think about – is vendor slow to implement product enhancements? Do they even take feedback? What do they do with the feedback they receive? The story which comes to mind here is one of the vendor who spends a tremendous amount of time and money on software enhancements which have no real value in the marketplace. Does your vendor have a process / methodology in which they roll out new feature enhancements?
- Being a process curators focus on more than just software. Ask about how the vendor makes continual improvements to supporting clients ongoing? (after a go live) This could be how classes and events are scheduled. How class registrants are being handled. Etc.
- I’ve saved what we believe is the most important for last. You need to make sure your vendor is a great cultural fit.
- Finding a vendor who’s the perfect cultural fit is the glue which holds these traits together.
- You should consider asking to see a vendors mission and core values. Here’s Geonetric’s core values. Own it. Bring it. Push it. Say it. And Unite! Is the vendor your evaluating a match for your core values? Do they share your core value for service and quality? Do you see any potential for conflict because the vendors cultural values are drastically different from each other? Do they only talk about profits, shareholders and investors? Are they going though large mergers or acquisitions ever couple of years?
- Above all you need a vendor who’s patient focused and an extension of your community. If they can’t live out these values OR if there values don’t match yours, then it’s going to be a long number of years together. And for your own sake, you might want to take a look at your current situation to determine if you’re still trying to jam a square peg into a round hole.
- Onsite we’ve heard this type of feedback. You’re going to work closely with these people for a long time. You’re hiring an extension of your department…
- Business have gotten so in-tune to how much this costs organizations…. Not saying you need to buy out the contract with your current vendor… New investment of…. Paul Harvey sign off….
- Today we’re going to focus on the new soft skills you need to focus on when hiring. We’re going beyond traditional content management software demonstrations and score cards.
- Unable to attend the webinar? No problem…we recorded it! http://www.geonetric.com/resources/webinars/2014/improve-online-conversions/
- https://www.geonetric.com/learn-and-share/ebook-digital-marketing-in-healthcare/
- Today we’re going to focus on the new soft skills you need to focus on when hiring. We’re going beyond traditional content management software demonstrations and score cards.