RESPECT of Florida is the central non-profit agency for the State of Florida that helps employ more than 1,250 Floridians with disabilities through the production of commodities and contractual services that are sold to government entities. If you would like to learn more about us or browse our catalog, visit us at:
respectofflorida.org.
|
A Message from Executive Director Ryland Musick
Most governmental purchasers know RESPECT offers janitorial and lawn maintenance services, as well as a variety of commodities. Many of our buyers are surprised to hear that RESPECT's partners perform a variety of services beyond janitorial and lawn maintenance. Additional services include Office Support, Call Center Monitoring, Fleet Maintenance, and Price Per Page Copying and Toner Maintenance but our partners' capabilities do not stop there. Many of our partners work on private and/or federal contracts providing Food service, IT work, Temporary Staffing, and much more.
RESPECT understands the need for its government buyers to conduct hassle-free procurements. To better serve our customers, RESPECT has committed to reviewing its procedures for preparing pricing proposals and creating a more standardized method. Internally, RESPECT management and staff have held multiple workshops to work out the details. Most recently, RESPECT's Oversight Committee agreed to form a Services Pricing Workgroup. All of these efforts are aimed at the goal of providing state and local governments high quality products and services and competitive pricing to meet our customers' needs.
|
Facebook is one more way RESPECT wants to connect with you. Click above to like our page.
|
Meetings, Training, and Events
August 18-20
- FL League of Cities, Hollywood
September 1
- 14(c) Wage Requirements Seminar, Marietta, GA
October
- Disability Employment Awareness Month
October 5
- Exceptional Employer Awards, Tallahassee
|
Commodity of the Month - LED Lights
Let there be light! RESPECT now has a 2' x 2' LED troffer available for purchase. Ideal for any professional setting, these easy to install fixture provide superior lighting throughout your space. Available in three Correlated Color Temperatures, these lights are dimmable, stylish, and long lasting.
|
|
|
Gov. Scott Praises Janitorial Crew
Florida Governor Rick Scott recently stopped at the Paynes Prairie rest area on Interstate 75 during his recent travels. RESPECT of Florida's partner organization Stewart-Marchman-Act (SMA) Behavioral Healthcare performs janitorial services at this very busy rest area. The Governor spoke with the two attendants and complimented them on how nice and neat everything looked.
RESPECT and SMA are proud to work with the Department of Transportation to serve Floridians and tourists alike with a clean place to stop and rest.
|
Have You Checked with RESPECT?
The new fiscal year is under way, and purchasing folks around the state are working hard to buy goods and services their agencies need. You may only review RESPECT's Procurement List annually, but if you have not checked recently, you may be missing out on new commodities. Over the past six months, the RESPECT Commodities Team has worked diligently with our partner Employment Centers and the Department of Management Services to expand RESPECT's commodities selection. New additions include LED lighting troffers (a rectangular light fixture that fits into a modular dropped ceiling), incontinence products, and an array of medical and dental supplies. The next time you receive a purchase request, make sure you check with RESPECT and see what is new on our
Procurement List.
|
The ABCs of Customized Commodities
Picture this: your coworker is on the planning committee for your agency's next big event. She comes in your office to talk about what they need to purchase to make this event successful. Words like "swag bag," "silkscreen," and "four-color logo," are mentioned. She leaves your office in a flurry of jargon and you are left with a list of items to procure, a budget, and a deadline. Now what? Before you Google yourself in to oblivion, let us discuss ordering basics of customized commodities or "swag."
- Additional Charges. That base price is extremely appealing; only 39 cents each? What a bargain! Many companies charge a set-up fee for your artwork, which is not included in the advertised price. As your artwork becomes more colorful, the set-up fee increases and you may also incur additional per unit charges. That 39 cent tote bag ends up costing $1.25, an added expense that was not planned. Other additional charges could include taxes, shipping, and graphic design fees. Graphic design fees vary, but typically range from $40 to $60 per hour.
- Buying Quantities. Customized commodities play the economies of scale game. Companies charge more per unit for lower quantities because of the time they invest in setting up your artwork, providing graphic design services, and the man-hours to actually produce your items. Sometimes producing 100 pieces of swag costs the company more time and effort than producing 1,000 pieces. Different companies require different buying quantities. Again, you can buy that bag for 39 cents each, but you have to buy 10,000 to get that bargain price
- Communication. Who is at the other end of your order? Technology makes buying much easier, but it also makes the process very impersonal. If you have a specific question, you could spend hours scouring the FAQs and still not find the answer. If you are unsure what you need, there is less chance (or no chance!) that you can speak to someone face to face. Purchasing customized commodities is a give and take process. You may need to compromise on a four-color logo to stay within your budget. Alternatively, you may need to increase your budget to realistically meet your quantity need. It is beneficial to have a live person that you can negotiate with to get the swag that will exactly meet your needs.
While there are many more factors to be considered, these three basic considerations will help you plan, budget, and ultimately purchase your customized commodities. You can be the hero of the next event by meeting the expectations of your coworkers. As an added bonus, you can now talk about swag like an expert!
|
|
Florida ARF Operations Director John Bruntlett |
Many readers of this article have health insurance through their employers and are not directly affected by the happenings in the individual marketplace. There is one big indirect effect; the cost of premiums for everyone including group health plans. There is turmoil in the marketplace throughout the country.
The initial focus of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to provide increased access to health insurance and care. Additional reform focused on containing costs was to be addressed with future congressional action. Thus far, not only has Congress failed to address the issue of cost, but they have also attempted to repeal the original ACA dozens of times.
Three of the nation's largest insurers (Aetna, United Healthcare, and Humana) have announced either a complete withdrawal or significant reductions in the number of markets they will sell individual plans. Blue Cross Blue Shield is pulling out of some states, as well. As much as one-third of the United States will have just one insurer to choose from. Those people's only way to shop prices is to choose less coverage and higher out of pocket expenses in order to afford the insurance.
Why are the carriers backing out? Because they are losing too much money because the healthy younger people are not buying and the flood of older, sicker people are costing the carriers tons of money. Areas of Florida will be affected. For instance, in rural areas where there were few choices for carriers, even before the ACA, will remain limited in choices. And even some larger areas like Naples and Fort Myers will have only one carrier, Florida Blue.
Early predictions for 2017 have group health plans projected to have a six to seven percent increase at renewal. That does not always happen the way it should. Many companies are experiencing rate increases in excess of that projection, sometimes as much as 100 percent. It is happening, and many businesses and employees are being put into very difficult situations, and having to make choices they would rather not. For many folks in Florida, what we were hearing on the news a few years ago is now a reality sitting on our doorsteps.
With the numbers of carriers continuing to decline, so goes competition for business and rates could continue to accelerate in the coming years.
|
|
|