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Recruiting During Proposal Season

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Editor’s Note: This Article Has Been Updated May 10, 2023

Soon proposal season will be upon us…along with writer’s block, visions of past performances dancing in your head, cost volumes, long nights and lots of coffee. But, the most enjoyable of all is resumes, sourcing, contingent offer letters and recruiting.

Government contracting recruiting is not like commercial recruiting.  The talent pool is small, the salaries are low, the lists of qualifications are long and the skill sets are specific. Proposal recruiting is its own version of fun with key personnel, vague requirements and candidates who get cranky when they hear you are recruiting for a proposal.

Whether recruiting for a proposal or a funded job req, the usual question is whether you recruit with in-house recruiters or if you utilize an outsourced recruiting firm (or individual recruiting consultant). There are several pros/cons to consider when outsourcing:

Pros of Outsourced Recruiting

  • You can use recruiting support only when needed, which can keep costs down
  • Recruiting firms offer the benefit of an expanded network
  • The resources of a qualified recruiter result in finding candidates faster, also important in proposal recruiting
  • Recruiting firms can keep the client confidential in postings, which is especially beneficial in the intelligence community or when recruiting for proposals

Cons of Outsourced Recruiting

  • For proposal recruiting, you are expending costs that you may not recover
  • You still need to add the cost into the indirect rates
  • Outsourcing can add additional time to the process (i.e., bringing a recruiter up to speed, learning your culture, etc.)
  • Better upsell of your company when you directly deliver the message

There is no right/wrong answer when it comes to determining how you will conduct your recruiting.  Both insourced and outsourced offer benefits and advantages.  Outsourcing costs more, but allows you to focus more efforts on different areas (proposal writing, business development, etc.).  If you have the staff available, insourcing can save costs and give you more control over the recruiting process.

BOOST and Apertus Partners are conducting a workshop through the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce GovCon Initiative on May 31st at 8:30 on Recruiting in the Intelligence Community.  Come join the discussion on recruiting challenges, case studies of successful internal recruiting from a local GovCon, the price of recruiting and recruiting diverse candidates in the Intel space. Ross O’Rourke from IC-1 Solutions will present on his company’s experience with internal recruiting in the intelligence community and Dat Nguyen, a BOOST recruiter, will speak on his experience with diversity recruiting in the intel space.

Register here.

ABOUT BOOST’S CEO, STEPHANIE ALEXANDER

Stephanie Alexander has been serving GovCons since 2002. With over 15 years of experience in the industry, Stephanie has a wealth of knowledge and expertise when it comes to navigating the complex world of government contracting.

Prior to starting BOOST LLC, Stephanie worked for a number of large and small government contracting firms, where she gained valuable experience in all aspects of the business, from bidding on contracts to managing employees and subcontractors. It was during this time that she identified a need for a company that could provide government contractors with the support and guidance they need to succeed in a highly competitive market, specifically in the realm of managed GovCon accounting.

M&A Culture

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Editor’s Note: This Article Has Been Updated December 5, 2022

How many times have you heard “culture eats strategy for breakfast?”  How many HBR cases (among others) are out there citing failed mergers due to culture?  We all claim to recognize how important culture is to our organizations.  As is the case, how do we continue to see blown opportunities of mergers that fell flat with little of the gain that was promised?  Not to mention those “opportunities” that caused more harm than good?
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As M&A continues to rise in the GovCon community, it’s important for those looking to buy (and even those looking to sell) to give considerable thought to the culture behind the two organizations and how they will mesh.  We all focus on the financial gains, the <wait for it…overused MBA word here> synergies to be gained by streamlining the corporate folks (i.e. layoffs) and the new clients and capabilities gained. It can be a valuable business building opportunity for GovCons. But how much thought has been given to the workforce and the impact in the post-merger world?

Most GovCons in the M&A mix this year have been services companies.  Meaning the proverbial “assets leave every day out the door.”  If this describes you, how much time and energy have you put behind the impact to your teams?  Everyone is excited during the dating phase, where numerous happy hours and get-to-know-you events are held, spreadsheets are modeled with expediential growth, new names are brainstormed.  The BD team is completely on board as they look to new capabilities to sell and enhance their commission (BD always thinks it’s staying for some reason).  The corporate team of the buyer looks to grow their fiefdom, while the seller’s team is busy negotiating as big of severance as they can from their GovCon.  The selling owner wants to take care of their people, but generally wants to take care of their exit more.  (We’re not in this for our health.)
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Who gives the GovCon employees a voice?  Who has the watchful eye on culture to see whether the transaction makes sense?  The consultants will push for their commissions regardless, the bankers will look at financial risk, the attorneys will look at legal risk.  Who on your team is the voice of sanity that looks to see if combining the organizations really does add up, ensuring that there is retention of your core asset, your people?

Keep this voice of sanity in the forefront of every discussion as you navigate the GovCon M&A waters. Sometimes it is a slam dunk, but tread cautiously, as there are many more failed or missed opportunities in this area than we hear about in the industry.  We’re very good at glossing over our bad decisions when we want to, shifting our perspective on GovCon M&As. But look at retention rates, under-utilized funding on existing work, re-compete percentage wins and actual multipliers to see the real impact.

M&A is a credible and viable strategy for most GovCons that have built companies with value.  Tread cautiously and think of the company a year or two after the merger as you analyze whether it is a good business decision.  Don’t promise the world to your employees, but overlook them at your own peril.  Lest they do indeed, walk out the door, depleting the worth of your GovCon.

If you’re looking toward a GovCon M&A opportunity but would like some guidance on your first, second or twentieth step reach out, [email protected]. I’d be happy to have a conversation and help to point you in a positive direction.

GovCon Hiring from the Gut

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Editor’s Note: This Article Has Been Updated May 3, 2023

“Have faith in your intuition and listen to your gut feeling.” Ann Cotton

Ask any Government Contractor CEO, and 90%+ will tell you that their biggest hurdle is people. Hiring the right team, making sure they play well together in the sandbox, work together to meet the mission, and generally push the company forward. The dynamics of a strong, diverse team are invaluable in the progression of your company. So how do you hire the right person? Do you rely on proven experience, or do you go with your gut?

GovCon Hiring

There is plenty of written work around the topic of hiring. Some companies have it down to a science (think alphabet or apple). Most small businesses are lucky to have a standard process, much less something that is consistent and does a good job of screening candidates. Many folks at this stage “go with your gut” and hire specifically based on personality and how the candidate did in the interview.

Does your GovCon go with your Gut?

How effective is this and how detrimental can it be to your company should your gut be off? Depending on your policies, you may be required to excessively retrain, mentor and closely monitor a subpar new hire. The damage to your established team could be expensive regarding time, mindset and resources.

For me, some of my best hires have been based on a combination of experience and/or the right personality traits. The right balance between the two is paramount. For example, is your accounting candidate detailed oriented? Do they have typos on their resume? If so, not a good indicator. I’ve hired folks without any specific industry experience, but they had the right personality and were willing to learn. Personality is just as important as any experience, especially when joining a small team. How well candidates can play with others is one of the key factors, and in my opinion, should be weighed more heavily than experience.

GovCon Hiring and Diversity

With that said, another key factor when considering a new hire is diversity, specifically, diversity of thought and opinion. If you surround yourself with folks who have the exact same background and exact same experience as you, you’ll wind up with total agreement, and stagnation. Total agreement doesn’t challenge you as a CEO, nor does it advance your company.  You need people on your team who will appropriately question your path, question the standard and most importantly, take issue with the soul-wrenching, “but we’ve always done it this way.” Hire folks that push you to be a stronger business leader, and your company will be much improved as a result.

GovCon Hiring Process

Your gut is an important part of your hiring process as we often notice red flags subconsciously. Yet it behooves us to remember to include careful consideration of experience, personality, and diversity. While you’re refining your hiring process, you may want to consider a hiring audition to uncover some candidate characteristics often unseen in an interview. If you’re interested in revamping your policy on hiring, seek out the advice experts in your field as what may work for Apple may not work for you.

See more articles about hiring and recruitment.  Or, for expertise in GovCon regarding hiring, recruiting services for government contractors, and human resources, contact BOOST LLC. www.BOOSTLLC.net

About Stephanie Alexander, BOOST’s Founder & CEO

Stephanie Alexander has spent more decades than she wants to admit supporting high growth government contractors with an eye towards their bottom line. She is the CEO and founder of BOOST LLC which supports back-office functions for government contractors. She is a co-founder and Partner at govmates, a free teaming platform and technology scouting tool to connect business across the federal landscape.

GovCon Voices: A Culture of Compliance

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As seen on SmallGovCon.com

When we talk about the federal contracting industry, one of the first things that comes to mind is compliance. We are an overly regulated industry with a ton of laws to abide by, FAR changes to keep up with, legislation of which we need to stay on top. None of it is particularly easy or straightforward, and it sometimes takes experts to keep your organization in compliance. In short, no one can claim they are 100% compliant, nor can they claim to know everything with regards to this industry, especially a GovCon CEO. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that no one expects this of the CEO. However, your attitude towards compliance goes a long way within the organization. The example you set at the top will filter throughout the organization and will go a long way towards establishing and maintaining a company culture that follows the rules of this industry. We all talk about making sure that the company is not on the front page of the Washington Post for getting into hot water with the law or for debarment.

How can you contribute to that as a CEO?
How can you build your organization to take it seriously?
How do you keep from bogging down the wheels of progress and allow the mission goals for you and your clients to be met?

Lead by Example. It sounds so easy, is in every leadership book, and is touted on every trending article on LinkedIn. But ask yourself, who fills out your timesheet? Do you throw 8 hours of your time into G&A and call it a day? Do you have your admin fill out your timesheet? Do you approve your direct reports? Every GovCon has a timekeeping system that requires daily input and ultimately, signature submission and approval of direct reports time.
Do you travel according to JTRs and/or within the per diem rates? Do you expect your folks to abide accordingly? As a GovCon, you just don’t travel extravagantly. Ever.

Put your Money where your Mouth is.  How many emails from the Timekeeping Goon have you received? Do you ever take the time to find out who the repeat offenders are and to speak with them about these transgressions? Ever told your top sales person that they could have their pay docked or lose their jobs if they continue to be non-compliant? It’s that type of discussion (and action) that shows that the company values compliance and takes it seriously.

Have you had your HR folks scrub through your labor categories and the folks associated with them…proactively? Have you righted any salary discrepancies to ensure that your workforce is fairly and consistently paid according to skill set and experience? These suggestions all are dictated by FAR compliance and laws, but in general, they emulate good advice.

Be the leader that the GovCon industry needs and keep your company on the front pages for the work you are contributing to this country; not for running afoul of the rules.
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See the original article: http://smallgovcon.com/govcon-voices/govcon-voices-a-culture-of-compliance/#sthash.4Ahp75Xd.dpuf

Resilience

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“Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive.”
-Jamais Cascio

Change is inevitable, and the GovCon industry is no exception. We’re all scrambling to see what changes will come with the new administration, where funding will go, what the impact on our government clients will be, etc.  We’re also an industry of M&A (although some of the M&A shops may say it’s been slow as of late).  When our company grows to a decent size, the big boys come knocking. If we’ve got a strong client relationship or unique product/niche, they come knocking even earlier in the lifecycle. We’re also an industry of movement. Senior executives shuffle from GovCon to GovCon applying their tricks to each company, some for the better, some to their detriment but all for the sake of the process.

So how do you handle the on-going changes that come from this territory?
How do you remain valuable to the new executive, new company, new client?
I submit the following considerations:

Value. Can you prove your value to both your client and your company? Can you quantify it? If you can’t readily spew off what you’ve brought to the table…RECENTLY…then perhaps you had better dust off that resume. Also note, “having a great client relationship” is not enough. That’s bare minimum. Don’t confuse your value and your recognition. Often times our most valued attributes are those that go without being publicly recognized.

Buy In. Do you scoff at the idea of new leadership, new management, or new directions? Right or wrong, that lack of buy-in (no matter how justified) will get you noticed, and not in a good way. When change initiatives are in place, early buy-in and promotion will help your team advance. This is not to say that you have to drink to Kool-Aide every time, but after some healthy discussion, there is always a fork in the road. At that junction, you’ll need to get on board or get out. Be steadfast when you find yourself in that position.

Ownership. People are drawn to those who are accountable and who take responsibility for their actions. New management will notice these attributes quickly, as their presence is rare. When something is your fault, own it. Figure out how to do better, learn from the mistake and move on. No dwelling or wallowing, and definitely don’t make the same mistake again.

Humor. Remember that everything goes in cycles. If you can’t find the humor in your position, change either your attitude or your situation.
In deciphering the avenues of transition, it is often necessary to utilize the knowledge of experts that have your back. You’re not in it alone, nor do you have to feel that way. Go back to those with whom you have a rapport and can trust to navigate their zones of genius. Doing so will allow you the opportunity to make clear-headed decisions.

Change is inevitable.
How you engage it, is not.
It’s ultimately up to you as to how you respond to change.

Green

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Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
-Mark Twain

In today’s environment of competition, LPTA, race to the bottom (insert any other overused term we throw around in the GovCon world), we all talk about “greening the staff” as a way to cut our costs on proposals. But who really does it and more importantly, who does it successfully?

Typically, we say that in the execution of a 5-year contract, we can move the more seasoned employees to other contracts and replace them with more junior employees who will learn from the best, and do their jobs more efficiently and at less cost. In reality, this means we replace seasoned and expensive employees with less expensive employees under the guise of “career advancement.”

Contractors bet that a year into execution, the government will absolutely LOVE their seasoned SME’s, and therefore will cough up more funding in the out years not requiring the transition of staff.

What happens if that isn’t the case? 

Contractors tell their seasoned SME that they have to take a 20%+ hit on their base salary or they yank them to a more profitable contract and backfill to the minimum labor category requirements with little to no transition or cross-training. The result? A bad taste in everyone’s mouths, most importantly the government.

What if we did what we claimed we would do in our management plans?

What if we told our SMEs in contract kick-off that we were going to start grooming their replacements and incentivized them to help train them successfully?

What if we spent the time to recruit the right person for the transition? A person wanting to work with the agency and grow professionally. What if we made our government customer part of the transition plan and they knew all along that there would be new teammates in the out years?

Imagine if we actually provided the career growth for our SMEs, built our workforce with energized, well-trained folks who could help win the re-compete and, topping it off, actually *gasp* saved the government money?

Yes, it means forethought and planning. Yes, it is harder than just asking for more funding. If you want to grow your company and your team successfully and thoughtfully – try greening the staff.

Just do it the right way, the first time.

Goals

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New year, new you?  Yup, been there, done that.  How many GovCon business owners start with the best of intentions for the new year?  Any of these sound familiar?

  • This is the year I’m going to break $XM in revenue!
  • This is the year we’re going to follow a formal BD process.  No more bluebird bids!
  • This is the year we’re going after (huge IDIQ).  We’ll have our team solidified 30 days before the bid.
  • This is the year we’re going to invest in our employees.  We’ll do brown bag sessions and offer training courses.
  • This is the year we’re going to have and follow a strategic plan.  We’ll review it quarterly and assess our progress.

I’d venture to say every CEO in this industry has thought at least one of the above in the past week, with the best of intent.  Before this becomes another boring blog on goals and how to attain them, let’s stop and get real.   One of my mantras is that small business owners don’t have time or money to waste.  I know I don’t.  Achieving all of these goals this year would be great.  But in a world of tactical day to day operations, it’s hard to come out from the emails, status meetings, business development, and management of our people.  Let’s face it, running a company is not for the lazy!

So let’s focus on one goal.  One little goal.

Here it is – one goal every business owner should make (and actually do) is to THINK.  This sounds so simple.  I know.  But when was the last time you actually made time in your schedule to think about your company and its future?  When did you last turn off your phone/email/life and spend some time with your thoughts and plans?  Do you remember why you got into your field?  What your end game is?  Are you moving toward your goals?
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As owner/CEO it’s on you to have a direction and focus toward which your company is moving.  How can you provide leadership and oversight if you don’t know yourself?

Imagine what a few hours a week or even a couple days a month would do for your company if you took a step back and actually spent time thinking.  You’d know where you were on your goals.  You’d have time to think about the future, competitive landscape, trends, growth potential.  You would also feel like you had a better grasp on the company’s direction.  With a roadmap in front of you, you can spend the other time leading and executing effectively.  Who knows, you may even finally get to those training sessions.

Business owners spend too much time focusing on portions of their to-do lists that can be delegated to others. Every CEO wants to be an expert on all things, but let’s face it, sometimes we need a bit of guidance. Luckily some of us seek to assist leaders in creating plans and moving forward to reach their goals. In fact, if you have questions, I’m happy to offer support.

Need help building your corporate strategy in the federal GovCon space?  Feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected]