Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dave Staats on August 5, 2008 at 8:51am

Bill: About 60% of our revenue comes from clients whose people work on site at government facilities. I spend a lot of time explaining that our aim is to help distribute talent efficiently and not to drive up the price for the end 'customer' as the government is referred to. After trying several times in the past, even as a result of invitations, we now have zero interest in working directly with the government. There are just too many extra elements of work required. It is much easier to let our clients be the go-between.

I am not at all sure there would be more revenue if we did do business directly. I think the feds are really just one more element of the employment landscape and they can be a good client for some and a non-factor for others. I believe the piece of pie should be as big as the fork and plate of the recruiter who wants to go to all the extra trouble to eat it.

Permalink Reply by PJ Cunningham on August 5, 2008 at 9:54am

I agree with Karen and Dave's replies. I'd like to add that we do have a Federal initiative in our firm - to gain the BRAC business. Our firm has a history of serving the commercial industry so our transition to working with the Feds was somewhat of an eye opener.

As Dave says, it is easier as a Sub than a direct or Prime. I believe for that reason a large piece of the pie does com to the 3rd party recruitment world. Additionally, as a Federal Contractor or Sub, we must be prepared to hurry up and wait when it comes to RFP's and cleared positions. We must act quicky in our responses to RFP's and wait for the award and retain our contingent hires in the meanwhile. That is just one challenge.

Permalink Reply by Kiran Ponnada on November 4, 2008 at 5:50pm

Bill:

To answer your question, I feel 3rd party recruiters do play a very significant role in Federal Government's recruiting efforts. The sheer volume of the business is so high that direct vendors/ suppliers cannot just handle the demand and supply equation on their own. This opens up avenues for 3rd party recruiters.

Interesting observations, Karen and Dave. This gives altogether a new perspective to being a vendor/ supplier to the Federal Government. Being based out of the Washington DC Metro Area and driving through the huge offices of Lockheed Martins, SAICs, Northrop Grummans and the like, I always thought that being a preferred vendor to any 2 of them will help us turn the corner. While there is a great chance for a small to medium business to grow, you cannot rule out them going out of business with only one mistake. But don't they say, "Where there is a risk, there is romance". Organizations need to make that call. One way to minimize the risk is by introducing robust processes in your organization to avoid mistakes/ errors.