WINNING CONTRACTS WITH THE RIGHT TEAMMATES

 A Message from the President

Dear Colleagues,
Ever wish you could nab a piece of government business? Who hasn’t? With more than 2.7 million employees and a better pay average than the private sector, the Federal government is the single largest employer in the United States. Its massive array of services across a variety of industries presents businesses both large and small with a wealth of contracting and subcontracting opportunities. In short, the federal government is an ideal prospective customer, especially in times of economic uncertainty. This month, our feature article provides insight on a unique strategy for winning a piece of those profitable government contracts: partnering with a small, disadvantaged or woman-owned business.

As we head into the fourth quarter of 2009, I want to take the opportunity to wish each of you a happy and successful year end. Though this past year has been a turbulent and uncertain one for many of us, it has also taught us a great deal about patience, resolve, and hard work in the face of adversity. Here’s hoping we can take some of these valuable lessons with us as we move confidently and expectantly toward a more promising and prosperous 2010.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth M. Rice, SPHR

 The Advantages of Disadvantaged Partners

Businesses looking to claim their share of the highly lucrative government contracting market know that success requires the 3 P’s: thorough preparation, a winning proposal, and finally, the right partners. As any successful government contractor can tell you, strategic partnerships with diverse suppliers (such as small, minority, veteran, disabled, or woman-owned companies) can be a highly effective way to ensure your proposal is competitive when it comes time to submit your bid.

Workplace diversity is now widely regarded as a business strategy that maximizes productivity, leads to long-term organizational success, and creates opportunity – and the U.S. government is one of its strongest advocates. In an effort to eliminate marketplace barriers and encourage maximum participation for these businesses during the procurement process, the government has created supplier diversity programs in which portions of government contract budgets are reserved for those companies designated as “diverse.” Federal contractors who elect to subcontract portions of their business processes to these suppliers have a clear-cut advantage when being considered for a contract award, and should therefore give serious consideration to which portions of their business processes they might be willing or able to outsource to a diverse supply partner.

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