Making Momentum: CREATIVE OUTSOURCING

After a relatively slow August, typical in any market but particularly slow in this hiring environment, things really picked up in September. Our phones were ringing off the hook and my InBox was piling up for requests for, of all things, proposal writers! What was going on?

Anyone familiar with the budget cycles in Washington, D.C. knows that U.S. Federal Government Fiscal Year ends September 30th and that most contracts work on that schedule. With a new President and the economic stimulus package moving, Federal contracting work was building. But in order to GET any of that money firms must first write a proposal, and proposal writers were in high demand.

A small consulting practice client came to us and needed not only a top proposal writer, but someone who was available that week, and for a rate below what the now in-demand Washington, D.C. proposal writers were charging. That's when creative outsourcing came into play. We outsourced this client's proposal writing and management to.....Michigan?

That's right, one of our top proposal writers lives in the state now made famous by the highest unemployment rate in the nation. With the unfortunate timing of returning to work from a child-rearing break in The Great Recession, our writer was anxious for work and was willing to be creative with location. Using technology, superb communication skills and even her own use-or-lose frequent flier miles to voluntarily fly in for the kick-off meeting, our resource solved a huge staffing problem for our client, helping them to win a key piece of stimulus-funded business.

• Business Value: Client got a highly qualified, in-demand resource within a week that fit their budget and solved a major business problem.
• Candidate Value: By being flexible and creative, our candidate got the all-important first back-to-work job and an extremely valuable resume bullet for an in-demand area of expertise.

Making Momentum: CONTINGENT RESOURCES

As a manager, is there ever a task that you know you need to get done but can't carve out even a couple of hours per week for it? Even if we are in a protracted recession and that activity directly relates to revenue? This was the situation one of our clients, Zavda Technologies, was in. A high growth, 8a, service disabled veteran and women-owned firm, they were in the situation a lot of government contractors find themselves in: too busy delivering on work to go after and manage the ongoing proposal process.

Their CEO, Dr. Stacy Trammell, came to us looking for a resource, a real contracting guru, who could help them scour multiple federal contracting websites, qualify the right opportunities for Zavda and manage the contracting process. For Stacy, there simply weren't enough hours in the day to get this essential task done and anytime devoted to developing business came directly from billable hours, taking away much-needed revenue.

Momentum Resources found Zavda Technologies the perfect resource: a former Navy contracting officer transitioning back to work after her second child was born. This resource, the guru that Zavda needed on staff but didn't have a need or budget for full-time, works remotely a few hours a week putting her subject matter expertise to work helping Zavda find, qualify and bid on Federal contracts.

• Business Value: A small firm gets the subject matter expertise it needs to grow without the commitment or cost of a full-time resource
• Candidate Value: A professional mom finds the right work for her, several hours a week working from home, keeping her career going and contributing to the family income.

Bonus Value: This was such a perfect arrangement for both parties that the candidate had baby #3 on a Friday and was back to work, from home and for just a couple of hours, the very next week! Our first DC area Momentum Resources baby, a mini-Momentum, was born!