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.