In the highly-regulated Federal Acquisition space Contracting Officers are perched between the three chasms of requirements and definitions, competition and pricing, and contractor oversite; all of which can be counterproductive to actually purchasing services or hiring contract personnel. In some markets such as the procurement of defense and space systems the government is virtually the only buyer. However, in the services economy the government is but one of many players.
"In the service sector the Government will have to become a smarter, more commercial-oriented buyer." Butch Hinton (Assistant Comptroller General)
In his GAO Report Hinton goes on to say that "The labyrinth of regulations and requirements, all intended to make the acquisition process both fair and honest have created a situation that leaves little room for the exercise of sound business judgment, initiative, and creativity for satisfying the needs of their agency customers."
As a result, the staffing perspectives of Acquisition Specialists can easily stray far from reality and the difference between internal acquisition strategies and real-world staffing realities can become stark.
Take this recent actual staffing proposal floated by Acquisition Specialists for staffing Military Treatment Facilities:
Staffing contractors should place a priority on recruiting active duty providers coming off terminal leave on the assumption that they are (1) military environment savvy, (2) Security-cleared, and (3) Privileged thus making for a smooth transition from active duty to become a civilian provider.
Alternatively, staffing contractors should target civilian providers whose contracts are coming to an end, on the assumption again that they are military-experienced, security-cleared, and already privileged.
Let me pause to say that any staffing contractor worth his or her salt is already practicing these obvious priorities in selection and recruitment. The priorities are not at issue, being able to execute them is....
Here is where the proposal enters Alice's proverbial Wonderland. It is suggested that contractors maintain an "inventory" of such folks, on hand so that the contracting officer can issue a Task Order at any time and the contractor can simply respond with a list of the available providers who are already security-cleared and privileged. You should be able to hear the audience laughing about now.
Stated simply, healthcare providers are not like military supplies sitting in a warehouse awaiting requisition. Not only do they have their own priorities, but like everyone else, they have to earn a steady income. Healthcare recruiting is a dynamic, competitive environment and the government is not able to compete for the following reasons:
All this to say that Acquisition Officers are too often not only out of touch with staffing in the real world, but are also not cognizant of the internal obstacles to their idyllic staffing strategies. Open dialogue with staffing vendors would go a long way to alleviating frustration on both sides of the equation. Just saying.
KurzSolutions has experience staffing in the GOVT space at more than 100 MTFs, more than a dozen GOVT Agencies, in more than sixty-five major labor categories. Call us to discuss your staffing needs today.
