Shrinking budgets. Rising expectations from citizens and customers of the Government. Aging legacy systems. Increasing complexity and regulations. The need to provide ‘on demand’ services to a new generation.
Technology can help get something done. This has been a common theme in my 29-year consulting career, whether it be preventing terrorist attacks, mitigating flood risk, making it easier for students to apply for loans, or combating human trafficking.
Grit and determination. This is what the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) workforce is known for. After what is arguably the most challenging year in its history, the FEMA leadership called on the agency to enable the workforce through four elements: build, empower, sustain, and train. A key factor in creating a scalable, sustainable disaster response workforce is to foster a proactive culture, one focused on preparedness. A proactive mindset can create an environment that asks the “what if” questions that lead to more prepared response efforts.
Are you developing a strategy but are unsure where to start, what to rely on, and who to engage when driving a business, organization, or agency forward? Start by enabling the operational workforce. The workforce includes those who are executing daily tasks and operations of the many programs within an organization. Enabling the workforce gives them authority, allowing them to access their full potential to achieve desired results, and helps the Government develop, communicate, and implement strategy.
Across the Federal government, agencies and programs have been tasked with building, training, and retaining the workforce needed to serve the American people. Public-sector leaders have been struggling with the right approach to this challenge, but we are now seeing more and more agencies turn to implementing private industry ’lean’ methods as a potential solution. Lean strategies aim to identify and improve an organization’s pain-points by following a set of principles and techniques focused on minimizing risk, optimizing cost and quality of processes, and engaging employees to deliver value-added benefits and improvements aligned to the organization’s mission and goals.
Human Resources (HR). What comes to mind when you hear “HR”? Hopefully, it’s positive! While most people would answer with “processing paperwork, administering benefits, onboarding and paying employees, etc.,” HR in 2018 is so much more. As the Association for Talent Development argues, HR is about being an “experience architect.” It can transform the employee experience.
As threats evolve and technology reinvents how we perform work, the Government must continue to find solutions to increasingly complex and multifaceted problems. Thanks to the expanded availability and relevance of data, agencies are now equipped with more resources to make accurate fact-based decisions surrounding these complex issues. As agencies make increasing use of this data, they need to determine whether to implement a centralized or decentralized analytical structure.
Hybrid, Data, and Resiliency are In. The mission is at the forefront.
We’ve all been there, a moment in a past job where you ask yourself if your work really matters. You are approaching mid-career and what matters more to you now is seeing your work make a difference. I knew that I wanted to spend more time “doing” homeland security, rather than writing policy memos about what other people were doing. With this mindset, I walked into my interview with Arc Aspicio four years ago. My question for my interviewer—how do your people make a difference every day?
I chose to attend college in Washington, D.C. because as an eager, politically-motivated young woman, I couldn’t imagine a city with better opportunities. Now entering my final semester at the George Washington University (GWU), I realize that even my highest hopes for a life in D.C. couldn’t compare to what I found once I got here. With nearly every government agency headquartered within metro distance, there is an internship for every calling.
What do you want to be when you grow up? The truth of the matter is, I’ve never wanted to answer that question. I’ve never been someone who felt tied to one particular activity or career path (and I have a disgruntled high school guidance counselor who can vouch for that). What I did know coming out of college were two things: I wanted to solve problems facing our country and I wanted to continue learning.
We tell our story to share who we are as a company. This blog is the fifth in a series that highlights how our strategy and culture lead to positive results for our clients and employees.
As threats evolve, the Federal government acquisition process must keep pace and even get ahead. Federal acquisitions remain driven by systems that have been in place for decades. Challenges exist within the agencies, and between government and industry, in awarding contracts. The complex nature of acquisitions leads to higher costs, slow procurements, and sometimes minimal innovation.
