Following her promotion to Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Pluribus Digital, nearing the end of her term as Marketing & Partnerships Chair with the Digital WOSB Alliance, and having caught wind of a new collaborative focused on supporting government contractors from a unique lens, we sat down with Halai Shukran to find out more.
HR as a Facet of Business Development
Leveraging perspective gained across a diverse career supporting commercial tech companies, moving into the GovCon space represented a change in perspective, an opportunity to look differently at a team largely comprised of billable staff for Halai.
“I knew I needed to find ways to make people feel tied to the corporate values, the corporate principles and its mission, and not just feel like a contract employee. To do that I needed to really understand the landscape, the BD processes and procurement cycles and what that meant to finances and how we function as a business. I had great support within Pluribus to help me develop that.” Halai was able to forge internal partnerships with business development and company leaders at Pluribus.
What quickly became apparent was that HR leaders at other small businesses were not taking advantage of the same opportunity within their own businesses. Often times, they are team of one and do not have the bandwidth to think beyond the current workload. “As an HR leader for a small business you may also be doing operations and recruiting, may be thrown into the mix on planning or administrative tasks and it can be overwhelming when you operate as an island.”
Attending events alongside her CEO and BD leads, it became apparent that her counterparts were not in attendance, were separate from the rest of this community. “As the people driving talent, supporting our companies in their pursuit of opportunities, it seemed we should be present, should have opportunities to come together to share ideas, challenges and solutions.”
The Talent Ops GovCon Collective
Recognizing the benefits of friendly partnership, of friendly competition in the space, Halai launched this informal collective, drawing in talent and operations professionals across the GovCon space. Through monthly meetings and focused Slack channels, the group has begun the work of building community, of sharing information and knowledge.
“There has also been an opportunity to find those junctions where our companies have some overlap. If a company has talent professionals that you may have to let go because a contract is ending, you can help them find a new home. Or maybe there is a conversation about subcontracting relationships and partnership or how we can funnel talent to another organization where we think people can be supported.”
Given the mission focus of people who choose to work for contractors supporting the government, the opportunity to keep those people engaged in the industry, regardless of where, is all about the collective good, about paying the mission forward. “Ultimately this can come down to the talent professional and can be part of attraction, knowing that if things have to end, there will be a warm introduction, an effort made to help them with continuity of their livelihood. As an HR professional, you’re always thinking about towing the line between supporting the company and supporting people.”
Growing and Thriving
Having just begun in 2024, the group already numbers over 30 and encompasses people new to the industry, and those with decades of experience, those supporting very small firms, as well as very large.
“Some of what we share is intended to teach people about how to think of recruiting in this space. Then there are conversations around changes being proposed in the government and how it could impact our business, what it means for us. There are some really thought-provoking conversations about what changes could do to business.”
As it grows, the group will continue to expand its focus, perhaps setting up mentorship opportunities to help grow and improve members.
“Much of what we do happens virtually because we are a dispersed group but we’ll look to find opportunities for future events, for the chance to partner with other organizations and to engage with other C-suite executives to help them understand how to scale their businesses, how they should think about outsourcing, about finance, to understand the lens we view things from and how that can help them grow.”
HR and the Partner Lens
Knowing that today’s contracts often require partnerships, strategically selecting those relationships based on culture must also be considered beyond technical capabilities or those more formal elements each brings to the team.
“Both sides have to know their people will be supported because performance management procedures, support of team members are aligned among companies. HR and talent professionals should be brought into the mix because we’re thinking about what happens once the work is awarded, how the teams are going to work together and how we ensure continuity of support amongst all companies, so everyone feels comfortable.”
Supporting a Changing Industry
Turnover and change are often considered the norm for GovCon and it should be, in some cases. “There have to be conversations around what you’re doing to support people and retain them and using anybody that leaves as an opportunity to question your practices, question your support andsoliciting feedback from them.”
“You should also always be understanding what you can do better for individuals because even if you think you’re doing everything right, the nature of the industry is always changing, and the employment market is up and down. There is always an opportunity to think critically about what you are doing and how you are enhancing the employee experience.”
While sometimes people don’t just fit, and those people should be allowed to find the place they do belong, the cost of losing someone who is the right fit is worth every business making sure they have a focus on retention.
“Factor in the recruiting time, onboarding, the cost of swag, individual training and development… it’s a huge loss to the business if that person attritsout in less than a year, especially if it was for a reason that could’ve been avoided.”
“With new hires, I like to do a 30-day check in. I feel like 90 days is a little bit too late. If that person has been feeling like they’re lost or they haven’t been supported or they have no understanding of expectations, there’s no opportunity to course correct.”
The Remote Opportunity for GovCon
With many commercial entities forcing employees back to the office, for federal agencies that allow remote work, this presents an opportunity for government contractors to target talented individuals across the company who can bring new ideas, fresh perspective.
“Pluribus has expanded into about 24 states now. That does a lot for us from a recruiting standpoint because we’re casting a wider net and are exposed to more talent. It does makes it that much more important to focus in and zero in on employee engagement and career development and growth and support of people.”
Support for people, for Pluribus, includes leaning into leadership development. “The best investment you can make is building out a management layer, a management structure for your people. Investing in leaders is key because they are in the trenches with the people, building relationships and strong foundations based on who people are, how they communicate.”
Getting Involved
If any of this is making you think, yes, I want in, Halai wants to hear from you. You can email her at hshukran@pluribusdigital.com or connect with her on LinkedIn here https://www.linkedin.com/in/halai-shukran-sphr/.
“This group offers a sense of community for HR professionals and operations professionals at any stage of their career. What I’ve learned is that sometimes putting your head down and letting your performance speak for itself is not enough, and so this is our chance to come together, to speak, to share intel that can improve the industry, improve environments for people, and support better wins for the companies we are helping lead.”
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