This webinar looks at the preferences of the security-cleared professional. The pros and cons of being a government contractor or government employee. The issue of insourcing and the motivations behind cleared government contractors career decisions.

1. Cleared Workers’ Preference:
Government Contractor or
Government Employee?
The effects of the differences on your hiring efforts

2. Your Host Get Help
 Evan Lesser  ClearanceJobs.com
Founder and Managing Director Customer Support
ClearanceJobs.com support@clearancejobs.com

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3.  Motivations of cleared gov contractors
 How many considering switch to gov employee
 Problems in being a gov contractor
 Motivations of cleared gov employees
 Best / worst gov agencies to work for
 How many considering switch to gov contractor
 Insourcing role
 Survey responses
 Conclusion

4.  Which type of employment do you prefer, working as a
government employee or a government contractor?
Prefer being a Prefer being a
59% government 41% government
contractor employee

5.  What are the main reasons you prefer to be employed
as a government contractor?
#1 Higher salary and compensation
#2 Prefer contractor benefits
#3 More flexibility
#4 Better upward career mobility
#5 More challenging work

6.  What are the main reasons you prefer to be employed
as a government contractor?
#1 Higher salary and compensation
Salary and compensation
Gov • Based on performance
Contractor • No salary cap
• No salary freeze
• Avg cleared compensation in 2011 ($98,221)
Gov • Based on tenure
Employee • Caps set by pay scales
• Current salary freeze
• Avg cleared compensation in 2011 ($83,577)

7.  What are the main reasons you prefer to be employed
as a government contractor?
#2 Prefer contractor benefits
Differences in benefits
Gov • Usually no caps on overtime
Contractor • Many employers pay for education / degrees
• Personal days off
Gov • Cap on overtime
Employee • Most agencies will not pay for education / degrees
• No personal days off

8.  What are the main reasons you prefer to be employed
as a government contractor?
#3 More flexibility
Differences in workplace flexibility
Gov • Can utilize creative thinking
Contractor • Faster, easier to obtain new tools for work
Gov • Structured, mandated way of doing things
Employee • Long time to obtain new tools for work

9.  Time-to-hire is a strong selling point for being a
government contractor
Avg length of time it
105 took to hire a new gov
Days employee in last year
OPM suggested goal
45 for agencies to hire a
Days new gov employee
Note: Insourced candidates appear to
be on a “fast track” when getting hired

10.  Working on cutting-edge technology is a strong selling
point for being a government contractor

11.  Reported problems with being a federal contractor are
less tangible in nature
“I’m treated like a
second class citizen.” “If there are any
nights, weekends, or
over time needed,
they hit up their
“I do the same job as a contractors first.” “The government
civil servant, but I’m employees leave early at
held to a higher holidays while the
standard.” contractors are required
to stay – even though we
“I’ve got a clearance, but
do the same job.”
I’m not allowed to have a
phone or email address like
the gov employees have.”

12.  Are you presently considering switching from being a
government contractor to a government employee?
6%
54% 40% Yes
No
Maybe
Note: 30% of gov contractors
“extremely concerned” about contract
loss due to funding - 2011 ClearanceJobs Salary Survey

13.  What are the main reasons you prefer employment as a
government employee?
#1 Better job security
#2 Better /easier upward career mobility
#3 Better benefits
#4 Sense of pride in government service
#5 More challenging work

14.  What are the main reasons you prefer employment as a
government employee?
#2 Better /easier upward career mobility
Differences in career mobility
Gov • Has three bosses (contractor boss, gov boss,
Contractor subcontractor boss)
• No guarantee of upward mobility
Gov • Gov boss only
Employee • Structured promotional ladder

15. Best Large Agencies
1 Nuclear Regulatory Commission  Survey of 32 large federal agencies
2 Government Accountability Office  Administered by the Partnership
for Public Service in 2010
3 FDIC
 Factors include
4 Smithsonian Institution
- Employee satisfaction
5 NASA - Skills vs. mission match
6 Social Security Administration - Compensation
- Work/life balance
7 Department of State
- Leadership effectiveness
8 General Services Administration
9 Department of Justice
10 Intelligence Community

16.  Intelligence Agencies  Department of the Air Force
- Ranks 10th out of 31 - Ranks 18th out of 31
- Down 2.6% from 2009 - Up 1.9% from 2009
 Department of the Navy  Department of Homeland Security
- Ranks 15th out of 31 - Ranks 28th out of 31
- Up 3.1% from 2009 - Up 4.3% from 2009
 Department of the Army
- Ranks 16th out of 31
- Up 1.7% from 2009
 All Department of Defense To Consider: Agencies that require clearance
not ranked at the top. Why?
- Ranks 17th out of 31
- Up 2.8% from 2009

17.  Are you presently considering switching from being a
government employee to a government contractor?
29% 27%
Yes
No
44%
Maybe

18. Former defense Secretary
Robert Gates in 2009
 Gov plans to bring contractor jobs called for the elimination
of 33,000 service-support
“in-house” picking up steam contractors by 2015.
- Reports from HR about losing staff to
insourcing (“poaching”)
- Pentagon added 17,000 new employees,
claims $900m in savings via insourcing in
2010
- Not all insourced jobs are “inherently
governmental”
• CBP replacing 1,200 IT contractors through 2012
- Are your employees potential targets?

19. “For IT people, job
“I’d like to be a gov
security is equal being “I used to be a federal employee to get the
either a contractor or employee. Now as a benefits. But as a
employee, so I prefer contractor, I really don’t contractor, I can get
contractor.” like the job uncertainty.” promoted anytime if a
position opens up and
I work hard enough.”
“Government contractors are more disposable,
and are treated as such. If you want to fully focus
on your work, being a gov employee allows you
to leave worries about security behind and Gov employees stagnate from
better focus on the job at hand.” complacency, whereas contractors
must remain informed of cutting edge
technology to remain highly valued.”
“Military retirement benefits
can be taken away. I want to
plan my own retirement.”

20. 1. Tough economy = workers looking for job security
2. Contractors not adverse to changing to be gov employees
3. Insourcing will likely increase despite dubious cost savings
4. Understanding the following can help you attract and retain
cleared workers
- Career motivations of gov contractors and gov employees
- Pros and cons of employment as gov contractor and gov employee
• Salary, wages, and compensation
• Promotions and wage increases
• Benefits
• Time-to-hire
• Workplace technology
• Job satisfaction

21.  Incorporate positive “selling points”
of being a contractor in hiring
messages
- Play to top motivating factors
 Identify employees at risk to be
insourced or leave to gov
- Educate them about differences being gov
employee versus gov contractor
- Inform them what happens in event of
contract loss / funding loss