Find the right talents for your IT business and overcome challenges with DVBE Technology Group’s effective and innovative solutions

The employment sector is now going through a rough phase with global economies trying their best to revive their markets. In this challenging scenario, the Information Technology (IT) industry is also facing immense competition in recruiting and retaining its employees in their roles. The IT staffing firms are helping companies that are into IT businesses by providing IT staffing solutions to deal with recruitment and attrition issues. The demands for IT employees have grown significantly and they will not be satisfied with age-old motivation techniques. Therefore, to handle the situation tactfully, businesses must avail the services of IT staffing agencies.

With appropriate staffing solutions, businesses can address any problem regarding human resources. In this digital age, businesses demand agility. By taking time to understand the clients’ needs and people’s careers, DVBE Technology Group has gained a perspective that is unique in the intersection of business and talent. The company is one of the leading IT staffing firms that help businesses optimize and achieve the most variable and strategic component to business success (the right people with the right skills, attitudes, and competencies).

DVBE Technology Group is a privately owned Disabled Veterans’ Business Enterprise technology consulting firm based in Sacramento, California.

In conversation with Richard McKinnon, CEO of DVBE Technology Group

Q. Explain your company’s successful journey in brief.

As a Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) to the State of California and recognized as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) nationally, we have had the pleasure of working not only in all 50 states, but also Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. Our success is based on retaining amazing talent long-term and building business relationships that withstand the test of time, even during Covid-19.

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked, “What is it currently that your company is doing differently and can offer people right now that a lot of companies aren’t able to?” I thought about it and gave a truthful and heartfelt answer: “Opportunity and job security.” It wasn’t a boastful answer, but a genuine appreciation knowing I can still help people reach their goals and have job security in a time where the landscape of the world and economy has changed so drastically. An example of what I am truly proud of is that we have been on the same state project for the last 15 years and have had multiple contractors that have worked with us for a minimum of 8 years or more. That speaks volumes about the fantastic people we have working within DVBE Technology Group organization.

Q. Explain your professional IT services and staffing solutions in brief.

DVBE Technology Groups has the ability to staff and deliver top-notch consultants. The ability to find the best talent for the hardest requests is something we have always prided ourselves on, not by using the basic search engines everyone uses and pays for, but from referrals.

With over 100 years of combined staffing experience, we have built a model that allows us the success that every 3 out of 4 people who interview get hired. We have also made something unique. We have developed a system that can be used by our clients where staffing becomes not only a professional service, but a managed service. This hybrid model allows for continuous reoccurring monthly revenue, which everyone wants.

Q. Do you support your clients patch-up their internal inefficiencies? Do you help your clients streamline their operations towards success?

An area we have always been amazing at is the ability to truly listen. Our strategy team and project managers know that clients have unmet needs and sometimes we need to help them pin down those needs. We listen to understand the issues that they have been dealing with for some time and strategically map out a solution to fix their problems. It is essential to care about the whole process from start to finish.

We do not consider ourselves just a staffing company, but dependable solution provider. An example of streamlining a client’s operation and helping towards success would be an opportunity where a consulting firm in Washington DC attained us. They needed to find Senior Expert Level AWS Professionals to help rollout a federally funded Healthcare Exchange.

I flew out to Washington DC and met with the firm to discuss their deadline, which I was told was going to be two months but found out they only had ten days to deliver. I stayed in DC those two weeks and recruited, interviewed, reference checked, initiated background checks, and onboarded all 12 positions using my senior engineers’ network. Not only did the client meet the government deadline, but also the agency supporting the Healthcare Exchange ended up winning a nationally recognized cloud innovation award by AWS for putting up the Healthcare Exchange platform seamlessly.

Q. Retaining top talent is IT’s biggest staffing challenge. How do you help your clients retain the best available talent?

The best way to retain quality consultants for your client is to know your client and their company work environment. Every work environment is different, so you need to know the kind of consultant or employee that would do the best work in that particular environment, as I said, referrals are the best, because 95% of all referrals pass background checks, and at least 80% of all referrals get a second interview or possible hire.

The most important thing Top Talent wants is respect for their hard work and money. We would rather pay more and make a smaller margin knowing both sides are happy, which usually leads to other opportunities.

A happy consultant equals a happy client. As a friend once said, “10% of a watermelon is better than 100% of a grape.”

Q. How do you keep your service standards up and running?

The HR and Compliance groups in our organization help us keep up to date with all the changes needed from a client standpoint as well as state and federal regulations. To name a few processes: we check our speed standard (response time), double-check to define client needs, check system operations, and make sure all contracts are in place.

Q. What are your plans for the future development of your company?

With changing times come changing ideas, which you must have to grow business. I am proud to say we have doubled in size and are growing immensely. We have diversified our portfolio during Covid-19 to expand in areas such as reselling hardware and software on a national level.

We have seen a significant increase in business in many of our current strategies around cloud, automation, and security. Our customers are interested in cloud and SaaS solutions, which are driven by automation and make sure workloads and users are secured.

Successful solution deployments generally include the correct adoption of people, process, and technology. As an example, You can invest in security technology, but if there is no process in place to address the vulnerabilities, and people do not take responsibility for that technology and process, chances of success reduce drastically.

Another thing I am excited about is the ability to offer Personal Protective Solutions (PPE). These offerings include the ability to supply Reusable Viral Masks, N95’s, Goggles, Face Shields, Gowns, Disposable Nitrile Gloves, Sanitizer, and other things on a global scale. We also offer Contract Tracing and Biometric Reading, which has been hugely welcomed by State and Local Governments.

The last thing I would say, “THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX,” especially during times like Covid-19. Establishing solid relationships with current clients not only sets you apart from your competitors, but also generates a lifelong partnership that expands beyond industry even during Covid-19!

Industry Recognition

• CRN Best of Breed – 2018, 2019, 2020
• CRN Fast Growth 150 - #11 2019, #5 2020
• CRN Tech Elite 250 Company – 2018, 2019, 2020
• CRN Fast Growth MSP 500- 2020
• Top Diversity Employer Western United States (Fortune, Bloomberg, and Money 2016)

Word from Richard McKinnon, CEO

When I was chosen to be on the cover of a magazine that I have had the privilege of reading multiple times in the past, things I would have normally said about myself and my company seemed different, especially during a time like Covid-19. As I sit here being interviewed with questions, the world around us as we know it has changed forever in the way we think and live basic day to day life.

This article could have been based 100% on DVBE Technology Group’s accolades and everything we have done or things we do, instead it will be based on ideas and best practices that have allowed us not only to sustain but also grow immensely in a time of this Covid-19 pandemic. Through this opportunity, I hope I will be able to help others see there is hope as long as we keep trying to move forward. As you will see, instead of just pictures of myself like normal articles, I am choosing a picture with family being at home, because that is the REAL WORLD WE ALL LIVE IN NOW. With things such as social distancing, homeschooling, remote working, employment loss, technology changes, and what not…life has taken a sharp turn. The things that we normally would take for granted such as breathing fresh air with no mask, or buying toilet paper or eggs without a limit, are truly appreciated more than ever.

I have been blessed to have worked with some of the same people and clients for the last 19+ years in my companies as a CEO, and I owe a lot of my drive, work ethic, and past and present success to all those folks, but especially to my dad. For you people who grew up on the West Coast in the 70’s and early 80’s you will remember a really fun and amazing place to go; it was called Shakey’s Pizza. I was blessed to have a dad who owned multiple Shakey’s, not just because I loved to always eat pizza and Mojo potatoes (which I still do), but because he instilled something in me that I have tried to carry over since I started owning my own companies in 2001. That was a philosophy where people work WITH the company, not FOR the company. I know that the people that work within DVBE Technology Group are what make it special. Their attitude, knowledge, and experience make all the difference in our positive client relationships, and the way I want to lead as a CEO.

“Maintaining Business and Still Growing in the Covid-19 Era.”