Cleveland, June 13, 2018:
Any Private Collection Agency (PCA) that secured a prime contract or subcontract grasps the value of the Department of Education defaulted student loan contract. As government contracting becomes more competitive and navigating where this opportunity may wind up is uncertain, the more qualifications you can meet, the more likely you are to participate in the student loan recovery process when it resurfaces.
Customer service is a huge focus in NextGen, as well as, security and compliance which are always key components in securing any collections contract. These are building blocks of any great collection agency and should already be in place and evolving with time. But it’s time to consider other factors that you can’t currently meet and the time it will take to find solutions. When the solicitation drops, if you need to be a small business, how are you going to participate? If you are a small business, how will you handle the sheer volume? How will you meet your diverse spending goals? The solution is teaming.
Through Contractor Teaming Arrangements, the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program and/or Joint Venturing government contractors are realizing the benefits of partnering to access the resources they need and ability to share in the revenue. It allows small companies to get a hand in work that may otherwise be too large and it gives large companies access to small set-asides they would not normally have access to.
Teaming arrangements can and should be a thorough and lengthy process to cement. They may include application to the SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protégé Program, forming a legal entity for a Joint Venture or negotiating terms of contractor teaming agreements. The relationship should be beneficial to both organizations and careful consideration should go into expectations of the companies. Both companies should be able to identify what they are willing and able to provide and how they will give resources. Participants should evaluate the company they are looking to team with and determine if they are matched to support the best capabilities of each other. Time and thought should be given to the process now, so that you are not scrambling to get in on the action too late.
At the end of the day, no one knows for sure how the recovery of defaulted loans will resurface. Our advice is to be prepared today for the solicitation released tomorrow. Expand your diversity qualifications by partnering up with a small business and in return lend them your experience. Make strong connections or teaming arrangements so that you are prepared to check every box possible on how you are the most advantageous firm for the Government to work with.