In the business sector, a “purple unicorn” refers to an ideal job candidate with an exceptionally rare and seemingly impossible combination of skills, experiences, and attributes. Employers or recruiters might use the term to describe someone who perfectly matches every requirement and preference for a position, often to the point where finding such a candidate is highly unlikely or unrealistic. The metaphor suggests that this type of candidate is as rare as a mythical plum-hued pony.
As the sole owner and CEO/president of HX5, Margarita Howard has built the firm’s reputation on successfully identifying and recruiting these rare professionals to the government contracting firm. “They’re very difficult to find,” she admits.
HX5 prioritizes attracting and keeping talent with solid backgrounds in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This focus is essential for upholding the company’s commitment to excellence and maintaining efficient operations across various projects. To enhance its workforce capabilities further, HX5 makes substantial investments in comprehensive employee development initiatives. These programs provide staff with the cutting-edge skills and knowledge required to thrive in their positions.
The enterprise’s approach to recruiting is multifaceted and rigorous. Margarita Howard says, “In order to be a successful government contractor, you have to invest time in researching and understanding your target market. You need to analyze government procurement trends, identify key decision-makers within agencies, and track upcoming opportunities through government procurement websites.”
The work’s nature compounds the difficulty in finding these unique professionals. “When visiting one of our work locations, for example, it is often apparent that the type of work being done, is not the type of work that someone can just come in with minimal education or experience, and start performing. Much of the work requires a substantive combination of advanced education and specific work experiences, most often gained from working in the DOD or at NASA,” notes Howard.
Margarita Howard Shapes HX5’s Workforce To Excel Across Diverse Government Sectors
The firm’s ability to recruit and retain high-caliber professionals across multiple disciplines allows it to address the evolving needs of its government clients, tackling complex challenges with innovative and effective solutions. Headquartered in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, with operations spanning 34 states and 90 government locations, HX5 supports critical projects for the government. The company has cultivated a workforce of professionals with the experience and education necessary to support their customers’ diverse and often complicated missions.
A robust research and development capability is at the core of HX5’s service offerings. In supporting HX5’s customer missions, HX5’s experts engage in intricate work across various fields, including aeronautics, feasibility studies, structural engineering, and weapons research. Their proficiency in modeling, simulation, and integration allows HX5 to tackle some of their customer’s most challenging projects in the aerospace and defense sectors.
Engineering forms another pillar of HX5’s service portfolio. The company supports its government customer’s comprehensive engineering missions and requirements, spanning hardware and software development, system integration, and specialized fields such as aeronautical, electrical, mechanical, and structural engineering.
In information technology, HX5 supports a wide array of customer information technology requirements, ensuring that government agencies have the support services necessary to create and maintain robust, secure, and efficient IT systems. HX5’s expertise extends to simulation and real-time software development, as well as comprehensive help desk and engineering support.
Mission operations support, program management, and logistics expertise round out the firm’s service portfolio. The company provides comprehensive and various mission operations support functions, and oversight of complex programs, ensuring efficient and effective performance, processes, and status reporting. It coordinates tasking and manages security processing, ensuring smooth operations across various government projects.
The Search for Versatile Talent
The challenge of finding purple unicorns is deeply rooted in government contracting work. HX5’s versatility highlights the need for professionals who can adapt to various roles and responsibilities within the government contracting ecosystem.
Howard emphasizes that the search for these rare professionals goes beyond mere qualifications. “To excel in government contracting, it is imperative to understand the unique characteristics and intricacies of this marketplace. Government agencies at federal, state, and local levels have diverse needs and requirements, which can vary significantly across industries and regions,” she says.
This understanding forms the foundation of HX5’s recruitment strategy, enabling them to identify candidates who meet technical requirements and grasp the nuances of working within government structures.
Each contract the business receives specifies the levels of classification involved, ensuring HX5 fully understands the security requirements they’re committing to. HX5 has established an in-house internal facility security team to manage these critical aspects. This team’s primary responsibility is to collaborate with their government counterparts, ensuring all personnel are adequately cleared, trained, and tracked according to the specific requirements of each contract.
“Building strong relationships with government agencies is an invaluable asset for successful government contractors as it can serve to provide the contractor with positive performance appraisals and sometimes even lead to new or additional business,” says Margarita Howard. This focus on relationship-building extends to how HX5 nurtures its talent, creating an environment where these rare professionals can thrive and grow.
The company’s success in finding and retaining purple unicorns is evident in its growth trajectory. From modest beginnings, Howard has grown HX5 from a single employee, to to an HX5 workforce of over 1,000, securing high value contracts supporting the DOD and NASA.
“We prefer to hire experienced individuals, so we look for people that have worked with, or supported, NASA or the Department of Defense, as this experience is always very helpful. Experience in their respective fields, while supporting these agencies’ respective programs and missions, is very different than experience gained from working in the commercial world,” explains Margarita Howard.
