At Performance Excellence Partners (PEP), we put clients, projects, partners and people first, and we communicate with our partners openly, honestly and respectfully.
Every smart businessperson understands the value of building enduring partnerships – establishing collaborative relationships that are mutually beneficial. At Performance Excellence Partners (PEP), partnering is not just a savvy strategy; it’s part of our name, it’s one of our core values, it’s a key to our success.
“Our growth has largely been due to the relationships we have built,” says PEP CEO and President Rachel E. Ramirez, “not only with government clients and prime or subcontractor teaming partners, but also with subject matter experts (SMEs), colleagues, mentors/mentees, organizations, and especially employees. Establishing and maintaining these relationships has been integral to our business since its beginnings.”
Partnership Broadens Opportunities in Government Contracting
When PEP started out, actively building and nurturing relationships helped us gain a foothold and build past performance. We also quickly learned that forming partnerships was essential to our growth. Besides teaming as a subcontractor, we also strategically entered into mentor-protégé and joint venture relationships to win business in various federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Department of Energy (DOE), which eventually led to prime contract awards in these agencies. As the company matured, we more consistently took on the leadership role, but we still benefit from partnerships, even as a prime contractor.
A government Request for Proposal (RFP) may require specific personnel and expertise while spanning a variety of service areas. PEP’s capabilities in Human Capital Services, Training and Professional Development, Program and Business Support, and Technical Assistance cover a range of needs. Still, a solicitation may require experience across a broader scope of work. Collaborating with a partner who can complement what we do enables us to form a stronger team and puts us in a better position to compete for – and win – these contracts.
Taking the Long View to Create Enduring Partnerships
We don’t look at our partnerships as purely transactional, formed only to win one particular contract. We want them to endure, to grow into long-term collaborations that can extend to future opportunities.
We have some outstanding partners with whom we work repeatedly. Whatever our position on the team – sometimes acting as prime, in other cases as subcontractor – we can be confident that we are supporting each other and delivering the highest quality of service. In the process, we continue to strengthen our relationships – not only with each other but also with the clients we serve together. In fact, over our 25-year history, we have supported clients in over 14 different federal agencies as either the prime or subcontractor and have consistently earned high ratings for our outstanding quality of service.
Partners Must Be a Good Fit
We invest a great deal of energy and effort in our business relationships, so it matters who our partners are. Whatever capabilities an organization can offer us, their principles and corporate cultures must be compatible with ours. We look for companies and individuals who reciprocate our commitment to building enduring partnerships and who practice our other core values as well:
- Applying uncommon integrity: Operating honestly and with mutual respect, putting the needs of our clients and our projects first.
- Seeking inspired solutions: Constantly working to expand their knowledge and find innovative ways to solve problems and help clients succeed.
- Creating lasting impact: Delivering solutions that will make a difference, now and long-term.
PEP Core Values
In essence, we want to collaborate with people who have integrity in the way they do business; who want to make change for the good by producing constructive results; who are proactive, flexible, and inventive as we work together; and, above all, who are positive in their attitude. “Negativity is a red flag when we’re assessing a potential partner,” Rachel notes. “We have walked away from companies who are defeatist or unwilling to take an idea out for a spin.”
How PEP Practices Good Partnering
What we expect from our partners, we practice as well. We pride ourselves on fostering a supportive and collaborative climate that positively impacts our all our relationships. We show up as leaders, ready to put forward creative new approaches. At the same time, we recognize that everyone in the room brings something of value, and we respect their contributions as well. In this way, we and our partners are constantly learning from each other, always progressing and changing for the better. That’s why the “enduring” aspect of the partnership is so important to us.
Open communication is a fundamental part of how we work with partners, clients, and employees. From the start, we are transparent about what we expect from a relationship and what we are able to contribute to it. A clear understanding of responsibilities ensures a smoother collaboration. This, plus a consistent give-and-take throughout the process, builds trust and assures both parties that they can rely on each other to fulfill their respective commitments.
Employees Are Our Best Partners
We also view our corporate and contract staff as partners – our most important ones, in fact. Their skills and experience help us serve our clients effectively and make us more valuable as a collaborator. Moreover, they represent us to our customers, so it’s imperative that they reflect PEP’s standards and work ethic.
Therefore, we recruit employees the same way we recruit potential partners – by seeking out highly competent, hard-working team players who embody our core values. Our standards are high, and we go beyond considering credentials and qualifications. We also take into account how candidates will fit into our organization as a whole and whether they will work cohesively within the microculture of their team or project.
Once employees are on board, we constantly seek ways to better support them. We provide the tools they need to do their jobs well and to expand their skillsets. And again, communication is at the forefront. Even with a mostly remote workforce, we hold regular all-staff and team meetings, and we cultivate an open-door policy for hearing concerns, answering questions, providing clarity, and offering suggestions or feedback.
In this partnership, we are invested not only in the contract success, but in personal success as well. The fact that we have so many long-term employees is proof that this is working.
Ultimately, the effort and energy we put into nurturing our partnerships pays off in multiple ways. Our business is robust, our organization is healthy, and our clients are happy. That’s a win-win situation for all of us.
Interested in partnering? Click here to contact us or email us at info@performexcel.com. To learn more about PEP and our experience as a federal contractor visit our Services page. To be the first to receive our next blog post, please join our mailing list. You can download a copy of the PDF Here.
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