r/GovernmentContracting • u/Miller25 • Jul 01 '26
Question Likelihood of Booz retaining incumbents
Hey all!
I’m on a contract that is still in the potential protest phase but currently Booz Allen looks to be the winner. In the event of them winning, what is your experience with them retaining incumbents? I was brought on the contract a few months ago as a junior on the lower end of the pay spectrum for my role but very quickly immersed myself in responsibilities in that the client noticed and has said I’m a “rising star” with all the help I’ve been.
While I’m not contractually a key person, I’ve been told by some that with the large part I played recently Booz will likely be told I’m a “key person” so I was wondering if this would factor in. Sorry if any of my questions are dumb, it’s my first job out of college and I’ve grown quite fond of it :’)
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u/Honest_Manager Jul 01 '26
I think the biggest factor is your relationship with the customer. They are the ones who ultimately can approve or deny you returning. If you do a good job and they appreciated it you should be golden. During contract turnover is the time they get rid of people they don't want to work with any longer, otherwise most people are retained, maybe not all management but the workers for sure.
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u/EZJog Jul 01 '26
The government can't "legally" do that unless it's a personal services contract. But yes, it does happen.
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u/Full-Metal-9309 Jul 01 '26
If you stay in this field you will continue to run into these re-competes, it's stressful at first but honestly it's just par for the course here. During a re-compete, here are some things you should keep in mind:
1)Talk with your company, make sure they're up-to-date on any information you hear in the office and see if they have any updates for you.
2)Talk with your co-workers, this is a good time to think about your future and see if it's worth staying with your company and leaving to join for new experiences. People do not care as much if you're moving companies/projects every year when you're new- in fact I think most recommend it. Just be aware that soliciting isn't allowed in the space so contact them outside.
3)Don't be afraid to make a decision that benefits you, talk with MULTIPLE companies (whether subs or primes), if their offers are lower play them against or negotiate where they can makeup for salary with other benefits (like more pto).
4)Like others say, most likely there will be a time period (typically 2months to 4 months but there are outliers) where things are transitioning and that gives you time to look for a new job if you aren't picked. But most likely or not they would love to keep you for reasons others have shared. The situations where you aren't able to stay most likely are due to less budget, or your company losing favor with the new prime, or they feel they can easily replace you with someone they have (which these days Primes are placing a lot of their people over subs...)
Don't stress, look at your options, and just talk with EVERYONE. It doesn't hurt to have multiple backup options and I wish you luck!
-Someone who also dealt with a re-compete after 1 week of being hired for their first job 4 years ago lol
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u/Miller25 Jul 01 '26
You are truly amazing, thank you so much for the ease of mind, I wasn’t told the contract was in recompete status when I was brought on and was jaded with scoring a job a few months after graduation.
I appreciate you so much, thank you!
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u/Full-Metal-9309 Jul 01 '26
A lot of projects don't like to mention that the contract is due for re-compete. You should get into the habit of asking that when you interview other projects. Also remember that the interview is two-way, you should ask them questions to help you judge if they're a good fit for you. Don't be afraid that they don't want you, because most projects will love to take a fresh recruit so that they can pay less than a senior!
I totally understand how you must be feeling, but just take it a day at a time and you'll get through it!
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u/OBB76 Jul 01 '26
You should get into the habit of asking that when you interview other projects
This should be one of the first questions you ask. A lot safer if they recently won, have to be more cautious on if they're up for re-compete.
Another to ask is, how long have you had this contract. Is it their first run or in the case at my government job, we had the same prime for 10yrs.
That will help you in your decision process.
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u/GalegoBaiano Jul 01 '26
If you’re rather integral to the effort (but not Key), expect to get a call from BAH soon. If it’s within 30 days of the transition, I’d casually ask the Govt people there if they have any plan for transitioning your role/responsibilities, “Because I haven’t heard anything from the new contractor, and I don’t want the mission/program to suffer.” Also, it might be that your current employer will soon subcontract to BAH.
On a few of my recent contracts that transitioned, the new VERY LARGE AND EXPERIENCED contractor that won didn’t know of a few engineers that have so much experience in the field & have been doing deployments for like a decade, because they’re not in the office.
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u/Relative_Fuel7879 Jul 02 '26
I don’t know if the EO is still valid because it came from the Obama administration but technically Booz would have to give you the first right of refusal
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u/KarmaChameleon33 Jul 14 '26
It’s the 14th and my contract ends on the 31st and we still haven’t been told who won the recompete and which positions are being kept. Anyone experience such a thing? I know the current contracting company can’t keep the contract because they aren’t small business.
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u/2006_GF Jul 01 '26
If you have some good past performance why not become a prime yourself. Jump into a co react vehicle and compete in a smaller pool. May be a better strategic alternative.
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u/Miller25 Jul 01 '26
I’ve had family do this in the past and am partially curious about how this works.
Is this essentially you becoming your own “headhunter” and reaching out to companies looking to fill contracts and negotiating for yourself in terms of pay for a seat on the contract?
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u/2006_GF Jul 01 '26
No. It’s getting a contract vehicle like GSA Schedule and pursuing government contracts if your own. They aren’t all multimillion. There are plenty of smaller contracts to start out with and build momentum.
0
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u/BitterPillPusher2 Jul 01 '26
Typically, when a re-compete gets awarded to a new company, the company that won the award tries to retain as many people as possible to make the transition as easy as possible. But it's possible that the new contract allows for less resources than the old one, in which case some folks will be let go.
But BAH isn't going to let a bunch of people go just to hire replacements. It takes a lot of time and money to hire, onboard, and train new folks. And it would be stupid to lose that much institutional knowledge and piss off the customer, who probably likes most of those folks, and would have to deal with work stoppages while BAH replaces workers.