Summary:
Welcome to another great episode of Startup Junkies!
On this episode, hosts Caleb Talley, Jeff Amerine, and Victoria Dickerson sit down with Brad Gentry, the CEO of Gentry Professional Services, an elite engineering consulting and talent acquisition firm that specializes in placing subject matter experts with clients that require specific knowledge. With over a decade of experience, Brad is experienced and skilled in engineering design, project management, and business development. Throughout the episode, Caleb, Jeff, Victoria, and Brad discuss preparing the next generation of labor workers and how a company’s culture is vital to success.
Show Notes:
(1:12) Introduction to Brad
(1:26) About Gentry Professional Services
(5:34) Challenges with the Labor Market
(8:06) Encouraging Employee Retention
(11:02) Navigating the CHIPS Act
(13:36) Technologies’ Role in Supplementing Labor
(19:23) Gentry Professional Services Culture
(28:08) The Future of Gentry Professional Services
(32:02) Advice to Younger Self
(34:36) Closing Questions
Links:
Quotes:
“The way that manifests itself today is when someone retires they may have someone who is two or three steps behind them in experience. So that generational gap has followed us as people have progressed through their careers.” – Brad Gentry, (4:37)
“We go through a vetting process of not just checking references, but also behavioral assessments because somebody can be the smartest person in the room but if they can’t work with others then it’s not going to be a good fit. So we do several things to assess not only their knowledge and skills, but also how well they interact with the team they’re going to be supporting.” – Brad Gentry, (16:15)
“We work hourly and that fits with retirees greatly…They’re coming back because they want to. So we want to make it a good experience for them and treat them like family. We found that if you let them have that autonomy, flexibility, and respect to work on what they want to, they will in turn represent you well to the clients.” – Brad Gentry, (25:04)
Working with Experts in Aerospace and Defense with Brad Gentry
On this episode, hosts Caleb Talley, Jeff Amerine, and Victoria Dickerson sit down with Brad Gentry, the CEO of Gentry Professional Services, an elite engineering consulting and talent acquisition firm that specializes in placing subject matter experts with clients that require specific knowledge. With over a decade of experience, Brad is experienced and skilled in engineering design, project management, and business development. Throughout the episode, Caleb, Jeff, Victoria, and Brad discuss preparing the next generation of labor workers and how a company’s culture is vital to success.
An ‘Older’ Business Model
Gentry Professional Services operates under a unique business model in which they connect individuals with specialized skill sets to clients that need their particular expertise. Sometimes this means an individual is highly educated in a certain field and other times it means they have uncommon knowledge about a certain subject. Typically, these individuals are employees who are retiring and taking with them the institutional knowledge they’ve acquired over the extended time they’ve worked for a company.
“The way that manifests itself today is when someone retires they may have someone who is two or three steps behind them in experience. So that generational gap has followed us as people have progressed through their careers.” – Brad Gentry, (4:37)
Oftentimes, when businesses require specific expertise, their options are limited because they don’t want to hire an employee full-time that they only need for a short duration. That means their only other option is to make the individual an independent contractor, but a majority of the time, these individuals aren’t familiar with the intricacies of independent contract work. Therefore, Gentry Professional Services allows companies access to these subject matter experts without the added hassle of adding them to their payroll.
Retaining Already Retired Employees
Due to the nature of the industry Gentry Professional Services deals in, which is mostly defense contracting, they are competing against the overhead that comes with working on government-related programs. Employees are required to have certain clearances and aren’t able to discuss their roles freely. Sometimes in a working environment like this, it can be hard to retain employees. However, Gentry Professional Services combats this challenge by hiring mostly retirees and by making the culture feel like a family.
“We work hourly and that fits with retirees greatly…They’re coming back because they want to. So we want to make it a good experience for them and treat them like family. We found that if you let them have that autonomy, flexibility, and respect to work on what they want to, they will in turn represent you well to the clients.” – Brad Gentry, (25:04)
Most of the time, retirees approach them because they want to get re-engaged in the field without having to work a full-time commercial job. They want flexibility, but they also still want to contribute. Therefore, some individuals are brought on for short-term assignments, and others are brought on for long-term assignments. A majority of Gentry Professional Services team members see their role at the company as defining their professional legacy. They are passionate about making sure they prepare the company and the next generation of labor the best they can.
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