James GordonCEO of DRT Strategies, spoke to ExecutiveBiz about the company’s recent joining and new CEO as well as the impact and changes that talent recruitment and retention are bringing about workforce challenges in the federal landscape.
In addition, Gordon, a 2022 Wash100 Award recipient, discussed the significant influence of IT modernization on data management, platforms and network challenges in the federal health sector during the latest Executive Spotlight interview
You can read the full Executive Spotlight interview with James Gordon below:
ExecutiveBiz: Congrats on recently becoming the CEO of DRT Strategies! Why did you want to join the company and what were the characteristics of its mission that attracted you to the role? What do you hope to accomplish with the company?
James Gordon: “The decision to join DRT Strategies was easy for me. Personally, it was a logical next step in my career. The company, culture, and leadership align with my values and experience.
DRT has a nearly two-decade track record of successfully supporting large government agencies – developing and delivering innovative capabilities and solutions, and creating a culture focused on people, quality, teamwork, mission, and passion for in growth.
The company has been in business for as long as I have been working in the Health IT industry. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with DRT’s Founder and Chair, Susan Kidd, and appreciate the trust to lead the organization.
Susan and I both come from the old-school consulting/systems integration world where the focus is always on helping clients solve some of their toughest challenges. DRT’s agility, access and purpose truly provide customers with an alternative in the market.
Going forward, I believe DRT is well positioned to rapidly grow and shape digital transformation in the federal space. I look forward to applying my experience growing technology companies to help the company expand in many areas: our customer base, our solutions and offerings, our brand, and create new opportunities for our employees.
ExecutiveBiz: How does DRT Strategies ensure long-term success for your workforce to drive value for your employees as you continue to face the difficult challenge of recruiting and retaining the best talent in the federal marketplace?
James Gordon: Understanding the workforce of the future and helping our customers navigate workforce challenges and dynamics is a top priority. Implementing people-centered strategies and nurturing a culture that is supportive, empathetic, and people-first is imperative.
Without fail, at least a third of our senior leadership team conversations in the boardroom are spent discussing company culture and our people. After all, we are in the people business and people are our greatest asset. Are we doing the right things to attract and retain people who have a long history with us? How do we understand and address what is important to each individual employee?
A priority focus for us is helping employees adapt to the workplace of the future – a combination of on-site, hybrid, and fully remote – while at the same time empowering employees to deliver the best technical solutions to our customers.
Developing a consistent onboarding process, designing effective training programs, focusing on employee engagement and retention, ensuring employees are comfortable using and applying the latest technologies, and offering competitive benefits and compensation packages are just some of the ways DRT attracts and retains some of the best talent in the market.
The post-COVID workforce landscape is different, so our approach must be different. We’re looking for ways to “bring the fun back into the office” while piloting alternative work schedules.
Regular team-building activities and company-sponsored events (one of our managing directors hosted an after-hours wine-tasting event at DRT headquarters last week) are a few only in ways that we double employee engagement and team building.
I also want to mention our commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion as part of broader recruitment and retention efforts. This is a very important topic for me personally. Our core values are rooted in empathy, dignity, and mutual respect. These are simple words, but our commitment to these values is unwavering.
ExecutiveBiz: As the federal health sector continues to be influenced by IT modernization and a wide range of other initiatives to improve its networks, platforms and data, what are the biggest improvements being made in federal health and what else what needs to be addressed?
James Gordon: “Modernization and innovation go hand in hand. We listen to our customers to fully understand their IT modernization journey and implement innovative solutions that fit their specific environments and missions. Achieving quick wins, leveraging emerging technologies, and investing in entrepreneurial solutions are critical components of our modernization strategy.
For example, low code platforms are key to helping customers quickly realize the benefits of digital transformation and achieve the quick wins necessary for ongoing and successful modernization efforts.
At DRT, we’ve built advanced Microsoft Power Platform-based solutions for CDC to help manage nearly $1B in grants, implemented Salesforce-based solutions for communications and outreach hubs, and designed of ServiceNow solutions to digitize and automate legacy processes in support of farmers and the agricultural community as part of our support to the USDA.
As I mentioned, the use of emerging technologies is critical to modernization. At DRT we have created an Idea Lab staffed with dedicated technologists and engineers to rapidly develop solution prototypes and proofs of concept – quickly meeting changing customer requirements and showing our customers how they use the latest technologies.
For example, we created a prototype for the FDA that uses Machine Learning to help identify fraudulent claims related to COVID-19 products. Our Idea Lab employees were also recognized by the USDA in the agency’s recent RPA challenge for their efforts to develop UiPath RPA bots used for a virtual chat, financial reporting, and onboarding of personnel.
Finally, I mentioned investing in entrepreneurial solutions. DRT has developed a Risk Management and Compliance solution “DRTCConfidence” that enables agencies to achieve Authority to Operate faster, improve continuous compliance, and reduce overall assessment costs.
DRTConfidence also enables Cloud Service Providers to submit FedRAMP authorization packages with improved speed and scale. This innovative solution is built from the ground up using NIST’s newly released Open Security Controls Assessment Language.
ExecutiveBiz: An important part of a company with strong business ethics in the federal sector is about helping and giving back to the larger community. Can you talk to different charities and collaborate with other organizations that your company works with to make a difference and how to get people involved?
James Gordon: “DRT has a long history of giving back to the community, particularly in the metro DC and Atlanta areas where we have our largest footprints. Because of this, we have designated the DC Youth Leadership Foundation as our primary philanthropic organization .Its mission closely aligns with DRT’s values and is part of our effort to ‘give where we live’ in support of children – our future leaders.
YLF serves youth with disabilities by boosting academic performance while helping to develop positive character traits. DRT employees serve as both mentors and sponsors of YLF events, activities, and fundraisers including YLF business workshops, YLF’s Spirit of Service Challenge, and our annual DRT-sponsored YLF 5k Race for DC Kids held at September 24 this year.
In addition, our internal ‘DRT Cares Tiger Team’ organizes and hosts various philanthropic events throughout the year such as volunteer days at the Capital Area Food Bank and Project Angel Tree of Salvation Army.
We’re not a big company, but we have a very community-based employee base. They continue to volunteer their time and are always willing to give back to the community.
To support this culture of giving, we have developed a program that allows our employees each month to nominate a charity they support or are involved in to receive additional monetary donations from the company.
Community participation and engagement is ingrained in our culture. It’s part of who we are and how our employees bond and come together as a company.”