Nichols Martin
Karen Dahut, Dennis Via and Aimee George Leary, who all serve as executives at Booz Allen Hamilton, said the defense industry must take advantage of innovations brought by the pandemic-driven work-from-home era because recruiting and retaining professionals in the future will depend on it.
The three wrote in a piece Defense News released Thursday that the defense workforce demonstrated adaptability, collaboration and productivity amid a situation that required virtual workplaces, and that industry and Department of Defense leaders must not completely revive the traditional workplace setup.
“We know our talent is eager for the opportunity to engage in hybrid work environments that provide flexibility for work-life balance and a chance to evolve workplace culture to retain the technology tools that have become ubiquitous to many teleworkers,” the executives said.
Booz Allen found in a survey that 82 percent of its employees would prefer a flexible work schedule for the future.
The industry, moving forward, now needs to further develop its workforce in the face of geopolitical and military threats posed by China, according to Dahut, Via and Leary.
"Beyond our current workforce, a more flexible, virtual future for the industrial base allows us to envision a talent pool beyond traditional military hubs to create more capacity to pull in top [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] talent nationwide."
