Mergers and acquisitions are nothing new, but it seems that these contractor buyouts are happening more and more often, and particularly in the national security space. One security clearance holder has been happily employed with a single employer for awhile, and was confused to look out toward other companies and see all of the changing names and faces:
Please excuse my ignorance. I’ve been in a CACI bubble for a while now and so many contract companies have changed names and I have lost track of what is what. Can someone explain the difference between Paragon, Peraton, SCIS, Securitas, Keypoint? I’ve heard these name being thrown around and sometimes used interchangeably and still haven’t figured out the difference.
HOW TO FIND A CURRENT LIST OF CLEARED EMPLOYERS
As defense contractors move through the merging process, the hiring companies list at ClearanceJobs.com is updated so we don’t have dead accounts or outdated employer profiles. Doing a quick search of the list of companies on the blog, you will find Paragon’s page including SCIS, and Peraton. Keypoint merged into Perspecta, which became Peraton.
Former employees may still have titles or even documentation (business cards, for instance), with old company contact information, even though due to an acquisition or merger, their original company no longer exists. With new contracts to compete for, the personnel are often the same, but the company names and titles may change due to who has the contract award at any given moment.
HOW TO ENSURE SECURITY CLEARANCE HOLDERS KNOW WHO YOU ARE
As former company employees continue to use the old name with new people in the community, it can certainly cause confusion to those working for other entities. To avoid this confusion, whether with prospective security cleared candidates, customers, and competitors, ensure that your marketing and communications teams are on the same page in terms of branding. Ensure you have one social media account per platform and deactivate old company social media accounts, or at least change the naming convention and direct individuals to the new all-inclusive page.
As your marketing and communications teams gather their bearings, ensure communication to your new employees is also streamlined. Ensure they update their own individual profiles in the digital space, and coach them on what the new company brand and mission are.
Brand confusion is frustrating. In the national security space where trust is paramount, taking advantage of employer branding to ensure candidates, employees and customers can keep track of the changing names is key.
