* Security clearance backlogs costing time and money
If your company requires security clearance to work on government contracts, it could be in for a long wait. Information Technology Association of America members have encountered substantial delays and increased costs as the result of security clearance backlogs.
The ITAA surveyed 70 members serving the federal marketplace, including service providers, software companies, and related firms. Of those, 81% experienced delays of 270 days or more in getting top-secret level clearances. This is up from 70% who reported the same delay interval in 2004.
Another 65% of respondents complained of agencies failing to recognize employee clearances, and 71% said the refusing agency required a new employee background check to issue a clearance. “Despite recent process changes to create interagency reciprocity and to centralize the administration of clearance investigations, our member survey suggests that the situation is not getting better and may, in fact, be getting worse,” ITAA President Harris Miller says.
The delay in obtaining security clearances is restricting respondents ability to grow, according to 88% of respondents. Close to half of this group pegged the revenue impact at $10 million or more. In order to staff such projects, companies are either recruiting away cleared employees from competitors or paying salary premiums.
With results like these, perhaps it’s no surprise that job boards are rife with listings for positions that require security clearance. Click here to learn which titles were most heavily recruited recently on clearancejobs.com.
