Recent News
Welcome to the AvantGarde blog
Driving Employee Engagement
As America’s workforce contemplates the future of work, some workplaces are facing a bit of an identity crisis. Workday routines and expectations have dramatically evolved in the COVID era, and the idea of resuming “normal” life does not necessarily include...
The AG Value Proposition: Our People
AvantGarde has long recognized that the energy behind our growth and success comes from our “people” - our workforce - making it our greatest asset. And the key to attracting and retaining top talent? AvantGarde takes a holistic approach: valuing and loving our people...
AG Minority-Owned Business of the Year : Silver Stevie Winner : 2021 American Business Awards
AVANTGARDE HONORED AS SILVER STEVIE® AWARD WINNER IN APRIL 2021 AMERICAN BUSINESS AWARDS ® – April 29, 2021 – AvantGarde was named the winner of a Silver Stevie® Award in the Minority-Owned Business of the Year category in The 19th Annual American Business Awards ®...
Leadership in Unprecedented Times – Rebecca Contreras
Rebecca Contreras, President & CEO of AvantGarde, will be speaking at the Business Leader Series on May 4, 2021. Rebecca has chosen to speak on a strategic and timely topic entitled; "Leadership in Unprecedented Times - Practical ways to guide others through any...
Rebecca Contreras : World’s Greatest Women Podcast
AvantGarde CEO, Rebecca Contreras was recently interviewed on the World's Greatest Women Podcast. She was one of 100 CEOs /business owners interviewed. Listen to her empowering podcast interview through the link provided below. Rebecca shares her inspiring story and...
AG Wins #11 Women-Owned Businesses on Austin Business Journal Top 50 List 2020
AG Wins #11 Women-owned businesses out of 92 companies in the Austin-area Ranked by Total revenue 2019 "The 2020 list of women-owned businesses features eligible companies in the Austin area. To be eligible, firms must be at least 51 percent women owned, have local...
AG Wins #7 Ethnic Minority-Owned Businesses on Austin Business Journal Top 50 List 2020
AG Wins #7 Ethnic Minority-Owned Businesses out of 31 companies in the Austin-area Ranked by Total Revenue 2019 To be eligible, firms had to be at least 51 percent owned by an ethnic minority with local headquarters. "Combined revenue for listmakers...
Rebecca Contreras, CEO of AvantGarde, Feature in Austin Woman Magazine, October 1, 2020
"On the Road to Survival" Feature in Austin Woman Magazine, October 1, 2020 Rebecca Contreras had only ever been on one other plane in her entire life. It was a trip to Mexico with her husband. “First time on a plane ride, first time in the ocean,” Contreras says....
A Forward-Thinking Look at Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Results – By Susan Bradberry
Today OPM will issue the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) to collect employees’ perceptions about their workforce environment and the work of their team, supervisors and leaders. To be certain, this year’s results will be colored by employee reactions...
The Need for Data Driven Decision Making to Enable Transformation in this New Normal (by Colin Waitt)
A short note from the Dining Room Table The majority of the Federal workforce still is grappling with a return to work as discussed in previous posts and seen in numerous government related articles and op-eds. And while some agencies are leaning forward there is...
The Importance of Pausing to Plan for the Future Work Environment (by Colin Waitt)
Dining Room Table Discussion (Written by Colin Waitt June 11) The government COVID-19 return to work planning is a complicated scenario that requires to be thought through as the implications of wrong moves can have severe repercussions on the workforce. This is...
The Importance of Networks In This Remote Working Environment (by Colin Waitt)
Another Dining Room Table Comment: I have been having some interesting discussions with our hard-pressed federal HR professionals recently and one point that everyone is saying is how well things are going – much better than expected. This is good news and a credit...
Meeting the Unmet Needs of Our Employees and Customers (By Regina Krasner, PMP)
Meeting the Unmet Needs of Our Employees and Customers By Regina Krasner, PMP AvantGarde’s Strategy and Change Management Expert “Just because someone carries it all so well doesn’t mean it’s not heavy.” Being a leader in this time of public health, economic and...
Another Missive from the HC Dining Room Table – Very delayed (By Colin Waitt)
Another Missive From The HC Dining Room Table - Very Delayed By Colin Waitt - Director of Strategic Growth It is very easy to get so engrossed in the day to day and forget to look up and stop and think. This seems to be especially so when working remote. You would...
AG White Paper Telework in COVID-19 Environment (By Colin Waitt)
COVID-19 has brought about unthinkable change in a short period of time. While OMB and OPM have provided guidelines (e.g. OMB-20-23, Aligning Federal Agency Operations with the National Guidelines for Opening Up America Again), agencies are still grabbling with new...