Indianapolis Minority Company Uses Training and Receives Awards

INDIANAPOLIS - DSS Consulting, Inc. (DSS), an 8(a), SDB, MBE certified company, run by Clyde D. Harris II, company founder, CEO and president, adds Super Bowl 2012 servicing to his accolades.

For the 2012 Super Bowl, DSS placed 51 bartenders for the NFL Tailgate Party.  The tailgate party provided those hired with the opportunity to serve the average fan to team owners.  While some used earned wages for household and personal expenses, DSS had employees that donated their wages to local charities. 

As a participant in the NFL’s Emerging Small Business program, provided training for small businesses in preparation for potential NFL pitches and proposal responses.  In addition, Harris received the Business Leadership Impact Award for Strategic Partners, from the Emerging Small Business committee.

DSS Consulting, Inc. was founded at the kitchen table in 1999 as Diverse Staffing Services, on $1,000.00 of Harris’ personal funds.  While this fact alone does not distinguish Harris from many other startups, the accomplishments of the company over the past 12 years illustrates his vision and determination.  DSS has grown from 10 employees to an approximate staff of 550 people.

Harris was accepted into the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program in 2002.  The program is a nine year training program established to assist eligible socially and economically disadvantaged individuals develop and grow their business.  While in the sixth year of the program Harris has received business development training and been awarded federal government contracts in excess of $2 million.

Initially, the company offered clients Internet development solutions and other IT and consulting services.  But Harris realized that the company name made them unique and that was DSS’ focus on diversity in the people they place, the clients they serve and the services they provide.  Harris understood that most corporate IT departments and HR directors tended to be over-tasked and often relied on such resources as job boards and newspaper advertisements in order to find candidates for an open position in their firm.  Harris felt those methods never really encouraged diversity in the workplace, nor did they guarantee that the most qualified candidates would be interviewing for those positions. 

In 2002, Harris implemented an in-house custom, research based national program.  This integrated, metrics-driven staffing model which allows DSS to identify, build and track large databases of skill-specific candidates needed to fill the targeted requirements of DSS corporate and government clients.

DSS was awarded the 2011 SBA Indiana Minority Small Business of the Year, and ranked #1 for 2010 as the largest Indianapolis-Area, Minority-Owned Business Indianapolis Business Journal, July 2011.

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