Tender Ready in 10 Steps – Aberdeen

Tender Ready in 10 Steps

Workshop 3 – 4th April

Gill Joy, Owen Paterson

Intend Business Development LLP

The 10 Steps

Understanding the Procurement

Landscape

Introduction to Tender Documents

Market Intelligence & Bid Strategies

Buyer’s View – prepare and

evaluate tenders

Creating a Tender Desk

“People” aspects Of Tendering

Presenting Professional

tenders

Policies & Standards

Presenting Company information

Responding to Technical &

Quality questions

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654

7 8 9

10

Tender Ready!!

Agenda for today

Step 7 – “People” aspects of tenderingPresenting your team and skills mix – templates for CVs, skills matrix

Overview of TUPE

Group exercise – tackling people-related questions in tenders

Step 8 – Policies and Standards for tendering

Content for policies (Health & Safety, Environment, Equality & Diversity) and sources of help

Standards

Typical questions related to policy & standards areas

Step 9 – Presentation tips for professional tendersTips and templates, Writing style, Tender interviews/presentations

Step 10 – Creating a tender deskKey roles, tasks – Action Plan for your business

“Homework”

• Describe your business activities – the “elevator pitch”

H

“Elevator Pitch”The purpose of your organisation (what you have been set up to do and for

whom – not a vague mission statement)

Unique selling points – strategic reasons why are you better than others in the market (largest, first to provide a certain service, only provider with range of skills/services, specialist skills such as languages

When you were established, your legal status, brief timeline of how you have grown since start-up (1-2 sentences max)

Services you provide (bullet points make it easier for evaluator to check these versus their requirements)

Your capacity – number of clients, number of end users assisted (per annum or since start up). Number of public sector contracts you have already – name the clients/regions

Unique selling points – specific operational things you do that make you better (communications infrastructure, dedicated account managers to ensure clients spend less time managing the contract, etc

People aspects of tenders

• Presenting your team and skills mix – templates

• Overview of TUPE

• Group exercise – tackling people-related questions in tenders

7

Team Summary Name Role on project Qualifications & Experience

John Smith Project Manager

-Client liaison- Project planning- Review meetings- Final report

BSc Information Systems, HND Computing

Include 5-6 Bullet points with key experience from recent projects/jobs including any specialisms

Jane Brown Data Manager

-Data collection plan & implementation- Data analysis- etc

etc

Joe Bloggs Position

- roles

etc

Skills Matrix

Name & Role Skill 1 Skill 2 Skill 3 Experience 1

Experience 2

John Smith Project Manager

√ √ √ √

Jane Brown Advisor

√ √ √

Etc

Curriculum Vitae

• Short format

• Long format

• Create master file of CV content and adapt as needed for each tender

• No CV? Provide a job specification for the person you will recruit

• Set dates for CV updates (every 6 months)

TUPE Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)

•Applies when there is relevant transfer of an economic entity (eg majority of employees, clients remain the same, activities similar before and after)

•You need to take specialist legal advice to see if TUPE applies

•Employees transfer with all their existing terms and conditions, rights and liabilities (eg unpaid wage, disputes) intact

•Dismissal unfair if linked to transfer; change in employment T&Cs very difficult so hard to harmonise staff conditions

•Outgoing employer must inform and consult with staff/representatives – provide incoming employer with transfer info 14 days before transfer (not in time for tender?)

•Some leeway if outgoing employer insolvent

People Planning & Management

Provide a staffing plan including management and quality assurance support for this service, holiday plans and emergency cover

Describe your planned staff structure with information on the reporting lines of key staff for this service

Provide a copy of the job specification for the individual responsible for day-to-day management and operation of the service

Organisation Structure

Client: NAC

H Smith

Building Services

ACME Ltd

Name

Role

ACME Ltd

Name

Role

ACME Ltd

Name

Role

ACME Ltd

C McTavish

Project Manager

ACME Ltd

I M Incharge

Director in Charge

Subcontractor Ltd

Traffic Management

ACME Ltd

Name

Role

Subcontractor Ltd

Lighting contractor

People Planning & Management (2)

• Recruitment procedures

• Training and Personal Development

• People Management – Performance, Retention

“People” Questions in tenders

Please tell us how you will recruit and retain staff for the support service

Please describe your planned staff structure, with information on the skills and experience of key staff for this Service, and show how it fits into your organisation

How will you deal with performance issues in relation to staff and what processes of performance management will be used.

Describe the process you will adopt to ensure sufficient numbers of staff at all levels within your organisation.

Please supply additional information on how your organisation will retain a consistent workforce throughout the duration of the contract.

How will you cover staff absence both Planned & unplanned - Short term & Long term?

Exercise

Policies & Standards

• Content for policies (Health & Safety, Environment, Equality & Diversity) and sources of help

• Standards

• Typical questions related to policy & standards areas

8

Health & Safety Policy

If you employ 5 or more people you must have a written health and safety policy statement and a record of your health and safety arrangements. It’s about foreseeable, significant risk

Need a written document so that you and your workforce are clear about who's responsible for what. “Top dog” responsible

Subcontractors should be asked for H&S information

Elements of H&S Policy

•Adequate control of risks arising from work activities

•Consult with employees

•Provide/maintain safe equipment

•Ensure safe handling and use of materials

Elements of H&S Policy

•Provide info, instruction and supervision of employees•Ensure employees are competent to do their tasks•Prevent accidents and causes of work-related health•Maintain safe and healthy working conditions•Review and revise policy regularly

H&S Related Questions

•Demonstrate how policy is translated to implementation in day-to-day operations

•How are your staff are trained in H&S?

•How you keep up to date with H&S developments?

•Incident recording and reporting (RIDDOR)

H&S Related Questions

Accident Category

Year 3 Day Disease Death Major Other Total 2010 – to date

2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Grand Total

Level Number Date Subject Rectification

Prohibition Notice PN/000x0y 27-Jun-07 Lighting in Pit Took pit out of use

Prohibition Notice PN/000x0y 27-Jun-07Access to Mezzanine Floor

Took floor out of use until access was sufficient

Improvement Notice IN/000x0y 27-Jun-07

Unsuitable traffic route for FLT

Created traffic route

Improvement Notice IN/000x0y 27-Jun-07

Badly damaged racking upright

Replace damaged racking

Improvement Notice IN/000x0y 27-Jun-07

Lack of segregation in the yard

Created traffic route

Improvement Notice AB/03040xy 25-May-07

Lack of training of exposure to hazardous substances

Training given

H&S Sources of Help

http://www.healthyworkinglives.com/

•Free advice line and visits, funded by Scottish Government on OH or Safety issues

•Proformas & help with paperwork

•Contractor appraisal document

www.hse.gov.uk

•All HSE Guidance docs now free of charge

•Database of prohibitions and limitation notices

www.workplacehealthconnect.co.uk

Equality & Diversity

EQUALITY= equal value, current term for Equal Opportunities

DIVERSITY=celebrate visible and non-visible individual differences

• protects people from being discriminated against on grounds of gender, age, religion & belief, sexual orientation, race, disability…

• recognises and removes barriers that limit what people can do and can be (attitudes, behaviour, processes)

Single Equality Act

•Brings together all equal opportunities and discrimination legislation into one Act

•Widens the coverage beyond age and sex discrimination

•Act will be implemented in stages - large companies first

•Public sector will use procurement as a driver for equality & diversity

Equality & Diversity Policy

A written policy that covers:

• a company’s commitment to equality and diversity in the workplace;

• a company’s firm opposition to discrimination and expresses its aim of creating an inclusive and harmonious working environment where diversity is respected;

• the benefits the policy brings to the company, its employees and customers.This policy needs to be regularly reviewed and updated.

E&D Questions

• Please provide details of any positive measures which your organisation takes to encourage the employment of people with disabilities within your organisation

• How will you ensure that black and ethnic minority people and other hard to reach equalities groups will be able to access your services?

• Please demonstrate how you will meet the needs of specific equality groups in the provision of services (for example special religious or cultural needs, gender specific requirements).

Sources of info & help

Business Gatewayhttp://www.bgateway.com/Scottish_Enterprise_files/SCO00384__Equality_Policy_leaflet_low_resolution.pdf

Equality & Human Rights Commission Scotlandhttp://www.equalityhumanrights.com/scotland/

Equal & Diverse – Dr Donald Macaskillhttp://www.equalanddiverse.com

Environmental Policy

Fits your business scale and objectives Appropriate to the services/products

you offer Statement – high level objectives for

your company, signed off by director, available to all on request, updated

Translates into Action Plan with timescales, responsible staff, specific benefits

Action Plan – progress & results

Office “Switch Off” campaigns

Recycling

Identify all applicable environmental legislation and check compliance

Develop sustainable procurement policy

Increase use of videoconference/Skype to reduce travel

Fuel efficiency measures

Environment Qs

•Please provide details of any Environmental management processes or procedures your organisation adheres to in order to manage environmental impacts.

•Your organisation's approach to Sustainability in service delivery, including (but not limited to) reduction of carbon footprint, disposal procedures, and recycling.

•Please confirm how you would ensure that your environmental policy is adhered to on site.

•If classified as a distributor, please detail what information you would provide regarding products to be supplied to facilitate reuse, recycling and recovering of WEEE, its components and materials, and provide relevant examples.

Environmental PolicyHelp & Advice

Greenbusinesspartnership.org.uk Envirowise.gov.uk Netregs.gov.uk Carbon Trust.co.uk Energysavingtrust.org.uk

Standards

• Third party certified Quality Management System ISO 9001 or equivalent

• Third party certified Environmental Management System ISO 14001 or equivalent

• Investors in People

• Registration with Care Commission, SSSC etc

• Accredited/Approved contractor schemes CHAS, SIA

• Membership of trade/ professional associations

Presentation tips for tenders 9

• Presentation “bug bears”

• General tips, templates

• Writing style

Presentation issues

20 things guaranteed to make your tender look unprofessional…

Presentation bug bearsContent not logicalPoor bid coverPoor layout on page – not enough white space, line spacingInconsistent styles for similar content eg CVs, project profilesFonts difficult to readMix of different fonts and font sizesConflicting styles – bold, italics, underlining over-usedIncorrect or no cross referencesNo linked contents page/headersCheap paperCoffee stains on document (yes, it really happens!!)Ineffective binding

Presentation bug bears

Colours over-used – no “house” styleTyposEvidence of Cut and paste Annexes not used correctlyGraphics or images illegibleCharts meaningless – poor captionsSentences incompleteComments left in – especially inappropriate ones !!!Inconsistent use of job titles or other key terminologyOver use of jargon/acronymsHeaders and Footers missing/too “busy”Company name and tender ref missing on pagesNo Compliance table – poor bid structure

Presentation templates

• Methodology/ Project management section – workshop 2

• Your team, CVs – workshop 3

• Project references – workshop 2

• Cover pages, Contents

Cover pages

• Cover page: your logo and that of partner(s), title and ref for tender, date submitted

• Inside cover

• Compliance table

Inside coverClient ABC Council

Client Reference ITT Ref ABC/05/008SC

Title Provision of social care services

Proposal Ref Your ref here

Submission date 27 May 2010

Contact for technical matters John Smith, Senior Consultant jsmith@intend-eu.com

Contact for contractual matters Jane Brown, Commercial Manager jbrown@intend-eu.com

Contact details Intend Business Development, 102 Bridge Street, St Andrews, KY16 8LJ 01334 479899 www.intend-eu.com

Prepared by

Authorised by

John Smith

Jane Brown

This proposal is provided by Intend Business Development LLP solely to be evaluated under the ITT listed above. Provided in confidence to the client, no part of this document may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means for any other purposes without the express permission of Intend Business Development LLP. © Intend Business Development LLP

Compliance table

Requirement Reference in proposal (page or section)

Working with Intend will improve success rate

Section 3 – results-focused workplan, Fast track start to boost morale, structured workplan to meet regional and national needsSections 2+5 – Intend track record and added value

How we will familiarise ourselves with the childcare voucher industry

Section 3.1 – meet all staff at early stage in partnershipSection 3.5 – market/client research workpackage

How we will become familiar with your ethics, culture and USPs

Section 3.1 – meet all staff at early stage in partnership to discuss USPs, ethos etcSection 3.2 – quantify benefits of company ethos/values for Imagine clientsSection 3.5 – market research to benchmark USPs/ethos

Proposed regional and national tender support to each Regional Area Manager to include field visits

Section 3 – structured programme describes support in detail (3.1-3.5)Section 4 – proposed teamSection 5 – Intend experience in supporting decentralised teams and client satisfaction record

We believe that our proposal addresses all the requirements of the ITT. The compliance table below identifies the main parts of the proposal where each requirement is addressed:

Writing Styles

Over-confident/ over-selling (it’s not a brochure or website)

Not: You must agree we are the best qualified company in Scotland to supply this service But: We are fully qualified to meet and in many cases exceed all the requirements you have specified. We have the appropriate resources already in place to deliver an excellent service

Vague

We have VAST experience in this area….. Need to scope what this means in practice (breadth and depth, years’ experience, etc)

We have a W I D E range of ...... services/ clients/ products/methods

Writing Styles

Avoid Negative words eg. Unfortunately, impossible, unworkable….

Non-discriminatory language

Not: After the girls in the admin team receive an order, we complete it within 24 hours.But: When orders are received by the admin team, they are completed within 24 hours.

Keep sentences short, use sub-headings to link back to question

Tender Interview – Presentations •Take the right people to present (including the project manager or equivalent)

•Prepare an overview of the key elements of your proposal

•emphasise client benefits in your proposal

•add more detail/evidence of understanding requirement to add value to the original submission

•Use graphics in slides not just bullet points – talk around the slides not repeat everything on screen

•Rehearse your timings – elevator pitch

•Prepare everyone in the team for all the questions you think you will be asked!

Creating a Tender Desk

• Key Roles & Resources

• Group Exercise

• Action Plan to get Tender Ready

10

Tender Desk Roles

Business Development – tender notices/alerts and review, model texts, market research & competitor , check contract awards, partner search, compliance, bid plan, tender writing

Admin - bid writing (admin elements), filing/records, supplier profiles prepare, tender library maintenance

Technical – input to bid decision, clarify specifications, technical content writing, check subcontractors/suppliers

Management – business development, bid decision, bid strategy & business cases, partner negotiation, coordinate bid plan, commercial & legal aspects, sign-off, follow-up evaluation stage, staff training for tendering

Tender Desk Resources

Model texts:

• Company overview and USPs checklist/ performance stats

• Project management/methodology templates

• Project profiles / data sheets

• Staff numbers, CVs

• Cover letters, letters of authority

Tender Desk Resources

Certificates, Awards, Registrations, Official Docs:

• ISO, IIP, BBA, Disclosure Scotland etc

• Product related accreditations COSHH etc

• Bank and tax certificates/letters; Insurance policies

• Membership of professional associations

• Awards (Design, Environment, Innovation, Business, etc)

• Policies – UPDATED! and related Action Plans

Tender Desk Resources

Tender Search:

• Up to date search profiles / CPV codes identified

• List of tender sources for your business (see handout & slides from Workshop 1)

• Regular search schedule to avoid missing short-deadline opportunities (weekly?)

Monitoring performance

Analyse number/type tenders published in your sector

Analyse Bid-No Bid decisions

Time & money spent on PQQs & tenders

Win ratios – trends?

Analyse client feedback for all tenders/ PQQs

Tender Desk Exercise

• Look at the various tasks on the cards

• How would you organise them in your business?

• Who should be responsible for what?

• Do you need more resources? People trained for new roles?

E

Action PlanH

Any Questions?

• Happy to help with action plans

• Case studies / follow-ups planned

• Please complete the Evaluation Form

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR

FUTURE TENDERS!

Q