Winning recruitment tenders

Recruitment and the supply of staff is a need that is regularly outsourced by the public sector, and whilst there are lots of opportunities there are also lots of competitors.

But you don’t have to be a big agency to win recruitment tenders; SME’s can also succeed where the service offering is better than the competition. Our mission is to help these companies show buyers how much better they are.

To start, it’s all about choosing the right tender. Our Personal Tender Search service will send you the best recruitment tender opportunities, tailored to your business needs and capabilities to cut down your search time. A more selective approach to your investment in tendering will reap rewards.

Tender top tips

Important tips for winning recruitment tenders

1. Choose the right recruitment tender

You need to read through the tender specification thoroughly, so you understand precisely what is being asked for and what you are going to commit to under contract.

2. Ensure your recruitment systems and processes are properly documented

As risk averse organisations, public sector authorities look for very thorough and detailed explanations with evidence of precisely how you will deliver the contract.

3. Collect strong evidence of your previous experience

As well as being risk averse, public sector authorities are committed to ensuring quality and value for the end user, i.e. the public. Providing good evidence and case histories of what you have done for other customers is crucial.

4. Provide a clear plan for delivering the solution

You will nearly always need to provide a plan of how you intend to fulfil the contract. This includes outlining how will you handle the volume of staff required and how you will meet ongoing demand.

5. Have robust compliance and safeguarding processes

You need to be able to clearly detail your governance and compliance processes. What policies do you have in place and how do you carry them out?

6. Give extra value for money

Public sector tenders are awarded based on ‘best value for money,’ defined as MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender). What examples can you provide that show how your recruitment services not only delivered the right staff, but also saved your other customers money and time?

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Recruitment tender questions at a glance

Category	Question	Ask yourself
Previous Experience	What previous experience do you have of providing a similar recruitment service to that required?  Please provide 3 case study examples?	Can you answer this question fully?
Project Outline / Service Delivery	Please provide a project outline of how you intend to provide the service.  We understand that you may not have an abundance of staff recruited within the area, however, please provide a recruitment plan that you intend to implement. What are your candidate attraction “tactics”?	Can you answer this question fully?
Implementation/Mobilisation	Please provide us with an implementation plan, detailing how you will mobilise and deliver the contract, including key dates, responsibilities, tasks and milestones?	Can you answer this question fully?
Resourcing	Please provide details of how you intend to resource and deliver the project? Please provide figures for the number of temporary workers you already employ in the e.g. Midlands Area – provide a breakdown via role/discipline?	Can you answer this question fully?
Meeting Demand	How will you meet the volume demands for this contract and continue to ensure ongoing demands can be met? Please provide a fill rate trajectory and break this down into staff supplied by yourself and staff provided by sub-contractors?	Can you answer this question fully?
Customer Service	Please confirm your operational hours within the week, evenings, weekends and bank holidays? Please confirm which hours are “on call” only and which hours you will actively be able to assign workers to requests?	Can you answer this question fully?
Staff	Please provide details of the key staff that will be responsible for delivering this contract? Provide CV’s.	Can you answer this question fully?
Compliance	Please provide details of your governance and compliance processes? How do you ensure mandatory staff training is up to date?	Can you answer this question fully?
Performance	How do you ensure the performance of the workers you supply?	Can you answer this question fully?
Systems & Technology	Provide details of the recruitment systems you use. Do you have a temporary worker booking system?	Can you answer this question fully?
Safeguarding	What are your processes for Safeguarding? Is there a safeguarding policy and procedure for children, young people and adults at risk that sets out clearly the responsibilities of staff as to how to respond to safeguarding concerns?	Can you answer this question fully?
TUPE	Please outline your experience with transitioning staff under TUPE.  Do you have a TUPE policy and procedure?	Can you answer this question fully?
Innovation	Please provide examples of innovations and cost saving initiatives or income generation provided elsewhere including case studies.	Can you answer this question fully?