Recruitment Tenders
Who Commissions Recruitment Tenders?
Both private and public sector organisations regularly outsource their recruitment and staffing supply needs, seeking temporary and permanent staffing solutions across all industries. These leads to a large number of recruitment tenders that are released every year.
Procurement will often look to source a framework of providers. This may see different sectors broken down over several different ‘Lots’, which may or may not have a cap on the number of contracts to be awarded.
Other framework models focus on individual sectors before breaking these down into various categories, or sub-lots. We see this model applied to the national YPO frameworks, or those commissioned by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). Combined, their frameworks cover the supply of clinical and healthcare staffing, social care staffing, insurance and related services, print management, waste management, the supply of materials and consumables across various sectors, cyber security, transportation, research services, language and translation services, professional and corporate staffing, IT, technology and communication services, consultancy services, audit services, vehicle telematics and transport technology, to name but a few.
Conversely, other commissioners may only be looking to award single contracts, particularly if they are focussing on finding a staffing solution for a specific sector.
Common Terminology In Recruitment Tenders
Exploring common terminology used in relation to tenders for the provision of recruitment and staffing solutions, the following may also be used:
- Agency Worker Tenders
- Staffing Solutions Tenders
- Temporary Resources Tenders
- Medical Locums (Healthcare) Tenders
- Workforce Management Tenders
- Flexible Resource Pool Tenders
- Staff Bank Tenders
- Master or Neutral Vendor* Tenders
*The terms ‘Master Vendor’ and ‘Neutral Vendor’ will also crop up from time to time. When Master Vendor is used, this is referring to a recruitment provider that takes full responsibility, or almost all responsibility, for delivering the contract directly. The Neutral Vendor is a provider that does not directly supply recruitment services, but acts as a sort of middleman and manages supply relationships with a range of approved suppliers.
What is Normally Involved in a Recruitment Tender?
Recruitment tenders can vary depending on the commissioner and framework model. Evaluation may be based on a combination of quality and price, i.e. the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT), or it could just be down to quality alone. In each scenario it’s important to remember is that quality is consistently the most important factor, and the more points a bidder picks up on quality, the more flexible they can be in respect of pricing.
In terms of tender content, this will be tailored to the specification, but common themes we tend to see are those relating to candidate sourcing and screening procedures, supply chain management, service delivery, quality assurance, managing demand, retention of pool staff, business continuity, training and development, equality and diversity, contract examples, evidence understanding of the specification, and modern slavery.
Compliance will also be assessed, with the evaluation of individual policies and procedures, and industry accreditations. Some tenders will require providers to evidence accreditation with the The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), a recognised awarding organisation for the recruitment industry. Suppliers may also be asked to demonstrate the security of their management systems, evidencing compliance with Cyber Essentials and ISO standards.
Contract lifetimes will vary, with some lasting up to 10 years if extended, so if your bid is unsuccessful, you could be left out in the cold until the tender is released again. Putting the appropriate resources into your bid can make all of the difference. Check out our latest WIN RATE to see how successful we’ve been over recent months.
How Can Your Tender Team Help with Writing a Recruitment Tender?
Recruitment services and staffing solutions are in constant demand, which has given our teams the opportunity to expand our understanding of this area. We’ve experienced huge success and our experts are on hand to use our knowledge and experience to support and sustain the success of suppliers in this sector.
Need Help Writing Your Recruitment Tender?
Your Tender Team specialises in delivering expert tendering services to providers of staffing solutions, and our FULL TENDER WRITE service could be the best option for you.
If you would like us to quote you for how much our Full Tender Write service is based on the tender you wish to bid, please use our ‘Get A Quote’ tab on the right handside of the screen now.
Do You Write Your Tenders Yourself? We Will Structure And Review Them
If you wish to write your own bid, we can support you at every stage of your response through our REVIEW & EVALUATION service.
Use our ‘Get A Quote’ tab today and one of our team members will be in touch with a quotation.
What the Press Says
Don’t just take our word for it! Your Tender Team has been in the press a fair bit recently. Check out one of the articles on Business Live HERE.