IMPROVE YOUR SOCIAL PROCUREMENT SCORE

DON'T MISS THESE FIVE SOCIAL PROCUREMENT TIPS

By Kate Burrows, Managing Director, Tender Training College.

I was helping a customer to respond to a series of social procurement questions for a tender recently. They were missing a couple of key elements needed for a top score.

On the ➕ side: The organisation had solid organisational commitments and policies geared to improving social procurement outcomes. Unfortunately, it was missing the following:

❌  A dedicated program for how it would achieve its objectives
❌  How it would measure the outcomes of its social procurement activities
❌  Results of its social procurement program and activities to date.

Our tender clients want to see c͟o͟m͟m͟i͟t͟m͟e͟n͟t͟, a͟c͟t͟i͟o͟n͟ ͟𝘢𝘯𝘥 r͟e͟s͟u͟l͟t͟s͟. We need to show an all encompassing approach with tangible outcomes in our tender response.

How to improve your social procurement score:

1. D͟e͟m͟o͟n͟s͟t͟r͟a͟t͟e͟ ͟o͟r͟g͟a͟n͟i͟s͟a͟t͟i͟o͟n͟a͟l͟ ͟c͟o͟m͟m͟i͟t͟m͟e͟n͟t͟ – have an organisational strategy or policy/plan including targets on how your business will improve supply chain participation and employment for disadvantaged cohorts.
   
2. H͟a͟v͟e͟ ͟p͟o͟l͟i͟c͟i͟e͟s͟ ͟a͟n͟d͟ ͟p͟r͟o͟c͟e͟d͟u͟r͟e͟s͟ ͟t͟h͟a͟t͟ ͟r͟e͟f͟l͟e͟c͟t͟ ͟o͟r͟g͟a͟n͟i͟s͟a͟t͟i͟o͟n͟a͟l͟ ͟c͟o͟m͟m͟i͟t͟m͟e͟n͟t͟s͟ – these are guidelines for how your people will implement the social procurement strategy/policy/plan across the business, including in procurement and HR.

3. H͟a͟v͟e͟ ͟a͟ ͟p͟l͟a͟n͟ ͟o͟f͟ ͟a͟c͟t͟i͟o͟n͟/͟p͟r͟o͟g͟r͟a͟m͟ ͟t͟o͟ ͟a͟c͟h͟i͟e͟v͟e͟ ͟t͟h͟e͟ ͟t͟a͟r͟g͟e͟t͟s͟ ͟a͟n͟d͟ ͟o͟b͟j͟e͟c͟t͟i͟v͟e͟s͟ – provide a 12-month calendar of what your organisation will do to deliver on its social procurement outcomes.

4. M͟e͟a͟s͟u͟r͟e͟ ͟t͟h͟e͟ ͟r͟e͟s͟u͟l͟t͟s͟ ͟o͟f͟ ͟y͟o͟u͟r͟ ͟s͟o͟c͟i͟a͟l͟ ͟p͟r͟o͟c͟u͟r͟e͟m͟e͟n͟t͟ ͟r͟e͟s͟u͟l͟t͟s͟ – An excel spreadsheet is a good starting point to track your company's performance against your organisational targets. Assign responsibility for this.

5. S͟h͟o͟w͟ ͟e͟v͟i͟d͟e͟n͟c͟e͟ ͟o͟f͟ ͟e͟x͟c͟e͟l͟l͟e͟n͟t͟ ͟s͟o͟c͟i͟a͟l͟ ͟p͟r͟o͟c͟u͟r͟e͟m͟e͟n͟t͟ ͟o͟u͟t͟c͟o͟m͟e͟s͟ – report your results, provide testimonials from people your business has helped, and develop case studies on particular initiatives.

Remember, it isn't a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. You need to apply what’s relevant for your business, the tender’s requirements and the tender client's own social procurement targets.

Read more about improving your social outcome responses here:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/improve-your-social-procurement-outcomes-kate-burrows-1c/

And if you need more assistance relating to tenders, reach out for a chat - [email protected]