Frequently Asked Questions

PQQ stands for Pre Qualifying Questionnaire. PQQs can be used by private sector clients to shortlist suppliers for the ItT or tender stage of a procurement process. The PQQ is used to make sure that you meet the minimum criteria required by the client.  It often contains questions relating to your business structure, the sectors you supply, financials, professional memberships, insurances and policies (e.g. Health & Safety, Environmental, Carbon Reduction Plan, Equality & Diversity, Social Value Commitments, Quality etc). This is not an exclusive list - each PQQ will vary and reflect what is important to the client.

SQ stands for Selection Questionnaire - a standard batch of questions used by the public sector to try to reduce the amount administration for bidders during the first stage of the process.  If you are awarded a place on the tender, you will probably need to provide all the policies and documentation that you claimed to have in place during the SQ stage.

ItT stands for Invitation to Tender. This usually follows the PQQ/SQ stage for a "restricted procedure" or in the second element to be evaluated in an "open procedure".

The ItT involves more detailed questions about HOW you will deliver the service (e.g. recruitment process, account management, performance management/SLAs etc).  It may also include elements such as pricing and agreement to the terms.

RfP stands for Request for Proposal. Rather than being an extensive list of specific questions, an RfP is usually based on a client's brief / specification and requires the bidder to demonstrate how they will deliver the service in alignment with that brief.

This provides much more flexibility for the bidder, so it's critical that what you write remains aligned to the client's brief and doesn't turn into a marketing document for your business.

Some tenders ask you to write "method statements" rather than just answering a list of questions. A method statement can either be a mini creative proposal based on specified elements of the specification (e.g. how will you fulfil the diversity requirements of the client?) or you may be asked you will cover a list of requirements (e.g. the client requires a, b, c, d and e. Please provide a method statement to demonstrate how you will deliver this?). Method statements usually require you to demonstrate not just WHAT you will do, but HOW you will do it. They can often be made more robust by including examples or case studies to demonstrate competence and experience. A tender may be made up of a series of method statements rather than the more traditional list of tender questions.

PSL stands for Preferred Suppliers List. A PSL is a list or panel of suppliers who are approved to provide goods or services to a particular client.

A framework agreement is a contract where suppliers are approved (i.e. they have been through a full tender process), but are not guaranteed any business. Basically you have the right to supply, but the organisations purchasing under the agreement are not obliged to use you.  In some cases, framework agreements can be "mandated" meaning you cannot supply off-framework (i.e. organisations using the framework can only purchase from framework approved suppliers).

Vendor Neutral is where the client contracts with an independent provider who does not provide recruitment services themselves, but simply manages the supply relationships with a number of approved suppliers. A Master Vendor is a recruitment supplier who contracts with the client to fulfil some/all of the requirements themselves, and outsources those vacancies, locations or specialisms that they are unable to deliver themselves to 2nd Tier Suppliers.

E-procurement is the use of an electronic system to acquire goods, services and payments. This is often a web-based system which enables the client access to an online system to place orders, monitor responses to the orders and view real time management information. It will also often link to the payroll and invoicing functions. E-procurement is usually used to increase the efficiency and reduce the costs associated with the administrative functions relating to purchasing goods or services.

Public sector (and occasionally private sector) tender opportunities are advertised in the UK via the "Find a Tender Service" and in Europe via OJEU.  You can register with a tender notification service to receive e-mails when a new tender that aligns with your preset criteria is advertised. There are many tender notification services which can range in cost from £200 - £1000+ per annum. Alternatively you may also wish to register with our free tender notification service which will advise you of any recruitment tenders that we come across.

Private sector tenders are not usually advertised, and we advise that you task Consultants with building a pipeline of potential opportunities by gathering information on which clients have a PSL, when this is coming up for renewal, who is responsible for it and what you need to do to be included in the tender process.