July 16, 2011 - Can You Improve The RFP Process?

Written by Stephen Mihalik, Chief Revenue Officer 

We can all agree that a core business objective is to purchase the best services at the best value. Often, that means a company will issue an RFP and conduct a side-by-side comparison of the responses received. The reasoning is always to be able to compare services on an “even playing ground”, however when evaluating services in a highly competitive (and commoditized) market, the playing ground remains very level and it becomes very difficult to “un-commoditize”. So how can you make the RFP process more useful in making such a decision? Consider the following:

• Can the questions being asked in the RFP be answered with a simple “Yes/No”?
• Do the questions really seek information that will be useful in your evaluation?
• Are your questions designed to reveal true differentiation in products and services?

One should ask questions that will give a bidder the opportunity to establish and define a benefit. As an example, services provided by the background screening industry are deeper than the “check” themselves. There is value in timeliness, accuracy and compliance - these are the business standards. But how does the service assist your recruiters and reduce recruiting costs? The answer may include a unique offering that a standard question set would not uncover. Consider expanding your list of questions to be more strategic which will allow for a unique offering to be uncovered.

Many processes allow for a public question and answer period where all bidders are offered the opportunity to present their questions and hear everyone’s responses. Instead, consider allowing each bidder a private conversation for them to ask questions. Not only with this give you an opportunity ensure each bidder meets your minimum service levels, but it also give you the opportunity to evaluate whether or not they are a good “fit” to the culture of your organization based on the thoughtfulness of the questions they are asking. Bidders will still have the opportunity to differentiate their services and the buying decision is made on a much more strategic level.

In summary, your objective remains the same but with a strategic approach to the RFP process each vendor will reveal their true professionalism, knowledge, and ability to service your needs.