1. Post-Training Follow-up Support
The purpose of post-training follow-up support is to reinforce the training concepts, address any challenges participants may have encountered while applying the knowledge, and ensure they feel confident in their ability to handle upcoming tenders.
➤ Initial Follow-up (1-2 Weeks After Training)
After the training, the first step in providing follow-up support is to check in with participants to assess how they are applying the training to their day-to-day tasks. This check-in can be done through:
- Surveys or Feedback Forms: A few weeks after the training, send out a brief follow-up survey to gauge how participants are implementing the skills they learned. Ask about:
- Application of Skills: How confident are you in writing and submitting tenders after the training?
- Challenges Encountered: Have you encountered any difficulties in applying the training to your current tenders?
- Areas Needing Clarification: Are there any concepts or sections from the training that you feel need further explanation?
This follow-up allows you to identify if any areas need further attention or if participants are facing challenges that need to be addressed.
➤ Providing Additional Resources
Based on the feedback from the surveys and initial follow-up, offer targeted resources to help participants continue to improve their tender responses. These resources could include:
- Checklists and Templates: Provide participants with additional bid writing templates, compliance checklists, and step-by-step guides for specific sections of tenders. This ensures they have easy-to-use resources that they can refer to when preparing future submissions.
- Example: If many participants expressed difficulty in structuring technical proposals, provide a detailed technical proposal template with examples of well-written sections.
- Recorded Training Sessions: Share recordings of the training or any key moments from the sessions, so participants can revisit the content at their convenience. This is particularly helpful for those who need additional time to absorb the material.
- Case Studies: Provide case studies or examples of successful tenders that follow the best practices discussed in the training. These can be real-world examples that illustrate the practical application of the concepts taught, such as how to tailor responses to specific client needs or how to present a compelling executive summary.
2. Offering Additional Workshops
If feedback from the initial follow-up suggests that participants need further assistance or feel uncertain about specific areas of the training, offering additional workshops can help reinforce learning and provide deeper insights into particular topics. These workshops should be:
➤ Focused on Specific Topics
Based on the challenges identified in the initial follow-up, offer workshops on specific areas that need further development. For example:
- Proposal Writing Skills: If participants struggled with creating strong technical responses or executive summaries, offer a workshop on proposal writing that goes deeper into these topics.
- SCMR-1 Tip: Emphasize real-world examples of good proposal writing, focusing on how to clearly communicate a solution that meets the client’s needs.
- Compliance and Document Review: If there were challenges with ensuring compliance with tender requirements, host a workshop on compliance checks. This could cover:
- How to use compliance checklists effectively.
- Common mistakes in tender submissions (e.g., missing documents, incorrect formats).
- The importance of double-checking all tender documentation before submission.
- Bidding Platforms and Tools: If there were challenges in using specific bid submission platforms (such as eTender or SAP Ariba), consider offering a technical workshop that focuses on these systems, demonstrating how to navigate them efficiently and avoid common errors.
➤ Interactive and Practical Exercises
During the workshops, incorporate practical exercises that allow participants to practice the skills they learned during the training. For instance:
- Live Bid Writing: Break participants into small groups and assign them a mock tender. Let them write a section of the tender, such as the technical proposal or pricing breakdown, and present their responses to the group. Provide constructive feedback on their submissions.
- Compliance Review Sessions: Offer a “compliance clinic” where participants review a sample tender document together, checking for compliance with all requirements.
Interactive workshops enable participants to receive immediate feedback and further clarify any doubts they may have.
3. One-on-One Consultations
For participants who require more personalized support or have specific questions, offer one-on-one consultations to provide individualized guidance. These consultations are an opportunity to:
- Address Specific Challenges: Some participants may need help with specific areas that are critical to their success in the bidding process. For example, they might need assistance with tailoring a proposal to address client-specific needs or creating a competitive pricing strategy.
- Review Tender Responses: Offer to review draft tender responses and provide feedback to ensure they meet compliance requirements and align with best practices.
- Set Personal Development Goals: During one-on-one consultations, help participants set personal development goals for improving their bid writing skills and create an action plan to work toward those goals.
These consultations provide an opportunity to work closely with participants and give them the confidence to improve their skills and knowledge over time.
4. Ongoing Resources for Continuous Improvement
Training should not be seen as a one-time event; instead, it should be part of an ongoing process of learning and improvement. To support this, continue providing the following ongoing resources to ensure participants maintain and enhance their tender writing skills:
➤ Regular Knowledge Sharing Sessions
Host regular knowledge sharing sessions where team members can come together to discuss new bid opportunities, share successful approaches, and learn from one another. These sessions can be informal and may include:
- Bid review meetings, where participants can discuss challenges they’ve encountered and share solutions.
- Best practice sharing from recent bids or tender submissions.
This fosters a collaborative learning environment and reinforces the importance of continuous improvement.
➤ Access to Online Learning Platforms
If available, provide access to online learning platforms that offer additional resources, such as video tutorials, webinars, and articles on tender writing and bidding processes. These platforms can be a valuable tool for reinforcing and expanding on the knowledge gained during the training.
➤ Bid Writing Community or Forum
Create a bid writing community or forum where team members can post questions, share resources, and discuss tender-related challenges. This can be a Slack channel, Microsoft Teams, or internal knowledge base. Encouraging ongoing communication ensures that employees feel supported and have a space to continue learning and growing in their roles.
5. Continuous Evaluation and Feedback
Follow-up support also includes gathering feedback after additional workshops or one-on-one consultations to ensure participants are still progressing and that the support provided is effective.
- Collect Feedback: After workshops and consultations, send a brief survey or feedback form to gauge whether the session met the participant’s needs and whether they feel more confident in their bid writing.
- Track Progress: Over time, track improvements in the quality of tender submissions and other key performance indicators (KPIs), such as win rates or compliance success.
This helps ensure that follow-up efforts are having a tangible, positive impact on bid outcomes.
Conclusion
Post-training evaluation and support are vital for ensuring that the lessons learned in SayPro Monthly January SCMR-1: SayPro Quarterly Bid and Tender Training are effectively applied in real-world tender situations. By providing follow-up resources, offering additional workshops, and hosting one-on-one consultations, you ensure that participants continue to improve their skills and deliver high-quality, compliant, and competitive tender submissions. The ongoing support helps bridge the gap between training and practice, ultimately leading to better outcomes for SayPro in the competitive tendering landscape.
Leave a Reply