As a society, we are all becoming more aware of the need to consider how we make a difference in our communities through to our environmental impacts on the planet. Businesses are becoming socially led, where being responsible for how you operate and what you do matters and makes a difference. Whether this is in your bids or people buying from you directly, doing more good in the world is the way of doing business.
When writing tenders for your businesses, there’s a variety of things we consider which will help you stand out when the bid is submitted in respect of CSR and Social Value. This is particularly important if you are bidding into the public sector where the norm is becoming to see up to 10% of the contract value delivered as ‘social return on investment,’ equating to a monetary output based on the amount of time you spend doing good things.
See below for factors to consider.
Social Value in the Context of Bids
Why does social value matter?
Buyers (aka the client) have become savvier and want more value for the money they spend with your company. Giving back shows them you care about their problems at a local level and how you can support their communities.
It’s no longer enough to do a service well and have a good price – buyers and the end customer you work for want to know you help others; they like buying from and working with people with the ‘feel good factor’.
To help you get to grips, we’ve created our FREE social value guide, Win More Bids – Do More Good. It will help you successfully add social value in a meaningful way to win more bids whilst supporting your business growth.
Core areas to consider are:
Local Employment and Community Impact:
How much of your delivery team is local?
Will you make new jobs?
Will you hire apprentices?
Will you provide work experience?
Are you doing volunteering works and supporting your community?
Environmental Management and Sustainability:
Are you a carbon neutral business or have plans to reach this and how?
Can you support clients to help reduce their carbon footprint?
Do you maximise recycling and reduce your waste?
Do you volunteer on green activities in your community?
Lastly, it is crucial that whatever good work you do, that you take note of this, internally for record purposes but also to demonstrate your good work to clients. There are a range of tools you can use, such as TOMS (Themes, Outcomes and Measures framework) or the HACT (Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust) Social Value Calculator, that support this recording process.
What we do at Bid for Success
We run 2 initiatives to support smaller businesses to enter the world of tenders:
Our SME Scholarship
(2 days of free support donated each month to a new organisation)
Our SME Academy
(fully funded SME-specific bid training)
Need help on your Social value?
Are you ready to take the next step towards real success for your business? Do you want to gain focus on your bid strategy, so you win more and do less?
If you’re ready for Bid for Success to support you towards your vision of success, get in touch today.
