In the various PCMP 210 classes I teach, many procurement and contract management learners have expressed an inexperience/lack of confidence in providing vendor debriefings. In these classes, I've started giving some additional tips to allay their fears and thought I'd share them here! (A future post will be the tips I give to vendors within a debriefing).
For buyers new to the concept of debriefings, these are essentially a vendor development opportunity to discuss proposal strengths and areas for improvement. Generally these are given to vendors who were unsuccessful on a bid opportunity, but even successful vendors wishing to improve the quality of proposals are requesting these sessions as well as a continuous improvement exercise!
If you have an opportunity, ask to observe a few debriefings. As with anything, the more you do it, the easier it is. Very few vendors are there to 'trip you up' (but that comes from how well your vendor relationships are to the supplier community at large)!
If you are afraid of releasing too much information - when in doubt, tell them you'll get back to them - just because they ask a question at the debriefing, doesn't mean you can't send them answers to their questions AFTER you speak to a Legal and/or Freedom of Information expert.
Read the guidebooks (if your organization has them) - In British Columbia, both the Ministry guide AND the supplier guides to the RFP process state how to manage the process, what can be released, etc (look at them BOTH so you know what the supplier is 'expecting').
As for 'templates' for debriefings, you can check with people who have done them as to what they use for debriefing letters (this goes out after a debriefing is requested with the time scheduled, what will be discussed, etc), and what they give out to the proponent at the meeting. Once you've done a few debriefings, you may develop your own templates. Generally, in my experience, what is given is just a few bullet points (highlights) of the strengths and areas for improvement, the proponent scores on the desirable criteria (ie the 4-5 items in the RFP), along with the TOTAL score from the winner.
Strategy - give the summary page AFTER discussing it with them, keep their focus on what you are saying, not on how they will argue something they see written on the page!
-Provide an overview of what will be discussed 'upfront' - my experience is to provide a verbal agenda that I will speak to how evaluations are done (so they understand the process); followed by the most common errors I've seen over the years (to generalize things so they don't take too much 'personally' when you start into their areas for improvement); followed by the specifics to their proposal. Give the vendor an opportunity to ask questions or comment on the process upfront and/or if they wish to ask questions during the debriefing. Some vendors would like to 'vent' upfront which then allows them to focus on your constructive criticism versus their holding back their frustrations and not hearing the opportunity for improvement.
Always end on a positive note, encourage them to respond to future competitions AND if they have other questions, tell them how to contact you!
1 comment:
PWGSC, the Ontario government and some others are using an automated web-based proposal solicitation, evaluation and ranking system which does away with the (sometimes acrimonious) vendor debriefings.
The system they use provides a comprehensive vendor report with all the information and details the vendor needs with regard to the comparative evaluation of the proposal.
The debriefing meeting is offered as an option but it is rare for a vendor to ask for one.
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