CASE STUDY: FUNDED BID ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
Growth facilitators seek tender training program with specific attributes
Funded by the Australian Federal Government, a long-standing support program facilitates a range of initiatives to improve the productivity and competitiveness of small to medium enterprises across Australia.
Tasked with the strategic imperative of improving the performance of Australian regional and Indigenous owned businesses, the program Growth Facilitators identified tender response capability training as a key enabler.
Like many others, regional and Indigenous owned businesses are experiencing ever greater complexity in the Requests for Tenders (RFTs) being released to market and have little opportunity to master the skills required to submit competitive tender responses.
In seeking a training delivery partner, program Growth Facilitator priorities were to remove barriers to participation and ensure lasting outcomes for the participating businesses. They required a solution that:
- moved beyond the usual short-form workshop formats
- met the practical tendering needs of those at the bidding coalface
- was relevant to a wide range of industries
- enabled participation from almost anywhere in Australia.
After conducting due diligence on a range of tender training options, the program Growth Facilitators opted for Bid Academy’s Bid Accelerator, funding two exclusive programs attended by 12 individuals selected from regional or Indigenous businesses across Australia.
Diverse participants value program format
Participants on both programs represented a broad range of industries and held a variety of roles, including business development manager, bid coordinator, estimator and general business manager.
Despite the diversity of their roles, most participants held functional tendering responsibilities within their organisations, either as a specialist or with tendering being a regular activity conducted among other responsibilities. As such, they were keen to validate their current knowledge and beliefs, while learning practical ways to improve their overall bidding capabilities and success rates.
Delivered over 12 weeks, the program is sequentially structured, covering the pre-bid positioning, proposal writing and presentation stages of a typical tendering lifecycle. Weekly modules are delivered using a combination of live, interactive sessions coupled with self-guided learning videos and exercises – a structure that resonated well with participants.
Graduates provide glowing reviews
Feedback surveys conducted at the conclusion of both programs identified a number of common elements which the participants found to be particularly valuable:
1. Flexible delivery helps with busy calendars
Generally time-poor, participants found that the combination of live delivery and self-access learning elements provided them with the flexibility to engage at a time that suited them best. Feedback also confirmed 100% of respondents preferred the blend of two delivery models rather than a reliance on a singular approach.
2. Live sessions facilitate community learning
Attendees also saw immense value in having the opportunity to share knowledge and discuss practical solutions to common challenges in a supportive, collegial, facilitator-guided environment.
3. Access to highly-experienced industry professionals
Another theme highlighted by graduates was the value of having live, weekly access to two of Australia’s leading bidding professionals.
4. Longer format creates greater impact
The time-poor nature of the modern workplace has seen an increase in shorter format professional training options. However, participant feedback shows that the 12-week Bid Accelerator program was more transformative, providing adequate time for reflection, interaction and application – a fact supported by academic research into the effectiveness of training program lengths.
The value of a sustained outcomes approach
Participant feedback from both programs was extremely positive. 100% of respondents rated the coaches’ knowledge a 5 out of 5, with 80% stating that the program delivered more than they expected.
This feedback confirmed the Growth Facilitators’ faith that the unique design and delivery of the Bid Accelerator program would deliver on objectives, making it a valuable training solution for their client organisations.
To learn more about our Bid Accelerator program, who it’s for, what you’ll get out of it, and how it can shorten your path to tendering success, click here.
