Executive Compass’s 2023 – Our Year in Review

Once again, 2023 has seen a year of high-quality writing and successful submissions for Executive Compass and our bid writing team. As the year comes to a close, we summarise some of our key achievements and plans for 2024.

Promotions, achievements and expansion

To ensure our business evolves to meet the demand for our various bid and tender services, several members of the team were awarded promotions and appointed new roles this year in recognition of their diligence, work ethic and commitment to excellence.

• Victoria Hughes was appointed to the role of Quality Reviewer, providing feedback, suggestions and enhancements for improving tender responses, in addition to supporting our client review service.
• Lewis Day was promoted to Senior Bid Writer in recognition of his consistent high-quality bid writing and management support, helping clients to achieve critical contract wins across numerous industries and sectors.
• Adam McCabe was appointed as our Proposals Manager, promoted from his previous position of Senior Bid Writer, liaising with clients to understand their requirements and supporting the business’ wider sales and marketing function.
• Kate Hull joined Bid Manager Craig Sutch as our in-house bid managers, following a year-long secondment as Sales & Marketing Manager. Kate and Craig provide guidance, advice and bid management support to our team of tender writers, facilitating high-quality and winning submissions.

Our sales and marketing team have also been hard at work making wider connections in the bid and tender writing world. In collaboration with Tussell, Technical Director Matthew Walker filmed a series of podcasts around the public sector marketplace and doing business with the government, with the first released in November. The remaining podcasts will be released in 2024 – watch this space!

Lastly, in recognition of the increasing number of tenders and clients we support each year, we have appointed 10 new bid writers to our bid writing team, expanding our existing resource to 21 full-time, directly employed expert tender writers. The continuous success of our graduate programme means we are well-positioned to expand in the new year and beyond.

Success for our clients

In the year to date, we have completed 651 projects on behalf of 257 clients, including bid writing, reviewing and training services, successfully maintaining our 85% success rate. Thanks to the hard work from new and existing members of our bid writing team, we have also set new records for monthly and annual turnover, aligning with our long-term organisational strategy as a business.

Our support has enabled clients to achieve crucial contract wins and places on framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems, including:

• Crown Commercial Services: RM6184 offsite construction solutions
• Pagabo: National framework for mechanical and electrical solutions
• NHS: RM6333 workforce alliance recruitment services
• Optivo Housing Association: external and internal decorations with cleaning and repairs
• APUC Scotland: plumbing consumables and commercial heating products
• London Borough of Sutton: provision of home care flexible framework
• UK Infrastructure Bank: property agent services for UKIB assets
• L&Q Housing Association: provision of communal cleaning services
• Bernicia Group: framework for responsive repairs and void property works
• Home Group: gas servicing support framework
• Carmarthenshire Council: domiciliary care support services
• University of Cambridge: minor construction works framework.

What to look for in 2024

For 2024, we remain focused on staying at the forefront of a dynamic, constantly evolving industry – meaning that important and exciting changes are in store for our clients.

• We are working in partnership with procurement organisation NEPO as a delivery partner on their Supplier Partnership Programme. The agreement includes leading a series of bid writing masterclasses, in addition to drop-in surgeries where businesses interested in tendering can receive 1-to-1 consultative advice on all things public sector bidding.
• Led by Technical Director Matthew Walker and Quality Manager Stephen Murray, 2024 will also see an expansion to the scope of our bid training services, meeting increased demand from clients. This includes more bid consultancy services.
• The first quarter of 2024 will see the formal establishment of our dedicated Executive Compass Care division. This new division will enable us to continue to handle the number of existing clients who rely on us for support in addition to the volume of new enquiries we receive, supporting our long-term organisational strategy for growth.

Tendering Topics for 2024

In addition to the above, we will also be publishing a series of articles on how the Procurement Act 2023 will fundamentally change the public sector tender process, supplementing our original analysis in November. A watchful eye will also be kept on other developing public procurement practices, such as how the introduction of biodiversity net gain will be implemented and received, solidifying our position as thought leaders within the bid and tender writing sector.

Support with future opportunities

As we continue to expand and develop the scope of our bid and tender support in accordance with demand and the company’s growth, our commitment to ethics, excellence and accountability will remain the same. New and existing clients can be assured of our commitment to quality and extensive experience, evidenced by involvement in over 7,000 SQ, PQQ and ITT submissions, 85% success rate and UKAS-accredited ISO 9001:2015-certified quality management system.

If you would like to learn more about our services, our sales and marketing team are contactable via email info@executivecompass.co.uk or 0800 612 5563.