Customers get involved in procurement process

Four customers were selected to play an integral role in the procurement process to select our new grounds maintenance contractor.

The customer evaluation panel drafted a question to be asked of potential providers and scored their responses.

The panel asked potential providers to summarise how they’d ensure all aspects of the specification would be met, to confirm the timescales between visits, explain how they’d communicate with customers and how they’d be flexible in their approach to the contract.

They also requested information about how the contractors would monitor the standard of work of their employees.

One of the customers, Malcolm Fielder, was also able to take part in the interview stage of the selection of our new contractor.

Malcolm said: “Customer involvement is a right and not a privilege, but I’m pleased I was able to be part of the whole process.

“Our involvement as customers gives us an input and a way of expressing our thoughts and opinions. Being able to speak into the process was a valuable experience as I could ask contractors questions, get answers back and draw out more details.

“This has helped to improve the quality of their engagement with customers, but also the environment in which they’ll be working.

“It was a good thing to get involved in and to have the privilege of meeting with the potential contractors was a nice experience.

“It was worthwhile being involved and being able to have a positive influence on the outcome. Customer involvement is useful so that we can feed into decisions, have our voice heard and ensure there’s added value in whatever is being decided.”

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