ISBA

43 @the_isba Annual Conference 2021 ADVERTORIAL Likewise, the school’s leadership team has limited opportunity to engage with contractors and decide whether they’re a good fit. Across our industry, we are seeing a move away from this ‘transactional’ approach towards more collaborative contractor engagement to deliver successful, long-term partnerships. The ‘Vested’ model, developed over two decades at the University of Tennessee, has many of the features that define the collaborative approach: a focus on achieving well-defined and shared objectives, transparency and trust, and incentivising success. A McKinsey study¹ has also illustrated how organisations that collaborate with their suppliers achieve better outcomes than those that don’t. So how can a collaborative approach work in your school, when tendering or renegotiating a contract? Define your objectives. What matters most to your pupils? Does the catering team need development, do you need investment, or are you growing your commercial activities? Being frank about your requirements in a clear specification will help you shortlist only those that have the appetite and track record to deliver your goals. It can also help you decide whether a tender or outsourcing itself is actually the best solution. Experience suggests that some of the most successful contracts are those that grow out of an existing relationship, re-defined. If deciding to tender, narrow the field . Inviting all potential bidders to participate in the tender wastes your time and theirs. The catering industry is facing a resourcing crisis and companies are focusing their efforts on contracts where they see an opportunity for longer-term quality partnerships and growth. Shortlisting can be done informally by speaking with peers, inviting expressions of interest, or through a more structured pre- qualification response. Three contractors will provide sufficient competition and time for each to develop a compelling offer. Engage with each bidder. Allow each company to spend time at your school, on separate days if your requirements are complex, to see the services and meet with key stakeholders who will influence the decision. Selection should be continuous and dynamic, not a one-way process based on a glossy document or slick food presentation. Taking time to visit one of their reference schools is a great way to experience foodservices as they are, rather than off a hastily assembled presentation table! Invite detailed proposals from each bidder and offer a mid-bid feedback session. This engagement, or competitive dialogue, allows bidders to correct misunderstandings and refine their solutions so that their final offer is fit-for-purpose. To negotiate the contract with your preferred bidder , focus on defining, measuring and rewarding achievement of joint objectives, not penalising failure. These objectives may well develop in each year of the agreement, making the contract a dynamic tool to support the relationship, rather than just a stick that comes out the drawer when things go wrong. At Litmus, we believe a more collaborative approach to contracting could transform outsourcing in independent schools. To find out more, visit the Litmus team at Stand 91. Joe Parfitt , a partner and director at The Litmus Partnership, says that when outsourcing catering services, schools often adopt a conventional approach: contractor show-round, tender response and presentation. But although efficient, the process seldom affords companies enough time to really understand a school’s character and then tailor their bid. Collaborative contracting – a new approach for independent schools? Litmus provides catering and facilities management consultancy to independent schools with outsourced and in-house services and is an official licensed partner for Vested. ¹‘Taking supplier collaboration to the next level’, McKinsey,7th July 2020.