Applying the Results of the Audit

The audit will have little point unless its results are taken to heart and applied conscientiously to raise the standard of your bid documents. It is important to move the focus away from the particular bids examined in the audit to the broader canvas of your tendering activity overall. If you are a contractor working on your own, draw up a balance sheet of the points of strength and weakness in your bids, and think about how you can remedy any faults you have recognized. Firms can use audit results as the background for an internal workshop with the aim of developing an approach to bid improvement that people can accept as sensible and manageable. A half-day workshop might be sufficient to explore the issues: if it were extended to a full day, the programme could include a hands-on case study, offering an opportunity to demonstrate ways in which ideas on bid improvement can be put into practice.