Seriously, you could have knocked me over with a feather! Catherine Kennedy, the Manager of the people2people Western Sydney team and a Director of people2people and I, had just finished making a presentation to a major multinational attempting to become a preferred supplier for recruitment services. Before the presentation, we had put together a proposal based on an Request for Information (RFI) we had received and we were curious that there was no request for rates. When we were invited to then present to the procurement, finance and HR team, we were as equally surprised that there was still no request for rates.

Fast forward to the end of the presentation and we (unusually) asked our audience whether they had any expectations regarding rates. The answer we received was very refreshing. Let me see if I can paraphrase it accurately;

“We deliberately excluded any reference to rates during this part of the process. In the past there was some internal criticism that procurement was driving the process and price was paramount without giving enough consideration to the operational needs and opinions of the business. Instead we are making our selections first, based on service offering and then procurement can talk about price.”

WOW!

I know that this is not entirely unusual but in recent years our experience at people2people has not been like this.

The kicker to this situation is, however, if we are successful, that procurement will then enter rate negotiations. To know, however, that the decision was made not around price, but on the service we can provide, means that the decision will be well considered and well founded.

A refreshing change.