Unfortunately, the time is coming when some companies will have to lay off proposal personnel due to the sequestration. This is a difficult situation where economics just doesn’t provide another option. So companies do what they have to do to get through problem.
In this short article, we try to provide some guidance that may be helpful to proposal departments faced with the need to downsize their operations. The solution generally has these components:
- Decreasing the number of full-time personnel
- Taking a more careful look at selecting which programs to bid
- Finding a source of consultant personnel
Companies seeking a source of consultant support have two commonly used options:
- Hire independent consultants – This option is cheaper. However, many companies find it inconvenient, because they have to in effect become a proposal services agency. And this involves identifying and qualifying a cadre of talent that can be employed on an as needed basis.
- Selecting a proposal consultant agency
Following below are some of the factors a company would want to consider in selecting an agency:
- Does the consultant group have a corporate character and “feel” that is compatible with your company? These factors are hard to put in words but easy to sense in a personal meeting.
- Does the group have a demonstrated responsive service delivery capability? For example, can they deliver qualified consultants within your typical time frames?
- If your group does not have an efficient proposal process, can the consultant group provide a good process?
- Do they have a deep bench of talent in the labour categories you will use?
- Do they have a pricing scale that is compatible with your needs?
- Do they have a record of helping to win a lot of contracts?
In a best of all possible worlds there would be no need to downsize a proposal group. However, in the real world successful groups step up and do what they have to do.
