A firm that sells to government wins work through tenders, staffs it with named people and waits long for payment. Because people are named in the bid, losing one expert mid-contract is a commercial problem, so retention and cover need planning early.
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Share your requirementsA government contracting firm bids for work from departments, public bodies and public-sector undertakings, then delivers consulting, technology, supply or project services. Tenders often require named key personnel with specified qualifications and experience, so who is on the team matters for winning as well as for delivering. Once a contract is awarded, the firm staffs a project office, often in another city, for the term of the contract. Payments follow milestones and approvals that can take months, which strains the firm's cash and its ability to pay people on time. Contracts end, and the team has to be redeployed or released. See also HR for professional services.
Who does the work
Key personnel are named in the bid
A person named in a tender who then leaves can put the contract at risk, and replacements must meet the same stated criteria.
Payment delays hit wages
Government payment cycles are long and uncertain, but salaries fall due every month regardless.
Project teams sit away from the office
People posted to project offices in other cities feel cut off from the firm and from career prospects.
Bid teams work in bursts
Tender deadlines bring intense weeks of document work, followed by slack periods when wins are uncertain.
Contracts end and teams dissolve
When a project closes, staff are either moved to another contract or released, and the firm has no clear policy for which.
Credentials must be kept ready
Degrees, experience letters and certificates of every named expert have to be current, complete and easy to produce at short notice.
Keep a ready credentials file per person
A standard employee file with qualifications, experience letters and certificates kept current and quickly retrievable. The employee information management work covers it.
Plan the bench and the pipeline together
A view of which contracts end when, who becomes free and which bids need them, so people move from project to project instead of leaving. The workforce planning work supports it.
Protect key personnel
Retention arrangements and a named backup for each critical expert, agreed before the bid goes in.
Design a posting policy for outstation staff
Allowances, travel home, review points and a route back, so a project posting is seen as a step and not a parking place.
Guard wages against client delay
A rule that salaries are paid on the fixed date, with the firm's own cash plan covering the gap. The payroll process management work keeps the cycle steady.
Confirm with a qualified professional. What applies to you depends on your business, your state and your arrangements, and it changes. This page describes practice. It does not state a legal position.
Complete, current records for every named expert, ready for the next bid or audit.
A forward plan that links contract end dates, bench time and bid pipeline.
A steady wage cycle that does not depend on when the client pays.
Retention arrangements for key people and outstation staff, based on where you lose them.
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From the GullyHR blog: one on HR in professional services, and one on each of the topics this page points to.
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Be open about the posting terms and the next step, review pay at agreed points and arrange backup. People stay when they know what comes after the project.
Decide earlier which people will move to the next contract and tell them. Leaving it to the last week leads to avoidable exits.
Treat wages as fixed and plan cash for the gap. Late salary quickly costs more in lost trust than a short bridge costs in money.
Clear allowances, scheduled travel home, regular contact with the head office and a route back. Isolation is the usual cause of exits.
Spread tender work, start earlier, reuse standard content and give time back after each submission. The weeks before a deadline are the worst time for improvisation.
Bring the live contracts and the key experts named in each bid. We would ask who could replace each one, how complete their credentials files are, and what happens to a project team when its contract ends. A ready credentials file for every person, or a posting policy for outstation staff, is a practical place to begin. Scope is then agreed in writing.
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