7 tips for writing successful office fit out tenders

[Last modified: July 2021]

Office fit out tenders are often published by businesses that are looking to upgrade their office workspace. They could be moving to a new building, or their current space might need a bit of a facelift. Office fit out tenders can be used to procure services to create a bespoke design to suit their needs. This could include:

• Office design including visualisation and finishes
• Electrical work
• Refurbishment
• Project specifications
• Works scheduling
• Office fit out implementation
• Contract management
• Contractor accreditation
• Project insurance
• Project program.

Businesses that specialise in office fit outs are qualified and often comprised of experienced interior designers, architects and engineers. Office fit out tenders can be competitive and particularly daunting if you’re new to the process. You want your company to stand out from your competitors when applying for any type of tender.

You should demonstrate your business’s capabilities and persuade the buyer that you’re the right company for the job. If you follow the seven tips below, you’ll be well on your way to winning your next office fit out tenders.

1. Include CV’s of your experienced team

Buyers want to know that their project will be in good hands and, more importantly, the capabilities of those hands. You should provide CV’s of your employees who will be carrying out the project. You should also provide the details of any subcontractors you will be using.

CV’s must demonstrate that the staff are experienced and provide a high quality of service. You want to keep them relevant, focused and concise while still being thorough. They should include their experience, ability and any relevant qualifications they may have. It never goes a miss adding a professional-looking yet friendly photo of each team member. It’s always nice for buyers to put a face to a name.

2. Provide evidence of a proven track record 

Evidence is always required when tendering for contracts, no matter the industry. Contractors want to be reassured that you know what you’re doing and that you’ve done it before. Within construction tendering, you’ll often be asked to provide up to three case studies from the last five years. These will need to be previous contracts that you have fulfilled similar in scope, complexity, scale and location where possible. 

You want to tailor each example to showcase your capabilities and coincide with a task that’s required for this contract. Depending on the word count, you could include how you overcame and unexpected challenges. This demonstrates your problem-solving skills and flexibility, all of which are crucial to the construction industry.

3. Have stellar testimonials on hand

Positive testimonials will always strengthen writing bids, and that’s no different for office fit out tenders. Provide a testimonial of previous happy and satisfied customers, it’ll reinforce the buyer’s trust in your company. Buyers will likely ask you to provide their contact details to fact check your claims.

4. Complete site visits

The chance to complete a site visit is frequently offered within the construction industry. Site visits give prospective suppliers to visit the site and environment which they will be working on, if successful. It will state in the tender documentation or specification if it is an option.

It’s strongly encouraged that you undertake a site visit where possible. They are a great opportunity to strengthen your response for office fit out tenders. Site visits allow you to see what you will be working with, with your own eyes. It provides the opportunity to gather new information that otherwise you wouldn’t have access to. They may help you achieve more accurate pricing, gain insight into the buyer and produce better quality responses.

5. Health and safety 

As with any construction tender, health and safety is absolutely crucial and it’s no different for office fit out tenders. You must adhere to and demonstrate your health and safety policies you have in place to carry out the contract. They must be in line with current UK government regulations. For example:

• CHAS
• RIDDOR
• CDM Regulations 2015
• The Health and Safety at Work Act.

6. Pay attention to social value

One thing you particularly don’t want to skip on, particularly when tendering in the public sector, is social value. Within government contracts, social value has a mandatory weighting of 10% as a minimum. The social value section should focus on the wider positive impact your business will provide when delivering the contract. They should be primarily focused on social, environmental, and economic aspects.

Buyer’s in the public sector want you to demonstrate that you’re committed to a sustainable future and practice. They want to see promises and pledges that you can actually keep. Some examples of social value policies you could include within your office fit out tenders are:

• Supporting COVID-19 recovery.
• The equal opportunity and diversity policies you implement.
• Manage and reduce waste.
• Creating new skills and jobs, tackling economic inequality.
• Pay your employees the National Living Wage.
• Community outreach projects.
• The use of materials with a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency.

7. Produce a high quality written response

The quality of your written response matters if you’re wondering how to win office fit out tenders. A high-quality written response can help you stand out from your competitors. Some helpful tips to keep in mind when writing your response are:

• Keep it clear and concise.
• Avoid unnecessary and overly technical jargon.
• Don’t allow the buyer to make any assumptions.
• Try and match the word and page counts as best as possible – they’re there for a reason.
• Be persuasive, not descriptive.

How can we help?

If you need additional support with the tendering process – we can help. We understand that writing isn’t everyones strong suit.

Our dedicated Hudson Succeed team boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. Whether you need a proofread on a response or have never tendered before, we offer four bid writing support packages.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect office fit out tender for your business, why don’t you send it over to us? Our Bid Writers will take a look at the specification and take care of the whole thing for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit the response on your behalf, leaving you with more time to focus on your business.

Tender Mentor

Do you need your office fit out tender response to be looked over by a fresh pair of eyes? Our Tender Mentor service can double-check your bid for any grammatical or spelling errors. Our Bid Writers will also check that it’s in line with specification before you submit.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is for businesses who have never tendered before. Our Bid Team will work with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully. It’s a 4-week programme that includes creating an organisation bid library and a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders.

Tender Improvement

Are you already tendering, but aren’t seeing the results you want? Our Tender Improvement package can help by going over your current responses and supporting documents for office fit out tenders. Our team will then give you feedback and advice on how to improve for future submissions.

Where can I find office fit out tenders?

Hudson Discover sources opportunities within the construction industry across a wide variety of subsections. It can take hours out of your workday trying to find the right office fit out tenders for your business. There are opportunities strewn across thousands of websites across the UK. Often, searching from CPV codes isn’t enough. They’re often mislabelled resulting in missed opportunities.

Luckily for you, they have a solution. Their Construction Tenders portal streamlines the tendering process saving you countless hours when tendering for work. Opportunity Trackers trawl through thousands of websites searching for construction leads and tender opportunities. You can filter the results by location, budget, keyword and more. This can help find the perfect office fit out tenders for your business requirements.

Below are previous office fit out tenders sourced on our portal:

Balbriggan Passport Office Fit Out (PPO3) – Fire & Security Engineering Consultancy

Office of Public Works (OPW)- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Office Fit Out Works for the Marine Institute

Marine Institute- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Office Fit Out Yr Egin

University of Wales Trinity Saint David- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

Office Fit Out for Ropewalks Community Centre, Heanor as Touchdown Point

Futures Housing Group Limited- Yorkshire and Humber- Budget: Undisclosed

Provision of a Supplier – Build Services for Office Fit Out

London & Partners Limited- London- Budget: Undisclosed

We source opportunities for services including;

• Electrical Tenders
• Building Works
• Joinery Tenders
• Architectural Tenders
• Refurbishment Tenders
• Brickwork Tenders
• Health & Safety Tenders
• Small Construction Tenders
• Civil Engineering Tenders
• Surveying Tenders
• Demolition Tenders
• Flooring Tenders
• Glass Tenders
• M&E
• Cost Consultancy
• Painting Contracts
• Decorating Tenders
• Masonry and many more.

Get in touch to book a live demo and find out how we can help your business grow.

Upgrade to Hudson Discover Elite

Upgrading to one of our two Discover Elite packages can save you even more time. They can help optimise your tendering opportunities, even when you’re busy. The Ultimate Time Saver and Become and Pre-Bid Master packages can improve your bidding competitor awareness and success rate.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers your business:

• An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Facilities, for example.
• Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.
• A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
• Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid
• Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package offers your business:

• All of the above.
• Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
• A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. Our Global Bid Director will manage this.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

• How to win a tender
• What is a Bid Writer?
• The tendering process
• Writing winning bids
• 7 tips for tendering for contracts
• Tips for bid management
• Bid writing services
• The types of tendering procedures
• Writing bids
• Bid writing consultants
• Submitting a tender response
• And many more.