Security & Cleaning Service Tenders: Facilities Management Best Practices

Introduction

Security and cleaning services are core to facilities management. Tenders for these services set the tone for quality, risk mitigation, cost control and stakeholder satisfaction across your estate. Whether you are procuring a single-site contract or a multi-site national agreement, a well-structured tender reduces operational disruption and delivers better value.

Why Tendering Matters for Security & Cleaning

Tendering creates a transparent, competitive environment where suppliers demonstrate capability, compliance and value. For security and cleaning services, tenders also help you:

• Define clear scopes of work and standards
• Mitigate safety and regulatory risks
• Set measurable service-level agreements (SLAs) and KPIs
• Foster innovation (technology, sustainability, workforce models)
• Control costs through lifecycle and performance-based pricing

Key Components of a Successful Tender

A thorough tender document balances clarity and flexibility. Include these essential sections:

• Scope of Work: Detailed tasks, frequencies, site maps, access restrictions and out-of-hours requirements.
• Performance Standards: Cleaning grades, security response times, incident escalation and reporting formats.
• Health & Safety and Compliance: Training, PPE, DBS checks (where relevant), COSHH, permits and statutory compliance clauses.
• Staffing and Training: Minimum staffing levels, role descriptions, supervision, induction and ongoing training requirements.
• KPIs and Reporting: Metrics, reporting cadence, data formats and remedies for underperformance.
• Pricing and Payment: Clear pricing schedule (core services, optional extras, uplift mechanics), invoicing and payment terms.
• Contract Duration and Exit: Term length, break clauses, handover obligations and TUPE considerations if staff transfer is involved.
• Sustainability & Social Value: Waste reduction, chemicals policy, local hiring, apprenticeships and diversity targets.

Preparing a Competitive Bid: Practical Steps

1. Understand the Site: Conduct site surveys, stakeholder interviews and risk assessments to accurately define requirements.
2. Standardize the Specification: Use clear, measurable specifications to allow apples-to-apples comparisons between bidders.
3. Provide Evaluation Criteria: Publish weightings for price, technical capability, quality, social value and risk management so suppliers can tailor submissions.
4. Encourage Clarifications: Hold a bidders’ briefing and publish Q&A to ensure consistency.
5. Include Real-World Scenarios: Ask for method statements and transition plans for peak events, incidents or turnover.

Pricing Strategies and Cost Control

Price remains critical but should be balanced with performance and risk transfer:

• Lifecycle Costing: Consider total cost — consumables, waste disposal, management overheads and technology investments.
• Performance-Based Elements: Link part of payment to KPI achievement to incentivize consistent quality.
• Transparent Unit Rates: Publish unit rates for ad-hoc tasks and variations to avoid disputes later.
• Bundling vs Unbundling: Decide whether to bundle security and cleaning (one supplier) or split them (specialist providers). Bundling can simplify management; unbundling may deliver specialist excellence.

Evaluation Criteria: What to Look For

When scoring bids, evaluate across technical, commercial and cultural fit:

• Compliance & Certification: ISO standards, licences, DBS checks, insurance levels and regulatory history.
• Operational Capability: Roster planning, supervisory ratios, training regimes and contingency planning.
• Track Record: Case studies, references, performance history and financial stability.
• Innovation & Technology: Cleaning chemicals, mechanised cleaning, access control, CCTV analytics or mobile workforce apps.
• Price & Value: Competitive costing plus measurable value-adds such as energy savings or reduced waste.
• Social Value: Local employment, apprenticeships, supplier diversity and carbon reduction commitments.

Sample KPIs for Security & Cleaning

• Cleaning: % of completed cleans to standard, response time for spill cleanup, frequency of deep cleans, customer satisfaction score.
• Security: Incident response time, number of security breaches, access control failures, patrol completion rate.
• Both: Reporting accuracy, timesheet compliance, training completion rate and near-miss/incident reporting rates.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Vague specifications that lead to inconsistent bids.
• Overemphasis on lowest price rather than total value and risk transfer.
• Ignoring TUPE, labour law or staff engagement issues when contracts change hands.
• Failing to plan for transition and mobilisation — the handover period is when service failures often occur.
• Lack of measurable KPIs or unclear remedies for poor performance.

Post-Award: Mobilisation and Contract Management

A successful procurement doesn’t end at award. Focus on:

• Robust Mobilisation Plan: Detailed timelines, responsibilities, training schedules and communication plans with stakeholders and staff.
• Performance Governance: Regular review meetings, dashboard reporting and corrective action plans.
• Continuous Improvement: Encourage supplier innovation, pilot new technologies and review KPIs periodically to drive improvement.
• Dispute & Change Mechanisms: Clear procedures for contract variations and dispute resolution.

Digital Tools and Templates

Use procurement platforms and templates to streamline processes and increase transparency:

• eTender portals for document distribution and Q&A management
• Scorecard templates for weighted evaluations
• Mobile apps for real-time inspection, cleaning checklists and incident reporting
• Dashboards for KPI tracking and supplier performance

Conclusion

Tendering security and cleaning services in facilities management requires a balance of precision, fairness and forward-thinking. Clear specifications, robust evaluation criteria, balanced pricing models and a strong focus on mobilisation and contract management produce better outcomes for stakeholders, occupants and the bottom line. By building performance metrics, compliance checks and innovation incentives into your tender, you’ll secure a supplier relationship that delivers reliably and improves over time.

Quick Checklist Before Issuing Your Tender

• Completed site surveys and stakeholder input
• Clear scope and measurable KPIs
• Published evaluation criteria and weightings
• Defined pricing format and variation rules
• Mobilisation and exit plans included

If you need a tender template or an evaluation scorecard tailored to your portfolio, contact a procurement specialist or use a standardised eTender platform to get started.