As a small business Tenet Education Services employs 35 people and as part of a similar sized charity, Crescent Purchasing Limited, the whole group has less than 80 employees located nationwide. With a membership of over
7000 institutions, the current situation has reinforced our belief that customer care and communication with our existing and potential customers is vital for three reasons:
Home working offers so many distractions at the best of time, but it is made even more difficult when the sun is shining, other members of the family may not be working, the fridge is fully stocked and for some of our employees, there are one or more children running around the home.
Our employees have demonstrated their professionalism by continuing to meet customer deadlines, hosting video calls with customers to keep them updated (thankfully on Microsoft Teams you can select a background to hide away the pile of ironing that is mounting up) and regardless of the distractions the team have continued to deliver their contracted hours.
Granted, as a business we have allowed our employees to work more flexibly and some have opted to change working patterns to allow them to manage a work-life balance, but overall I couldn’t be more proud of the way the team has adapted to home working and still deliver results. It will be interesting when the time comes to all return back to the office. Will people be glad to return to normality of will normality have become working from home?
Prior to the lockdown our business was trying out Microsoft Teams. The early adopters were trying to convert the laggards and I think its fair to say we had more laggards than early adopters. Overnight we were homeworkers for the unforeseeable future and we all became were Microsoft Teams converts. How did we ever manage with it? Collaboration across our team has become so easy with the software. Making a mobile phone call has become old-skool. Why have a face-less conversation when you can simply click and have a personal video call? Why send a document via email and await a response when you can share the document during a call and collaborate on changes by exchanging control? Why travel for hours for meeting when a video call has become so natural? Will we continue to use the benefits of the software after lockdown? I’m certain we will because it has proven to deliver efficiencies to the way we work.
Our team is our biggest asset and looking after their needs and being people orientated, especially during this time, is of paramount importance. Employees with childcare responsibilities have been allowed to work flexible hours to make home life less stressful. Our HR team has produced excellent content, which sits on our Group Intranet site and covers a wide range of resources around mindfulness and resilience. Our colleague Smita, even took time to take a video of herself meditating and encouraged team members to join her and invest in their own wellbeing.
One of the businesses key strengths is the support that the team gives to each other. The adoption of Microsoft Teams has allowed for multiple chat forums to be set-up to promote communication and it is working well, with lots of constructive interaction from all. On a social level we have also established a Thursday lunchtime quiz for everyone across the Group. Two employees have volunteered to produce the quiz and it’s become the weekly social event for those who are very competitive and those who don’t mind embarrassing themselves with their lack of general knowledge (myself included).
Well for one thing we know we live our Group values, which are to be customer focused, professional, collaborative, people orientated and supportive. We have embraced new technologies and will continue to maximise the benefits. Most of all we have reinforced our belief that we are stronger together and between us we can deliver an exceptional service to our customers and members regardless of the circumstances we are presented with.
I joined Tenet in 2009 having previously worked in an FE College as a Procurement Manager. My new role with Tenet allowed me to grow as a Procurement Professional and share my knowledge with many other education establishments.
I joined as a Procurement Manager with responsibility for line managing a small team who were supporting our managed procurement customers in the North of England. The quantity of customers expanded as did the team, and with this came the opportunity to take on a Directors position. Working alongside the Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director, and two other Operations Directors I became a Board member.
In 2016 the Managing Director took the decision to semi-retire and I was appointed into the role of Managing Director.
Changing jobs is always a gamble and the move to Tenet has proven to have been an excellent career choice for me. I am part of an energetic, pro-active team where everyone’s contribution matters. I am part of a supportive and professional Group Leadership Team, and I am part of a business that is people orientated and focused of delivering the excellent customer service. I consider it a privilege to be part of the Tenet team and the wider CPL Group.
I began my career with Tenet Education Services in December 2018 as a full time Procurement Consultant as a part of Tenet’s On Demand Team based in the South East. However, I already had a really good knowledge and understanding of both Tenet as a company and its employees through my previous role at Tenet’s sister company Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) where I contract managed the IT frameworks for 2 years.
As a part of Tenet’s On Demand Team, I manage a variety of one off tender projects for our customers. These can be for any requirements the customer may have, for example Building Cleaning Services, to Mechanical & Electrical Maintenance Services, IT tenders etc. Also, using a variety of different procurement processes to provide the customer with an excellent finished contract at the end of the process, for example, running full OJEU restricted or open tender, further competitions using frameworks etc. I manage the customer’s tender process for them from start to finish, from collating requirements and building tender documents, to holding site visits and presentations to evaluating supplier responses and issuing formal feedback letters to suppliers.
My role is home based with travel to different customer locations in the local area depending on the project I am working on. I really enjoy this part of my job and having the opportunity to visit customers face to face to discuss their requirements. Also, despite being home based, colleagues are always at the end of a phone or email if you have any questions or need some advice! I also really enjoy having the opportunity to work on a variety of tender projects for an array of customer requirements. I feel this has greatly helped in developing both my procurement knowledge and knowledge of Education sector contracts.
I’m currently studying to achieve my CIPS Qualifications and I am in the final year of my studies which I hope to complete next year. Tenet have been great and really supportive throughout my studies, helping to fund the course costs which has enabled me to further develop and build on my procurement knowledge and expertise. Both Tenet and CPC have fully supported me throughout the last two years whilst I have been studying, allowing time out of the business to take exams etc.
I really enjoy my role as Procurement Consultant for Tenet Education Services and the variety and flexibility that working as part of the On Demand Team offers. I look forward to continuing to develop my knowledge and skills both through CIPS training and through working as a part of the On Demand Team!
I have recently joined Tenet as a Procurement Consultant, a role which supports my work/life balance requirements, working three days per week. I could tell at interview that Tenet would be a great company to join – not only from interaction with the MD and my potential line manager, but also from the warmth of the welcome through the door from those who are now my colleagues both within Tenet and within our sister organisation Crescent Purchasing Consortium. I had no doubts in accepting the offer when it came through and the support that I received from HR colleagues in the weeks before I actually started only reinforced the feeling that I had made the right decision!
As a Procurement Consultant, I support a FE College and a HE college – both located in the Greater Manchester area, in a role that really plays to my strengths. The role builds on all of the elements of procurement skills that I have developed both as a Procurement Officer and as a Category Manager in previous roles, blending these traits with business improvement techniques and customer service skills that I have honed during my 30+ years in private practice and within the public sector.
Secondments into client organisations are nothing new to me and working in the colleges that I support is a wonderful way to raise my profile within their organisations and make myself available to them, which is key to the success of providing consultancy support to our client base. Like many Tenet colleagues, I am the go-to Tenet person within the colleges that I support and I sit at the heart of their procurement decision making functions. This does not leave me isolated from Tenet, and I am in regular touch with my manager. I am also part of a wide network of colleagues who share ideas and support each other from locations across the UK. This, coupled with the central resources we have at our fingertips makes me feel both supported and empowered at the same time.
A typical day will see me reviewing organisational spend, advising budget holders on aspects of procurement technique, managing procurement processes, developing potential for collaboration, feeding back into wider organisational frameworks development and generally reacting to what comes through the door. I am at my desk three days a week, so diary management and communication is key to ensuring that my clients are supported across the entire week. I am not alone in this style of working and many of my colleagues have work patterns that span 2, 3, 4 and 5 days each week. This gives our customers the flexibility they need for their procurement activity support and the mix of days that I and my colleagues work ensures that there is always a Tenet presence when our clients need it.
I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity of joining the Tenet team and look forward to continuing to develop as a chartered procurement and supply specialist in such a friendly, supportive and professional environment.