Communication · Facilities management
Facilities management tender: answering the helpdesk and reactive response question
Prepared by TenderChecker. Last reviewed 4 October 2026. General guidance only — every buyer's own instructions and criteria take priority.
Short answer
Walk through the life of a request: how it's raised, logged, prioritised, assigned, updated and closed.
Use the buyer's priority categories and response times where given, and say how performance is reported.
What the buyer might be asking
- How are requests raised and logged?
- How are priorities set?
- How will response times be met and reported?
Worked example (fictional)
Everything in this example — company, people and numbers — is invented for illustration.
Example question: Describe your helpdesk arrangements and how you will meet the reactive response times in the specification. (Max 600 words)
Fictional context: Fictional bidder: Meridian Support Services Ltd. Supplied fictional notes: helpdesk staffed 08:00–18:00; out-of-hours on-call manager; requests logged in a CAFM system.
Weak draft (fictional)
Our helpdesk provides a first-class service and all calls are dealt with promptly by our friendly team.
What the draft misses
- No hours, logging system or priorities.
- 'Promptly' doesn't match the buyer's response times.
A better version (using only the fictional facts above)
Requests can be raised [insert channels] and are logged in our CAFM system. The helpdesk is staffed 08:00–18:00, with an on-call manager out of hours. Each request is prioritised against the specification's categories [insert how]. [Insert how engineers are assigned and the requester updated.] Response performance is reported [insert frequency and format].
Bracketed text marks facts the bidder still needs to supply. Never fill these with invented figures.
Evidence checklist
- ☐ Hours and channels
- ☐ Logging system
- ☐ Priority mapping
- ☐ Out-of-hours cover
- ☐ Reporting
Common mistakes
- Inventing your own priority levels
- No out-of-hours route
- Ignoring reporting