Finding staffing and temporary-help tenders in Canada

What is a staffing tender?

Public bodies must advertise many of their purchases. When one needs temporary help, contract staff or a recruitment service, it publishes a notice describing the need, the rules for bidding and a closing date. Suppliers respond with a bid, and the buyer awards the contract under the rules it published.

Where are Canadian staffing tenders published?

• Federal: CanadaBuys (canadabuys.canada.ca), the Government of Canada's tender site.
• Provinces: each has its own portal — for example Alberta Purchasing Connection, BC Bid and the Ontario Tenders Portal.
• Cities, health authorities, universities and school boards: on their own sites, or on services such as MERX, Biddingo and bids&tenders.

Portals change, so confirm each buyer's current rules on its own site before relying on a list like this one.

How do you read a notice quickly?

• Closing date and time: late bids are rejected.
• Who may bid: some notices are open to any supplier; others are only for firms already pre-qualified on a standing offer or supply arrangement.
• Mandatory requirements: miss one and the bid is out, however good the rest is.
• Security requirements: some federal work requires your organization to hold a security clearance under the Contract Security Program, and the people you place to be screened.
• Pricing: how rates are evaluated, and for how long you are held to them.

How do you get set up to bid?

• Register as a supplier on each portal you care about. Registration on CanadaBuys is free, and you'll need a Canada Revenue Agency business number before a federal contract can be awarded to you.
• Set up notice alerts for the categories you serve — temporary help, staffing, recruitment services — so new opportunities reach your inbox instead of relying on you to search.
• Keep a bid folder ready: insurance certificates, your standard rates, references, workers' compensation standing, and short profiles of the recruiters who would run the account.
• Watch for the next round of pre-qualification. Many recurring staffing needs are bought through standing offers or supply arrangements that only open to new suppliers from time to time.

How do you decide whether to bid?

Bid when the roles are squarely in your niche and territory, you can meet every mandatory requirement, and you can actually staff the work at the rates you would be held to. A lost bid costs days; a won contract you cannot fill costs your reputation with that buyer.

Why are tender awards a signal even when you do not bid?

When a private company wins a public contract, it has to find the people to deliver it, often on a fixed start date. Many buyers publish award notices — CanadaBuys does for many federal contracts, and provincial portals often post results — that tell you who won and what they must deliver. Calling the winner to offer help staffing the work is one of the clearest ways to reach a client before the jobs are posted — it is the contract-win signal in the seven hiring signals.

Where ReadyReq fits

ReadyReq shows open staffing and temporary-help tenders from Canadian federal procurement data today, each with its closing date when the notice gives one and a link to the notice when one is available. Its scans also flag contract and tender wins as a hiring signal.

More guides

• How recruiting agencies find new clients before the job is posted
• Seven hiring signals that tell a recruiting agency a company needs help
• Reposted and aging job postings: why they are a staffing agency's warmest leads
• How to write a recruiting business-development email that gets a reply