How Automation Can Help You Find Your Best Team For Your Next Bid Or Proposal
When an RFP lands on your desk, your firm’s success depends on one key thing: your team. Clients don’t just buy your services—they buy the expertise behind them. But how do you know who your “best team” actually is?
In most firms, employee data is hard to track, let alone search. Skills might be buried in old Word docs or outdated CVs. People move, change roles, gain new expertise—and keeping up with it all is next to impossible if you're relying on static resumes or spreadsheets.
This is exactly where AI and automation software can make all the difference. With Flowcase, professional services firms can turn messy, outdated data into a searchable, dynamic talent database, helping proposal teams find the right people, fast.
Let’s explore how:
Creating a Structured Employee Database
For proposal teams to quickly find the best people for each RFP, employee data needs to be structured and easy to search. But that’s a big challenge in itself. Every employee resume looks different; they use different structures, they describe similar experiences using different terminology, and of course, their achievements are always evolving.
Flowcase helps to manage this chaos by structuring data in a standardized format, with consistent sections, and enforced terminology - making it easy to understand and search across.
To streamline this process, the tool incorporates a number of AI and automation features:
AI Data Import
Instead of relying on manual input, Flowcase uses AI to extract resume data from Word documents, PDFs, and even LinkedIn profiles and parse it into the platform. With a single upload, the system automatically maps details into structured sections, including:
- Personal Statements / Statement of Qualifications
- Project experiences
- Skills and roles
- Certifications and education
- Employment history
This means employees don’t have to start from scratch, and bid teams get structured data that’s consistent across all employees.
See it in action here:
AI Skill Suggestions
Flowcase then uses automation to analyze each employee’s project experience and suggest relevant skills based on your firm’s approved masterdata list. This:
- Improves consistency across profiles
- Surfaces missing but important skills
- Makes profiles more complete and searchable
Automated Experience Tracking
Flowcase also automatically tracks how long someone has worked with a particular skill or in a certain role based on their project experiences. This takes away the guesswork and means no more chasing employees for updates every year.
Linked Project & Resume Data
One of Flowcase’s most powerful automations is linking employee profiles with your firm’s project database. Information entered at the project level—such as scope, location, or client—can flow directly into individuals profiles. This keeps everything consistent across employees who worked on the project, and removes the need for repetitive data entry.
See how all of the above works in this short interative demo:
Use Smart Search To Find Your Best Consultants For Each RFP
Once you’ve built your talent database, the real magic happens in search. Flowcase allows proposal teams to slice and dice internal expertise with incredible precision.
You might be looking for a transportation engineer, who is fluent in Spanish, and certified in BIM. Or maybe you need someone who’s worked on Hospital constructions, lives in North America, and has a track record with public sector clients. With Flowcase, you can search across skills, certifications, industries, project types, languages, and more—all in seconds.
You can then use years of experience or competency level filters to further narrow your searches. For example, a requirement on the RFP might include a minimum of 7 years of Project Management experience. With Flowcase you can easily toggle this skillset while combining with other attributes.
You can also use OR searches to cast a wider net, in case the skills and experiences aren’t set in stone. In other words, searches can be as broad or as narrow as you need - whether you’re building a shortlist or finalizing a proposal.
This kind of search automation doesn’t just save time—it gives you a strategic edge. You’re not guessing who might be a good fit. You’re basing your proposal on real, up-to-date data, surfaced instantly.
Use AI To Discover Similar Profiles
Even when you find a strong candidate, it’s worth knowing who else in your firm offers similar expertise. That’s the idea behind Flowcase’s AI-powered Similar Profiles feature.
Flowcase analyzes your database and uncovers people with overlapping skills and role experiences. This tool is especially useful for:
- Finding a replacement consultant when your first choice is unavailable
- Building deeper teams for large or phased RFPs
- Identifying additional candidates with complementary experience
- Reducing reliance on the same go-to staff
- Creating bench strength in case of future demand
From Discovery to Proposal in Minutes
Once your team is selected, Flowcase makes it easy to tailor resumes for the RFP and export them in the right format. You can:
- Tailor resumes using a drag-and-drop editor, without changing the master profile
- Easily create branded or bid-specific templates to download content into
- Export everything in just a few clicks, without the formatting headaches
Because everything is connected and structured, you don’t lose time reworking bios or checking for consistencies. Instead, you go straight from AI-powered discovery to client-ready resumes—fast.
RFP Team Building, Powered by AI and Automation
Flowcase helps you build a repeatable, streamlined process for finding your best people—removing the guesswork from team selection. With the power of AI and automation, proposal teams can move faster, make smarter decisions, and respond to every RFP with confidence.
To learn more, book a personalized demo today.
FAQs
How do I choose the right team for an RFP?
Start by identifying the skills, experience, and certifications required in the RFP. Then use a centralized, searchable database like Flowcase to filter candidates based on those criteria. AI tools can help surface the most relevant team members quickly and reduce reliance on manual review.
What tools help you find the best team for a proposal?
Proposal management platforms like Flowcase use AI and automation to import resumes, suggest relevant skills, calculate years of experience, and search across your firm’s talent pool. This makes it easier to build high-quality proposal teams efficiently.
How can AI help with RFP team selection?
AI helps by analyzing resumes, tagging relevant skills, and recommending similar profiles based on experience and project history. It speeds up the process of discovering qualified team members and ensures decisions are based on accurate, up-to-date data.
What’s the best way to organize resumes for RFP responses?
The best approach is to create a structured database where resumes are linked to project data and regularly updated. Automation tools like Flowcase allow you to maintain consistency, reduce formatting time, and tailor resumes for each RFP using custom templates.
How do I find similar candidates if my top choice isn’t available?
Flowcase’s Similar Profiles feature uses AI to surface employees with overlapping skills and experience. It helps proposal teams identify strong alternatives quickly and ensures continuity in your submissions, even when first-choice team members aren’t available.
Can automation reduce the time it takes to prepare resumes for an RFP?
Yes. Automation speeds up every step—from importing and updating resumes to tailoring and exporting them in client-ready formats. Proposal teams using tools like Flowcase can prepare high-quality submissions in a fraction of the time.
