Case Study - APMP UK
About APMP UK
APMP UK is the UK chapter of the Association of Bid Proposal Management Professionals, founded in 2001. Through association and education, the chapter provides members with access to tools, methods, processes, innovations, talent and specialised expertise that can directly improve the ability to acquire new business and to sustain growth and competitiveness.
Why a VA?
APMP sought our help in July 2017 as the organisation was growing fast and they were finding it increasingly difficult to complete the time-consuming tasks as their focus is on supporting and delivering the best service to their members. The administrative tasks are necessary to ensure the smooth running of the association, however they did not need to be carried out specifically by someone in-house who needs to remain focused on high-value member activities. So APMP came to Joanne Manville Virtual Assistance for help.
The team at APMP UK are all volunteers and so utilising their time correctly is truly important.
We spoke to Gareth Earle, Chapter Chair 2020, to get his thoughts on how working with Joanne Manville Virtual Assistance has benefitted their organisation.
Gareth said that there were (and are) several tasks that although necessary, could be done by a VA so the team at APMP UK were free to do the more meaningful work. Things like liaising, answering common member queries, setting up meetings, general organisational tasks as well as logistics and planning for future events were occupying a lot of their time.
“As a business, what Joanne and the team bring is a friendly support service that’s flexible to the needs of the company or individual which has been critical, particularly this year.”
“Working with Joanne and the team has certainly made my role easier in terms of freeing up headspace and time to focus on the important task of delivering the best that I can to the APMP UK members. The peace of mind is great, knowing we have the support and flexibility of services when we need them.”
The benefits
Over recent years, the organisation has grown rapidly and the focus for the team is delivering as much value to their members as possible, which takes time. The key benefit of working with JMVA has been that the APMP team have been able to use their time in the best way possible, as well as not having to concern themselves mentally with the administrative and organisational ‘to-dos’ that can get in the way of the work they do for all their members.
The knock-on effect for APMP of having to undertake these time-consuming tasks would be that they lose focus on their members and if they are not receiving the service they need, they would cease to be members. Having the team at JMVA to lean on has resolved this concern.
Adding value
Gareth also spoke of the friendliness and authenticity of the team, and the top-quality customer service APMP UK receive. The willingness to brainstorm, review and identify areas of need, make suggestions and give pragmatic advice are also key benefits of working with JMVA.
Why Us
The qualities that Joanne Manville Virtual Assistance have demonstrated to APMP has impressed Gareth during his time as Chair, in particular the flexibility of services provided, the open and transparent way in which JMVA operate, and the knowledge that any one of the Board can utilise JMVA when they need to. The benefit of having a team of VAs at their disposal was also mentioned as a bonus as they know that if they need something done, the skillset is there.
