CITY OF AMERICUS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

(RFP)

FOR

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT & SATISFACTION SURVEY

SEALED PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE NO LATER THAN

2:00 P.M., Friday, November 14th 2025 TO:

SIERRA HARVEY, CITY CLERK,

101 W LAMAR STREET, MUNICIPAL BUILDING, CITY OF AMERICUS, GA

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

A EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT & SATISFACTION SURVEY

AND OTHER RELATED SERVICES

I. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL:

A. Request The City of Americus is seeking proposals from qualified consulting firms to design, administer, and analyze an Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey. The goal of this survey is to gather confidential and meaningful feedback from employees across all departments to better understand their experiences, identify strengths, and highlight opportunities for organizational improvement.

The City is committed to ensuring anonymity and confidentiality throughout the process so employees feel safe to provide honest and constructive feedback.

B. Obtaining a Request for Proposal This document is available to all qualified consulting firms that request a copy up to the closing date/hour of submission.

Copies of this RFP can be obtained from the City of Americus, Sierra Harvey, City Clerk, 101 W. Lamar Street, Third floor, Americus, Ga. 31709 or by calling (229) 924-4411 Ext. 244. For further information on the City of Americus contact us at www.cityofamericusga.gov.

The contact person for this RFP is Sierra Harvey, City Clerk at 229-924-4111. Explanations desired by the proposers must be requested from the contact person in writing (sharvey@americusga.gov). From the date of this release until award, no contact with other city personnel is permitted, except as authorized by the contact person. Any such unauthorized contact may result in disqualification of the proposer's submittal.

C. Timetable for the Request for Proposal

D. Late Proposals, etc.

Proposals received after the proposal due date and time are late and will not be considered.

E. RFP postponement, cancellation The Council may, at its sole and absolute discretion, reject any and all, or parts of any and all, proposals; re-advertise this RFP; postpone or cancel this RFP process, at any time; or waive any irregularities in this RFP or in the proposals received as a result of this RFP.

II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The City of Americus, a political subdivision of the State of Georgia, is a full-service city under a Mayor/Council form of government. The City Manager is the administrative head of the government and is directly responsible to the City Council.

The City of Americus is made up of the following City departments:

· City Manager

· Mayor and Council

· Finance Department

· Human Resources

· GIS Department

· Planning and Inspections

· Community Development

· Fire

· Police

· Street

· Public Works

· Water and Sewer Maintenance

· Utility Billing

· Natural Gas Department

· Maintenance Shop

· DDA/Main Street

· Rylander Theater

· Tourism Council

The City of Americus provides contracts with a private company to provide water treatment, wastewater treatment, solid waste collection and disposal. Exhibit B of this RFP provides additional information pertinent to the City of Americus.

III. CONTRACT

A. It is the City's intent to enter into a single agreement with a selected Firm to provide an Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey as described herein and is determined to best serve the interests of the City of Americus.

B. The fee proposal, as negotiated prior to a contract award (if required), shall become the final price under the terms of this contract, for the initial term of the contract (twelve months).

C. The contract resulting from this Proposal shall commence upon the date of contract execution by both parties.

E. Responses to the Request for Proposal upon receipt become public record subject to the laws of the State of Georgia. If you believe that any portion or all of your response is confidential and/or proprietary, you should clearly assert such exemption and the specific legal authority of the asserted exemption.

IV. SCOPE OF WORK

The City of Americus is seeking the services of a qualified consulting firm to design, administer, and analyze a comprehensive Employee Engagement Survey. The purpose of the survey is to gather meaningful, confidential feedback from employees to provide leadership with actionable insights that will strengthen organizational culture, improve employee morale, and enhance service delivery to citizens.

The selected consultant will be expected to perform the following:

1. Survey Design & Development

· Develop survey questions aligned with the City’s areas of focus:

· Employee Morale & Engagement

· Communication & Transparency (Do employees feel informed and included?)

· Professional Development & Growth Opportunities

· Compensation & Benefit Satisfaction

· Interdepartmental Collaboration (How can departments better work together to serve citizens?)

· Departmental & Leadership Effectiveness (Employee perspectives on strengths and weaknesses of their department and leadership)

· Include a mix of quantitative (rating scales, multiple-choice) and qualitative (open-ended) questions.

· Provide a draft survey to the City for review prior to distribution.

2. Survey Administration

· Establish a project timeline and communication plan in coordination with the City’s Human Resources Department.

· Administer the survey in a manner that ensures anonymity, confidentiality, and broad employee participation.

· Provide multiple methods of access (e.g., online and paper-based) to maximize participation.

· Ensure technical support is available to employees, if needed.

3. Data Collection & Analysis

· Securely collect and compile responses, ensuring no identifying employee information is disclosed.

· Analyze data by department, tenure, job classification, and other relevant groupings, while protecting confidentiality.

· Identify organizational strengths, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.

· Compare results to industry benchmarks, where applicable.

4. Reporting & Recommendations

· Prepare a comprehensive written report summarizing the survey findings.

· Provide department-level reports where participation levels permit confidentiality.

· Offer actionable recommendations to improve engagement, leadership effectiveness, communication, and workplace culture.

· Deliver a formal presentation of findings to the Mayor and City Council, with additional presentations to City leadership staff as requested.

5. Project Timeline & Deliverables

· Kickoff meeting with HR and City leadership.

· Draft survey delivered for City review.

· Survey launch and employee communications.

· Survey closing and data collection.

· Preliminary results shared with HR.

· Final report and presentation delivered to the Mayor and Council.

Expected Outcome:

The final deliverable will be a comprehensive Employee Engagement Report providing the City of Americus with valuable, confidential insights into employee perspectives and actionable strategies to strengthen employee satisfaction, professional growth, departmental leadership, and overall organizational performance.

DELINEATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Responsibilities of the Consulting Firm:

1. The firm shall comply with all laws, ordinances, and regulations applicable to the services contemplated herein, including those applicable to conflict of interest and collusion. The Firm is presumed to be familiar with all Federal, State, and local laws, ordinances, codes, and regulations that may in any way affect the services offered.

B. Responsibilities of the City of Americus

1. The City of Americus shall make available all documents in the City's possession that may be useful in completing the project or services requested. However, it will remain the firm's responsibility to gather and verify the necessary data.

2. The City of Americus will pay invoices submitted in conformance with the contract within thirty calendar days after submittal, but no more than once per month.

C. Review Committee The City of Americus will set up a review committee to review the proposals.

D. Termination of Contract The City of Americus reserves the right to terminate any part of or the entirety of any contract that may result from this proposal, without cause and at any time with thirty calendar day’s written notice. In such case, the services rendered through the date of the termination notice, and the results of all such work (includes all documents and files) through that date shall become the property of the City of Americus. The contract shall be nonexclusive for the sole convenience of the City.

VI. PROPOSAL FORMAT

A. Proposal Questionnaire:

Please provide a concise description of your firm’s ability to provide an Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey. Costs incurred by firms responding to this request are solely their responsibility. Additionally, please include the answers to the following questions (Address each by number):

1. Describe your organizational structure (i.e. publicly held corporation, partnership, etc.). How many employees do you have in your organization and what are their job categories?

2. Briefly describe your company’s organization, philosophy, and management. Also, please provide a brief company history.

3. Describe your contractual relationships, if any, with organizations or entities necessary to your proposal’s implementation (i.e., actuarial services, data information services, etc.).

4. How long has your organization been providing this type of service? Has your organization ever operated under a different name? Why was the name changed?

5. What is your firm’s scheme of communication and customer service interaction with clients?

6. Provide Experience of the firm in conducting similar studies for Governmental entities and other comparable studies. This will include 3 previous clients for whom the firm has performed an Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey.

7. Please provide at least two verifiable public-sector references, all of whom are able to comment on your organization’s relevant experience. Please include group name, contact name, and telephone number.

Please furnish:

· Services you provided

· Example of recommendations made

· Timeframe of completion

· Number of employees, positions and classes studied

· Contact name and phone number

8. Provide professional resumes of all personnel to be involved in the study and a clear indication of the responsibilities of each. It is understood by the City that the individuals specified in the consultant’s proposal are the individuals who will do the work associated with the Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey, as described in the proposal.

9. What makes your organization unique from other organizations that may submit proposals for the City of Americus to make a selection?

10. A detailed description of the plan to achieve the necessary requirements and a plan for accomplishing this work.

11. A detailed description of the survey methodology and analysis approach to be used, including whether the consultant has a pre-designed engagement survey system or will customize one for the City of Americus.

12. A proposed fee schedule and break-down of the firm’s not to exceed fees to complete the Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey.

13. Provide a proposed timeline to include start and completion dates for the study and identify specific milestones.

14. A description of any pending legal issues facing the firm/individual.

15. Any additional information which the consultant deems appropriate.

B. Letter of Transmittal

1. The letter of transmittal shall be addressed to: City of Americus, Sierra Harvey, City Clerk 101 W. Lamar Street, Americus, Georgia 31709 and must, at a minimum, contain the following:

· Identification of the Firm including name, address and telephone number and FAX number and E-mail address.

· Location of the office(s) from which services will be provided, including hours of operation, address and telephone number and FAX number and E-mail address.

· The officer of the firm authorized to contract for the work shall sign the transmittal letter.

E. Scope of Work Response

1. State if you will provide all the services as noted in the Scope of Work section for the fee quoted.

2. List areas in the Scope of Work for which there will be an additional cost and list the estimated additional cost.

3. List areas in the Scope of Work for which your company will not or cannot provide the listed service.

4. List any other information that should be considered in evaluating the company’s marketing, staff, and/or other service capabilities.

F. Exceptions to this Request for Proposals / Insurance Requirements Any changes from the provisions of this Request for Proposals, which are desired by the Firm, shall be specifically noted in the proposal submitted.

G. Conflict of Interest Information Information on possible conflicts of interest should be provided as part of proposal response. Such information will be taken into account in making a decision on the selection of the Provider to perform the services.

Should a conflict arise during preparations for or while undertaking these services, the Provider shall immediately advise the City of such conflict.

H. Fee Proposal

Providers are to complete and return the attached Fee Proposal Form (Exhibit "A") in a separate sealed envelope, to be opened after initial proposal evaluation. The outside of the envelope shall be marked with the Firm's name and address, "RFP Fee Proposal." The fees then become the basis from which negotiations will commence, if required. Selection to be based upon a qualifications-based procedure in general conformance to the Criteria for Selection, Section VIII (B). The fee proposal shall also indicate company name, date and signature of an officer authorized to contract for the work. The fee proposal submitted shall remain valid for a period of 90 calendar days from the opening date of the RFP.

VII. PROCESSING OF PROPOSALS

A. Questions Questions regarding this Request for Proposal, the Scope of Work, or the need for additional data or information should be submitted in writing prior to opening date, to the Sierra Harvey, City Clerk, City of Americus, 101 W Lamar Street, Americus, Georgia 31709.

B. Submission of Proposal To receive consideration, an original (signed in blue ink) and six copies (7 total) of the proposal must be completed and mailed to the address previously mentioned, or delivered to the contact person at that same address no later than 2:00 PM, legal prevailing time, Friday, November 14th, 2025, at which time they will be opened and distributed for evaluation. The time/date will be written on each proposal upon receipt. The outside of the envelope shall be marked "EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT & SATISFACTION SURVEY". All proposals will be held in confidence until a contract has been executed or City Council has rejected all proposals. Late submittals will not be considered. They will be returned, unopened, to the sender.

C. Fee Proposal The Fee Proposal (Exhibit "A"), submitted with the Provider's proposal will remain in the separate sealed envelope, which will be opened after initial proposal evaluation. It shall enumerate the proposed unit fees for the services to be rendered to the City under the first year of the Contract. The unit fees then become the basis from which the negotiations will commence, if required, after City Council has granted approval to negotiate with the Provider(s).

D. Rejection of Proposals

The City of Americus reserves the right, after opening the proposals, to reject any or all proposals, or to accept the proposal(s) that in its sole judgment may be in the best interest of the City.

E. Time Frame The Provider shall maintain the contracted time frames.

F. Pre-contractual Expenses The City shall not, in any event, be liable for any pre-contractual expenses incurred in the preparation of a Provider's proposal, prior to execution of the contract by both parties.

Pre-contractual expenses are defined as expenses incurred by the Provider in:

1. Preparing and submitting proposal(s) to the City;

2. Negotiations with the City on any matter related to the contract terms, professional fees, and schedule;

3. Any other expenses incurred by the Provider prior to reaching agreement in advance of the date of full execution of the proposed contract by both parties.

G. Notification of Successful Provider(s) Successful potential Provider(s) shall be notified as soon as possible by the City following approval by City Council, of the Provider with which the City is to commence contract negotiation in descending order. In the event that the City is unable to negotiate a contract with the first selected Provider, those negotiations will be terminated in writing and negotiations will commence with the next Provider on the list and continue downward as necessary to secure a contract for the City.

H. Notification of Unsuccessful Providers The City shall notify unsuccessful potential Providers as soon as possible after execution of a contract with the successful Provider(s). It is estimated that the selection process should take ninety days or less in its entirety.

VIII. SELECTION OF PROVIDER

A. Qualifications The Firm may be a single firm or a joint venture and must show evidence of its technical capability in this work. The Firm shall also be knowledgeable in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local government laws and regulations. Work shall be done in conformance with current professional practices in the State of Georgia.

B. Criteria for Selection

Selection among the proposals received shall be based upon the following criteria:

PROPOSAL SCORING CRITERIA

The table below represents the evaluation criteria to assess the proposal.

Very Good (21-25)

Acceptable (16-20)

Marginal (0-15)

Very Good (21-25)

Acceptable (16-20)

Marginal (0-15)

RFP Submission Compliance: All forms properly submitted; questions answered fully; content is orderly and easy to follow and compare with other proposals (10 points).

Outstanding (9-10)

Very Good (7-8)

Acceptable (5-6)

Marginal (0-5)

Price: Forms properly completed; content is orderly and easy to follow; optional services clearly identified; quote price is reasonable and easy to compare to other quotations (30 points).

Outstanding (26-30)

Very Good (21-25)

Acceptable (16-20)

Marginal (0-15)

The City may prepare a short list of firms from the submitted Proposals for oral presentations to a Selection Committee. This decision will be based on the number and quality of Proposals received. If Proposals are deemed of a high enough quality, oral presentations may be waived and a finalist selected based on Proposals submitted.

In the event oral presentations are required, the City of Americus will not be responsible for any expenses incurred by the potential Firms for these presentations. New evaluation criteria may be established for oral interviews. The City will provide the desired format and criteria prior to the oral presentations. Presentations shall be clear and concise.

The final selected Firm will be recommended for contracting for this work. However, if it is determined to be in the best interest of the City, all proposals may be rejected and the City may reissue Requests for Proposals.

C. Negotiation of Contract After selection of the successful Firm and approval by City Council to negotiate and enter into a contract, the City of Americus shall negotiate the contract under which the work is to be performed. All items submitted in the proposal shall be subject to negotiation. Additionally, the City reserves the right to enter into single or multiple contract(s) with a selected Firm for any or all of the components of this project.

If negotiations for fees and services are successful with the selected Provider, as determined by the City, a contract for service will be prepared. In the event that negotiations for fees or services are not successful, the City will terminate those negotiations in writing and will begin negotiations with the next Provider in descending order of approval to negotiate, as necessary to secure a contract for the City.

The Firm will not assign or transfer any of its rights, duties or obligations without the prior written consent of the City.

The City may award a contract on the basis of initial offers received, without further discussion. Therefore, each initial offer should contain the proposer's best terms.

IX. POINT OF CONTACT

Sierra Harvey, City Clerk City of Americus 101 W Lamar Street, Americus, Georgia 31709 Phone: (229) 924-4411 Ext. 244

FAX: (229) 924-2012

sharvey@americusga.gov

POLICY ON NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY

In accordance with the American With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the City of Americus does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission of or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs, activities, or services.

Attachments:

· Exhibit A -Fee Quotation Form – Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey

· Exhibit B -City Information

CITY OF AMERICUS

EXHIBIT A - FEE QUOTATION FORM

List your flat fee: $ ___________________________

Please list any additional fees on an hourly or annual basis for services available, but not included in the bid proposal or in the fees noted above, such as:

Other Services Provided Fee (please state hourly or annual)

IF NECESSARY, THE FIRM SHALL APPEND TO THIS FORM A LISTING OF ANY OTHER SERVICES AVAILABLE TO THE CITY, IN A FORM SIMILAR TO THAT SHOWN ABOVE. (Fee Proposal to be submitted in a separate sealed envelope) Provider's Name: ________________________________________ Date: _______________ Firm: __________________________________________________ Telephone: ___________ Address: _______________________________________________ Fax: ________________ Provider’s Signature: ____________________________________________________________

EXHIBIT B - CITY INFORMATION

Department

# of Employees

10 Mayor & Council

13 GIS

14 Finance Department

15 Human Resources

16 Community Development

17 Tourism

2 FT 1PT

18 City Manager

20 Fire Department

21 Police Department

49 FT 1 PT

22 Building Risk Mgmt.

23 Municipal Court

1 FT 1 PT

25 Facilities Mgmt

30 Street

31 Cemetery

1 PT

32 Shop

34 Public Works

36 Grounds & Maintenance

40 W & S Maintenance

43 Utility Billing

51 Theater Operations

3 FT 2PT

58 Storm Water Management

83 Main Street

2 FT 1PT

81 Gas Service's Department

TOTAL

Contractor Affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91(b) (1)

By executing this affidavit, the undersigned contractor verifies its compliance with O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91, stating affirmatively that the individual, firm or corporation which is engaged in the physical performance of services on behalf of the City of Americus Georgia has registered with, is authorized to use and uses the federal work authorization program commonly known as E-Verify, or any subsequent replacement program, in accordance with the applicable provisions and deadlines established in O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91. Furthermore, the undersigned contractor will continue to use the federal work authorization program throughout the contract period and the undersigned contractor will contract for the physical performance of services in satisfaction of such contract only with subcontractors who present an affidavit to the contractor with the information required by O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91(b). Contractor hereby attests that its federal work authorization user identification number and date of authorization are as follows:

Federal Work Authorization User Identification Number

Date of Authorization

Name of Contractor

Name of Project

Name of Public Employer

I hereby declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed on ______, ___, 20__ in _____ (city), ______(state).

Signature of Authorized Officer or Agent

Printed Name and Title of Authorized Officer or Agent

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN BEFORE ME

ON THE ______ DAY OF ______________, 20____.

NOTARY PUBLIC

My Commission Expires:_________________________________