Department of Financial Management 411 West Ocean Boulevard, 6th Floor

Long Beach, CA 90802

(562) 570-6425

April 10, 2024

NOTICE TO PROPOSERS

ADDENDUM NO. 1: Questions & Answers

RFP No. HR-23-358 Professional Executive Recruitment Services

This addendum changes and supersedes the language in the original RFP.

Please acknowledge receipt of this addendum by signing and submitting with your proposals. Any proposer who fails to submit this addendum may be disqualified.

The City would like to remind Proposers that pursuant to Section 5.2.26 of the RFP, the City will not be responsible for or bound by any oral communication or any other information or contact that occurs outside the official communication process specified herein, unless confirmed in writing by the City Contact.

The questions and answers are as follows:

1. Q: I have a few questions concerning the listed RFP. What's the budget? Are onsite interviews mandatory?

A: The budget varies from recruitment to recruitment. The interview process also varies from customer department to customer department but typically the second round of interviews are held in person if the first round is virtual.

2. Q: Having reviewed the RFP, I have a question. Section 4.2 (Proposal Appendices) requests we submit

• Financial Statement or Annual Report,

• Business tax return, or

• Statement of income and balance sheet.

Since we are a professional service, I’m wondering the relevance of this and if it is really necessary. We’ve never been asked for income and expense documentation and it is important to me that it is confidential.

A: A financial statement is a requirement as part of the proposal content to be considered responsive. All financial statements are kept confidential and are never shared to the public. You can also mark these documents Confidential as assurance as stated on Section 5.2.20 of the RFP.

3. Q: I am interested in bidding on HR-23-358 and wanted to be sure you are considering out of state agencies prior to paying for a CA business license.

RFP HR-23-358

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A: Yes, out of state agencies will also be considered.

4. Q: What would be the number of awards you intend to give(approximate number)?

A: Unknown. This is the first Citywide contract for these types of services.

5. Q: Please provide us with an estimated NTE budget allocated for this contract.

A: It varies from department to department and it’s based on operational need.

6. Q: Is this an old contract or new contact?

A: New.

7. Q: What are the required sample job titles?

A: Any type of executive recruitment flyers conducted by the bidder (Director, Manager level recruitments).

8. Q: What is the tentative start date of this engagement?

A: September of 2024.

9. Q: What is the work location of the proposed candidates?

A: Long Beach, California

10. Q: Is this a new contract or are there any incumbents? If there is an incumbent, could you please let us know the incumbent name and pricing and are the incumbents eligible to submit the proposal again?

A: See answer to question #4.

11. Q: Are there any pain points or issues with the current vendor(s)?

A: See answer to question #4. The City is trying to create its first Citywide contract for such services.

12. Q: Could you please share the previous spending on this contract, if any?

A: There has not been a Citywide contract, but ad hoc services have been used.

The amounts have varied from $125,000 to $250,000. However, there has been no centralized mechanism to capture all services.

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13. Q: Is there any mandatory subcontracting requirement for this contract? If yes, Is there any specific goal for the subcontracting?

A: There is no mandatory subcontracting requirement for this contract.

14. Q: How many positions were used in the previous contract?

A: No previous Citywide contract.

15. Q: How many positions will be required per year or throughout the contract term?

A: Unknown. Services are used based on operational needs.

16. Q: Could you please provide the list of holidays?

A: See page 18 and 19 of the Management Association MOU.

https://www.longbeach.gov/globalassets/hr/media-library/documents/about-us/what-we-do/labor-relations/lbma/lbma-mou-2023-2026-final-clean-12-4-23

17. Q: Are there any mandated Paid Time Off, Vacation, etc.?

A: See page 18 and 19 of the Management Association MOU.

18. Q: What departments are planning to utilize the Exec. Search services provided?

A: The services are available to all 23 City departments.

19. Q: What is the headcount forecasted to be added in the first year of execution of the executive search process?

A: Unknown.

20. Q: What is the average Executive Salary?

A: $150,000

21. Q: Do the various hiring departments have marketing collateral available for use at career fairs, tradeshows, etc. or would this have to be created as part of the marketing strategy?

A: Both.

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22. Q: Do the various hiring departments have social media channels to be used or would these have to be created?

A: Most of the departments have social media channels but the selected vendors should also have an outreach and distribution plan.

23. Q: If applicable, who are the incumbents for these services and for how long have they served the City in this capacity?

A: There is no Citywide contract for these services right now. Services have been used by departments on the ad hoc basis.

24. Q: What is the anticipated annual and total spend for this contract?

A: Unknown.

25. Q: Will the City accept a mark-up percentage fee for placements?

A: No

26. Q: What are the City’s current rates and mark-ups for the positions sought in this solicitation?

A: Not applicable. There is no Citywide contract.

27. Q: What specific background checks and/or drug screens are required of the placements?

A: Educational, work references, and criminal. The drug screening is conducted as part of the onboarding process by the City.

28. Q: To ensure FCRA compliance, it is our company’s policy to provide clients with an attestation of completion of background check pursuant to client’s requirements, but not the actual results. Will the City accept letters of attestation in lieu of actual background check results?

A: It depends. Open to discussion.

29. Q: Will respondents be allowed to pass through the costs for background checks and drug screens (at no additional markup) to the City?

A: Yes to the costs associated with background checks. The drug screening is conducted by the City during the on boarding process.

30. Q: Will respondents be disqualified or adversely impacted during the evaluation process if they were to submit exceptions to the City?

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A: Once a selection or selections are made, the City will engage in contract negotiations with the selected party(ies). If no agreement is reached, a contract will not be issued.

31. Q: What is the process when contract is awarded if there are several awardees in sharing the open requisitions?

A: Vendors will be contacted based on recruitment specialty (if applicable), availability, capacity, costs and results among others.

32. Q: If able to share, what roles/positions are currently open (or are you anticipating) that you would be seeking assistance with under these terms?

A: Unknown at this time.

33. Q: Are any other government entities able to utilize this contract?

A: Yes, it can be used by other agencies.

34. Q: Could you list the job titles sought in this RFP?

A: Unknown at this time.

35. Q: Will the City provide detailed job descriptions of the positions sought?

A: City will provide class specifications. Job descriptions will be a collaborative effort between selected vendor, HR and user departments.

36. Q: Will the City allow price adjustments during the life of this contract?

A: Potentially on an annual basis.

37. Q: Page 16 of the RFP, bullet 12, mentions Proposal must include any and all proposed terms and conditions, including our standard contract language. Does this mean we should include our firm’s standard agreement with the proposal?

A: This is mentioned to make sure any additional terms and conditions that may go beyond our standard contract language are included.

38. Q: Is the Narrative Proposal Template a guide or are we to respond to this RFP within the template format?

A: An editable version of the template is posted in Long Beach Buys under File Attachments for this RFP. Proposers should complete the editable template and submit it as their narrative proposal.

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39. Q: Is there a maximum page number for the RFP response?

A: There is no maximum of page numbers for the response.

40. Q: Can we include attachments to the RFP template if additional space is required to answer template questions?

A: Yes you can include additional attachments if necessary.

41. Q: Are the positions direct hire or contract-to-hire positions?

A: Direct hires.

42. Q: Will the positions be onsite, remote, or a hybrid model?

A: Varies by operational need. However, the City has a telecommuting policy that requires staff to be on site a certain percentage of the workweek. This requirement varies from department to department based on operational need.

43. Q: Can you provide a list of titles that the City of Long Beach is looking to source?

A: Unknown at this time. These services are used based on need.

44. Q: Approximately how many resources does the City of Long Beach plan to hire?

a. Number of resources - year 1?

b. Number of resources - year 2?

c. Number of resources - year 3?

d. Number of resources - year 4?

e. Number of resources - year 5?

A: See answer to #43.

45. Q: Is there a not-to-exceed $ amount for this project?

A: $500,000 per vendor per year.

46. Q: Should the cost proposal include pricing for the initial 12-month period or for 5 years?

A: The cost proposal should be for the first 24-month period.

47. Q: Is there a cost proposal template?

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A: There is not, but you can reference Section 4.2 Proposal Content where you will find what should be included when preparing your Cost Proposal.

48. Q: Regarding Mandatory Attachments: Authorization and Certification. As a

Washington State-based entity, we seek clarity on the requisite certification and authorization documentation necessary for inclusion with our response.

A: This attachment A is required in order to be considered responsive because it’s letting the City know that you agree to our terms and conditions. If you are asking in regards to having to be registered with the state of California, this is something that would have to take place only if you are awarded the contract.

49. Q: Kindly provide information on the anticipated positions within the scope of this inquiry.

A: See answer to question #43.

50. Q: Could you furnish details pertaining to positions held during the current or preceding contract term?

A: Unknown. There is no current Citywide contract.

51. Q: Please elucidate the mode of operation applicable to the Selected Vendor.

A: See answer to question #31.

52. Q: Is there an incumbent for your executive recruitments and if so, were there any weaknesses that can be addressed?

A: See answer to question #23.

53. Q: Could the City please confirm if the table provided in section 4.2 must be included in the proposal response? If so, could you clarify in which section it should be included?

A: Proposers are only encouraged to use this table as a checklist to ensure all components are included in their proposal. The table itself does not have to be included in the response.

54. Q: Could the City please clarify the positions it is looking for in this opportunity?

A: Unknown. The services are used on the as needed basis.

55. Q: Could the City provide a list of different Job categories/Labor Categories for this contract?

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A: See answer to #54.

56. Q: Could the vendors provide their catalog for IT positions?

A: All executive management level positions can be found at:

57. Q: How many firms is the City looking to award?

A: Unknown at this stage.

58. Q: Are electronic signatures allowed?

A: Electronic signatures are allowed in your proposal response.

59. Q: Is the certificate of Insurance required with the response?

A: Certificate of Insurance is not required with the response, but it will be required if awarded the contract.

60. Q: Is there any SBE/MBE/WBE goal for this solicitation? If yes, what is the established goal?

A: There is no SBE/MBE/WBE goal for this solicitation.

61. Q: Is there any incumbent to this solicitation? If yes, could you please provide the information?

A: There is currently no Citywide contract for these services.

62. Q: Could the City please confirm that vendors can fill out proposal forms electronically?

A: Proposals must be submitted electronically via LongBeachBuys.com. You can also reference our answer to #58.

63. Q: Does the City accept remote resources to work on this engagement?

A: All vendors are welcome to submit proposals. The vendors will be selected based on the needs of the customer departments.

64. Q: Does the City accept offshore resources to work on this engagement?

A: See answer to #63.

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65. Q: Does the City prefer on-site resources to execute this engagement?

A: No.

66. Q: Could the City please confirm the anticipated number of requirements per year?

67. Q: In case firms are submitting confidential information in the response, is it required to provide a redacted version?

A: No. However, the vendor must mark what they want kept confidential.

68. Q: Could the City kindly provide information regarding the anticipated form in which task orders will be released, specifying whether it will be through email, portal, or any other designated method?

A: Requests for service are typically submitted via email or phone call.

69. Q: Capacity and experience recruiting for public sector executive recruitments.-

Please confirm how firms can showcase 'Capacity' to fulfill this requirement.

A: The ability to take on an executive recruitment within a reasonable amount of time.

70. Q: Manage multiple ongoing recruitments from various customer departments.-

Please confirm if it's mandatory for firms to have ongoing recruitment contracts from other customers.

A: No, the services are on an as needed basis and at the request of the customer departments.

71. Q: Kindly confirm if firms having no public experience are allowed to bid on this

RFP.

A: Yes.

72. Q: The approach should prioritize confidentiality, professionalism, and understand the customer department’s vision for the recruited position.- Please confirm if a narrative would suffice this requirement.

73. Q: Under section 3.1 Minimum Qualifications, kindly confirm if firms can show commercial experience to fulfill this requirement.

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A: All vendors will be considered. However, it’s important to note that experience in public sector recruitment is very helpful when conducting executive level recruitments. The difference between public and private sector applicant pools and tools varies vastly from one another.

74. Q: Manage multiple ongoing recruitments from various customer departments.-

To fulfill these criteria, can firms add a narrative, or what evidence are firms supposed to show?

A: Narrative on services, experience, visions, etc. See question #72.

75. Q: How many employees does the organization have in total and residing in Long

Beach?- Please state the reason for the requirement.

A: We ask this question up front because this is information we have to provide in our Council Letter when awarding a contract to a vendor, but this information doesn’t affect the evaluation of the proposals.

76. Q: How many employees does the organization have in total and residing in Long

Beach?- Are firms having no employees in Long Beach allowed to bid on this

RFP?

A: See answer to #75, if your firm doesn’t have any employees in Long Beach you are still allowed to bid on this RFP.

77. Q: Will the City of Long Beach have any preference over local firms?

A: Not for this RFP.

78. Q: Please confirm if firms can submit commercial references.

A: Yes, but keep in mind the answer to question #73.

79. Q: Please summarize the expected work plan and timelines for executive recruitments.- Is there a specific schedule that the City wants the firm to adhere to?

A: Recruitments are typically completed in 90 days or less.

80. Q: Does your organization have experience conducting executive recruitments for public agencies?- Please confirm if it is mandatory to have experience with public agencies.

A: No, but it is preferred.

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81. Q: Please describe your guarantee of successful candidate placement. - Kindly explain what does City expects under this requirement.

A: Not required but preferred. Most of the prior experience from vendors includes 12-18 month guarantee.

82. Q: The City requires that the Awarded Contractor provide proof of payment for any subcontractors used for this project.- Please clarify what kind of proof will the City accept under this requirement.

A: Any report that highlights those transactions, for example ACH wires or direct deposits. Proposals shall include a plan by which the City will be notified of such payments if the Contractor elects to use subcontractors.

83. Q: Please confirm if the City will require recruitment for IT positions.

A: This is unknown at this time. Services are ad hoc and on a as needed basis.

This may include IT positions.

84. Q: Is the City looking for any IT positions to be recruited under the executive level and/or management positions requested?

A: This RFP is for executive (management) level recruitments. Some IT management positions may require recruitment services.

85. Q: Are the recruitment services for direct-to-hire positions?

86. Q: Are firms required to have experience in recruiting all sorts of positions, or can a firm only experienced in IT recruitment provide a response?

A: All vendors are welcome to submit a proposal.

87. Q: What is the total allocated budget for this contract?

A: See answer to #5.

88. Q: Is there a specific format for the proposal response (font size, font type, spacing, etc.)?

A: There is no specific format for the proposal response as long as it’s submitted electronically via LongBeachBuys.com.

89. Q: Could the City confirm that the narrative, cost proposals, and attachments are sent together in one file?

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A: The narrative, cost proposals, and attachments can be sent together or in separate files.

90. Q: Does the City have a page limit for the technical response? If so, can the City confirm if appendices are excluded in this page limit?

A: There is no page limit for your response.

91. Q: Under section 4.2 Proposal Content, section Mandatory Attachments, section

Contact Information states: “Ensure your organization’s profile is up to date in Long Beach Buys, including an email address, phone number, and for any classifications you may qualify for.” Could the City please clarify if by having the profile up to date is enough to meet this requirement? If not, are firms required to attach a page with the contact information?

A: If your profile is up to date in Long Beach Buys then that is enough to meet this requirement.

92. Q: Will any of these roles be technical / related to information technology? If so what type of technology roles, specifically, can we expect?

A: See answer to question #84.

93. Q: This RFP says, “The City of Long Beach is looking for an executive recruitment firm to help us find a diverse pool of qualified candidates for executive level and/or management positions” o Are Program Managers/Project Managers included in the umbrella term “management positions”?

o Are Supervisors and Leads considered management positions?

o Can this award be used to deliver resources lower than the management level, i.e. professional/technical positions?

A: The management positions can be found at:

us/what-we-do/labor-relations/lbma/lbma-mou-2023-2026-final-clean-12-4-23, Supervisors and Leads are not considered management positions, and this award can not be used to deliver resources lower than the management level.

94. Q: What type of model is the City looking to hire these roles in?

• Contract? Contract-to-hire? Permanent/Direct Placement?

A: Permanent/Direct Placement.

95. Q: How many vendors will you select for this award?

https://www.longbeach.gov/globalassets/hr/media-library/documents/about-us/what-we-do/labor-relations/lbma/lbma-mou-2023-2026-final-clean-12-4-23 https://www.longbeach.gov/globalassets/hr/media-library/documents/about-us/what-we-do/labor-relations/lbma/lbma-mou-2023-2026-final-clean-12-4-23

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96. Q: Is having previous experience recruiting for Public Sector executive recruitment a must-have requirement for this position?

o My company has placed executives in the Private Sector, but I will have to do some digging to see what our Public Sector placements look like so that’s why I ask.

o We have however placed several managers, leads, supervisors, etc. in the Public Sector and I am curious to know if this experience combined with our Private Sector executive recruitment experience will suffice?

A: Its preferred.

PREPARED BY: William Reyes, Buyer I

ACKNOWLEDGED BY:

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