Employee_Compensation_Study_(Addendum_#1_Revision).pdf

Employee Compensation Study

Request For Proposal (RFP #RFP-2023-0081)

Tuolumne County

Human Resources

Issued: Friday, September 15, 2023

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP No. RFP-

2023-0081)

EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION STUDY

Deadline for Submission of Proposals: Friday, October 6, 2023

RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/tuolumnecountyca https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/tuolumnecountyca

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Scope of Services

III. Minimum Qualifications

IV. Proposal Package Requirements

V. RFP Process

VI. Evaluation of Proposals

VII. Contract Information

Attachments:

A - Classification List

1. Introduction

1.1. Summary

The County of Tuolumne (County) is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) with the sole purpose and intent of obtaining proposals from interested and qualified Consultants licensed to do business in the State of California to perform an Employee Compensation Study and other related services, in accordance with the specifications, terms and conditions contained within the

RFP document. The County of Tuolumne seeks to establish a contract for a qualified firm to provide Consulting Services to perform an Employee Compensation Study. The firm awarded the contract shall be paid on a flat fee basis. The County of Tuolumne currently does not have an active contract with any firm for this type of service.

It is the County’s intent to conduct a review of its compensation and benefits. The selected firm/consultants will work with the Human Resources Department and County staff in this review.

1.2. Background

The County of Tuolumne is seeking proposals from qualified firms to provide an employee compensation study. The County is seeking this study for 296 classifications. The County will conduct classification benchmarking internally and will provide the information to the selected firm. The County will also provide organization charts per department to the selected firm. For more details on which classifications should be reviewed, please refer to Attachment A, Classification List.

1.3. Contact Information

Deborah Schoeman

Human Resources Manager

2 South Green Street

Sonora, CA 95370

Email: dschoeman@co.tuolumne.ca.us

Phone: (209) 533-6957

Department:

Human Resources

Department Head:

Karen McGettigan

Human Resources Director

1.4. Timeline

Release of published RFP September 15, 2023

Deadline for receiving all questions September 25, 2023, 3:00pm mailto:dschoeman@co.tuolumne.ca.us tel:(209)533-6957

Deadline for RFP responses to be received by County

October 6, 2023, 12:00pm

Review Committee evaluates and ranks proposals

October 9, 2023

Notice of contract award (Tentative) October 10, 2023

Deadline for protests/appeals

(Tentative)

October 14, 2023

Contract executed (Tentative) October 17, 2023

Project Completion February 16, 2024

2. Scope of Services

2.1. Scope of Services

The selected firm shall be required to review the County’s base and total compensation structure including all components of pay and benefits and conduct an external market analysis to:

• Identify market peers and identify compensation benchmarks for the County’s current roles. The Union negotiated comparable counties are as follows:

o Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Nevada, Placer, San Joaquin, & Stanislaus.

• Determine whether the County's compensation strategy is competitive to hire and retain top talent

• Recommend updates/changes to current compensation strategy and pay matrix

• Implement State of California’s minimum wage increase with consideration across all levels of the organization

The County will conduct classification benchmarking internally and will provide the information to the selected firm. The County will also provide organization charts per department to the selected firm.

The final report will be delivered as County of Tuolumne Employee Compensation Study.

Included in this document should be background, study goals, study process, findings, recommendations, and suggestions on maintaining the compensation plan. The appendix attached to the compensation study should include data tables showing all data surveyed and collected and other reports as agreed to during the survey process.

Communication Expectations and Deliverables Required

The selected respondent will:

• Provide consistent and regular reports on the status and results of the compensation study and its associated tasks through communication with the Human Resources Director and/or designee upon initiation and throughout the life of the contract.

• Submit a detailed outline of the tasks and timeline for their completion for the compensation study. The County will consider other reasonable timelines based on the respondent’s resources.

Any recommendation exceeding the preferred timeline must be provided in detail in the response to the RFP.

• Provide a verbal and final written presentation to the Human Resources Director and/or designees that includes the research performed, methodology including assurance of equitable practices, compensation philosophy, findings and recommendations, policy updates based on recommendations, proposed/revised pay plan, recommended implementation and financial impacts.

• Provide presentation(s) to the County Board of Supervisors and/or staff periodically and at the final completion of the study.

Click here for more information about the County of Tuolumne's Job Descriptions

2.2. Employee Compensation Study

• Conduct a comprehensive compensation survey to include base salaries, tenure in positions, all components and differentials of pay, and benefits, including retirement, comparing benchmark positions with other local government agencies in order to identify the County’s competitive position in the regional labor market.

• Review the current pay grade and salary ranges of County positions in Attachment A, including recommending appropriate salary ranges based on compensation survey and study results and appropriate salary range for each position.

• Evaluate current pay structure (i.e. number of pay grades, including additions, deletions and/or consolidations, appropriateness of pay range spread from salary minimum to maximum).

• Conduct internal pay equity assessment based upon actual work performed, liability and risk assumed in the position, value of work performed to the organization, position within the organizational structure, and the length of service. Identify potential pay compression issues if any and provide potential solutions and/or recommended equity adjustments.

• For the union negotiated comparable counties listed above, identify any existing compaction and living wage rules or policies.

For all classifications that should be included in the study, see Attachment A, Classification List https://www.tuolumnecounty.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/Index/71

3. Minimum Qualifications

Experience and expertise of the vendor’s organization and key personnel are considered in the evaluation process.

Please submit any information which documents the successful and reliable experience in past performances for similar client needs. Give a brief history of your firm and experience as it relates to the requirements of this request for proposals, including prior public sector industry experience requiring at least three references for present and former clients similar to the County of Tuolumne using similar types of services.

Identify key personnel who will be assigned to work under this contract including sufficient detail to analyze qualifications including (but not limited to) education, past work experience, certifications, etc.

4. Proposal Package Requirements

Proposals are to be straightforward, clear, concise and responsive to the information requested.

In order for proposals to be considered complete, proposers must provide all requested information.

Each proposer must submit their response online via the County’s e-Procurement platform, https://secure.procurenow.com/portaluolumnecountyca.

4.1. Proposal Elements*

A. Statement of Understanding and Approach o This section must demonstrate an understanding of the requested services. It should describe the general approach, organization and staffing required for the services requested. If necessary, preliminary investigations, due diligence, and research shall be discussed in this section.

o This section should include the following:

▪ An implementation plan that describes in detail (i) the methods, including controls by which your firm or entity manages projects of the type sought by this RFP; (ii) methodology for soliciting and documenting views of internal and external stakeholders; (iii) and any other project management or implementation strategies or techniques that the respondent intends to employ in carrying out the work.

▪ Detailed description of efforts your firm or entity will undertake to achieve client satisfaction and to satisfy the requirements of the "Scope of Work" section.

▪ Detailed project schedule, identifying all tasks and deliverables to be performed, durations for each task, and overall time of completion, including a complete transition plan. Include your plan to deal with fluctuation in service needs and any associated price adjustments.

▪ Detailed description of specific tasks you will require from County staff. Explain what the respective roles of County staff and your staff would be to complete the tasks specified in the Scope of Work.

▪ Proposers are encouraged to provide additional innovative and/or creative approaches for providing the service that will maximize efficient, cost-effective operations or increased performance capabilities. In addition, the County will consider proposals that offer alternative service delivery means and methods for the services desired.

B. Company Information https://secure.procurenow.com/portaluolumnecountyca o This section shall include contact person information, address and telephone number of the company main office and branch offices. Each Company shall identify itself as to the type of organizational entity (corporation, sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, etc.). Any supplemental information that Company believes may be pertinent to the selection process may be provided.

C. Company Personnel o This section shall contain names, contact numbers and description of experience, including licenses and/or certifications, of all key personnel who would be assigned to perform the Services. Members of the Company’s professional team (managers, contact person, etc.) should be identified by name, title, phone number, and description of the portion of work they will be assigned to perform under this

Agreement. Also include major subcontractors (if any) and their degree of involvement in this program. If the Company is including any subcontractors, the

Company shall identify how long the Company has worked with the subcontractor.

D. Experience and References o The Proposal must demonstrate that the Company, or its key personnel, meets the minimum experience requirement in in the Minimum Qualifications Section with a legally registered business name, that provides services of a similar type and scope as described in the Scope of Services.

o Company shall provide at least 3 references, within the past 5 years, of clients for whom services have been performed that are comparable in quality and scope to that specified in this RFP. The references shall include client names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of the clients for whom prior work was performed and include an explanation of the services provided along with project start and end dates.

**Please ensure that if you choose to provide a optional bid for the classifications study to please include the proposal information.

*Response required

4.2. Proposal Cost*

Proposer shall upload a cost to provide the requested service. Information should include any and all itemized costs associated with the fulfillment of the Scope of Services.

*Response required

5. RFP Process

5.1. Submittal of Proposals

Sealed proposals must be received online, NO LATER THAN 12:00 pm on Friday, October 6, 2023.

Proposals are to be submitted electronically using the County’s e-Procurement platform, https://secure.procurenow.com/portaluolumnecountyca. Proposals will be received only as instructed above, and must be received before 12:00 pm on Friday, October 6, 2023. Proposals shall not be submitted via hard copy, (hand delivered or mailed), facsimile, nor via email. It is the sole responsibility of the proposer to properly upload its proposal so that it is received by the time and date required. Any proposal received after said time and/or date or in any other format other than as instructed herein, cannot be considered and will not be accepted. The County’s e-

Procurement Platform records the time stamp for every proposal submitted properly in the system. Once a proposal is submitted in the e-procurement platform, the Proposer will receive an email confirmation, and the proposal status will also show as “submitted.”

5.2. Submitter's Questions

Questions regarding the RFP must be submitted exclusively in writing to the County by 3:00 pm on Monday, September 25, 2023 via the County’s e-Procurement platform, in the Q&A tab.

Except for questions that might render the award of this contract invalid, the County will not respond to any questions submitted after this time. The County will use an addendum to the RFP to post any questions received, along with written responses, on the County e-Procurement platform, https://secure.procurenow.com/portaluolumnecountyca. It is the responsibility of the proposers to check the County website to review the questions and responses. Any oral responses to questions are not binding on the County.

5.3. Cost of Developing the Proposal

All costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal are the responsibility of each proposer and will not be reimbursed by the County.

5.4. Proposal Terms and Conditions

It is the responsibility of each proposer to be familiar with all of the specifications, terms and conditions of the RFP. By the submission of a proposal, the proposer certifies that if awarded a contract, proposer will make no claim against the County based upon ignorance of or misunderstanding of the specifications.

Each proposer shall submit its proposal with the understanding that the proposal will become a part of the official file on this matter and shall be subject to disclosure, if requested by a member of the public, following the completion of negotiations.

By submitting a proposal, each proposer certifies that all statements in this proposal are true.

This constitutes a warranty, the falsity of which shall include the right, at the County’s option, of declaring any contract made, as a result thereof, null and void. Proposals shall be completed, executed, and submitted in accordance with the instructions of this RFP. If a proposal is not submitted in the format specified in this RFP, it may be rejected, unless the County determines that the nonconformity is either a minor irregularity or that the defect or variation in the proposal is immaterial or inconsequential. The County may give the proposer an opportunity to cure any deficiency resulting from a minor irregularity or an immaterial or inconsequential defect, or

County may waive such deficiency, whichever is most advantageous to the County.

The County cannot accept proposals from any individual who is currently employed with the

County of Tuolumne (California Government Code §29708).

5.5. Successful Proposal as Part of Contract Services

Proposals received in response to this solicitation, at the County’s discretion, may be incorporated into the awarded contract and may serve as basic terms and conditions for the ultimate contract. Therefore, proposers are advised that, if successful, they will be held responsible for levels of services proposed at the funding levels quoted. The County reserves the right to negotiate modifications or revisions to any awarded contract.

5.6. Other Requirements

In order to contract with the County of Tuolumne, a proposer must meet the following requirements:

• Make available to the County its federal Tax Identification Number (TIN) or Social

Security Number (SSN).

• Comply with all Federal, State and local rules, regulations and policies, including but not limited to:

o Standard contract language of the County; and, o Insurance coverage to include worker’s compensation, general liability, auto liability and professional liability, unless waived by the County.

• Meet the requirements for audit of its expenditures if required in the above documents.

5.7. Non-Discrimination

Non-Discrimination: The Contractor selected through this RFP shall provide services without discrimination based on race, creed, color, ethnic or linguistic identification, gender or sexual preference, disability or handicap or any other basis prohibited by law.

5.8. Protest/Appeal Process

The following procedure is provided in the event that a proposer wishes to protest the RFP process or appeal the recommendation to award a contract for the requested services once the

Notices of Award/Non-Award have been issued.

Any protest must be submitted in writing to Human Resources, 2 South Green Street, Sonora, CA 95370, Attention: Deborah Schoeman

The protest must be submitted before 5:00pm on the fifth (5th) business day following the date of the Notice of Award.

The protest must contain a complete statement of the basis for the protest. The protest must include the name, address, telephone number and e-mail address of the person representing the protesting party.

The procedure and time limits are mandatory and are the proposer’s sole and exclusive remedy in the event of a bid protest.

Proposer’s failure to comply with these procedures shall constitute a waiver of any right to further pursue the protest, including filing a Government Code claim or legal proceedings.

Upon receipt of written protest/appeal, the Human Resources Director will review and provide an opportunity to settle the protest/appeal by mutual agreement, will schedule a meeting to discuss or issue a written response to advise of an appeal/protest decision within five (5) business days of receipt of the appeal/protest.

5.9. Public Records Access

Proposers should be aware that submitted proposals are subject to the California Public Records

Act and may be disclosed to members of the public upon request. It is the responsibility of the proposers to clearly identify information in their proposals that they consider to be confidential under the California Public Records Act. To the extent that the County agrees with that designation, such information will be held in confidence whenever possible. All other information will be considered public.

All information regarding the proposals will be held as confidential until such time as the

Review Committee has completed its evaluation and, or if, contract negotiations are complete.

6. Evaluation of Proposals

The objective is to perform a thorough and fair evaluation of submitted proposals and facilitate the selection of a contractor/consultant that best satisfies the County’s requirements. The following describes the evaluation process and associated components.

A. Selection Process:

1. The County shall name, for the purpose of evaluating the proposals for this RFP, a

Review Committee composed of representatives from the County. The County may also elect to include as part of the Review Committee qualified representatives from other agencies or entities.

2. Proposal documentation requirements set forth in this RFP are designed to provide guidance to proposers concerning the type of information that will be used by the

Review Committee. Proposers shall be prepared to respond to requests by the Review

Committee for additional items deemed necessary to assist in the evaluation process.

B. Evaluation Criteria & Scoring:

1. The Review Committee shall be responsible for performing the evaluations of each proposal. Each member of the Committee shall rate the proposers separately. The scores of each of the Committee members shall then be averaged to provide a total score for each of the proposers. The proposals shall be evaluated on the following categories and the maximum weight possible for each category is listed below.

C. Award:

Award will be made to the qualified proposer whose proposal will be most advantageous to the

County, with price and all other factors considered. The County will negotiate with the highest ranked proposer to develop the scope of work and contract for mutual satisfaction.

If the County cannot successfully negotiate a contract with the highest ranked proposer, the

County will terminate negotiations and begin negotiations with the next highest ranked proposer.

Proposers will receive mailed Award/Non-Award notification(s), which will include the name of the proposer to be awarded this contract.

Proposers are advised County reserves the following prerogatives:

• To reject any or all proposals;

• To consider historic information and fact, whether gained from the proposer’s proposal or any other source, in the evaluation process; and

• The proposer is cautioned that it is the proposer’s sole responsibility to submit information related to the evaluation categories and the County is under no obligation to solicit such information if it is not included with the proposal. Failure of the individual or firm to submit such information may cause an adverse impact on the evaluation of the proposal.

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Experience & Qualifications 0-100 Points 30 (30% of Total)

2. Service Delivery/Methodology/Timeline 0-100 Points 30 (30% of Total)

3. Reasonable Cost of Service 0-100 Points 40 (40% of Total)

7. Contract Information

7.1. Sample Agreement

A sample Agreement is attached to this RFP, which details all standard terms and conditions required by the County of Tuolumne.

7.2. Term/Termination

The term of the initial contract awarded under this RFP will be for: To Be Determined

The contract will be subject to termination by either party upon (30) days’ advance, written notice of intent to terminate. The County may terminate the contract at any time, without written notice, upon a material breach of contract by the Contractor.

7.3. Funding Availability

It is mutually agreed that if the County budget of the current year and/or any subsequent years covered under this Agreement does not appropriate sufficient funds for the program, this

Agreement shall be of no further force and effect. In this event, the County shall have no liability to pay any funds whatsoever to Contractor or to furnish any other considerations under this

Agreement and Contractor shall not be obligated to perform any provisions of this Agreement.

Contractor’s assumption of risk of possible non-appropriation is part of the consideration for this

Agreement. County budget decisions are subject to the discretion of the Board of Supervisors.

If funding for any fiscal year is reduced or deleted by the County budget for purposes of this program, the County shall have the option to either cancel this Agreement with no liability occurring to the County, or offer an Agreement amendment to Contractor to reflect the reduced amount.

7.4. Insurance

A. Contractor shall procure and maintain for the duration of the contract insurance against claims for injuries to persons or damages to property which may arise from or in connection with the performance of the work hereunder and the results of that work by the Contractor, his agents, representatives, employees or subcontractors. Coverage shall be at least as broad as:

1. Commercial General Liability (CGL): Insurance Services Office Form CG 00 01 covering CGL on an "occurrence" basis, including products and completed operations, property damage, bodily injury and personal & advertising injury with limits no less than $2,000,000 per occurrence. If a general aggregate limit applies, either the general aggregate limit shall apply separately to this project/location (ISO

CG 25 03 or 25 04) or the general aggregate limit shall be twice the required occurrence limit.

2. Automobile Liability: ISO Form Number CA 00 01 covering any auto (Code 1), or if Contractor has no owned autos, hired, (Code 8) and non-owned autos (Code 9), with limit no less than $1,000,000 per accident for bodily injury and property damage.

3. Workers' Compensation: as required by the State of California, with Statutory

Limits, and Employer's Liability Insurance with limit of no less than $1,000,000 per accident for bodily injury or disease.

4. If the Contractor maintains broader coverage and/or higher limits than the minimums shown above, the County requires and shall be entitled to the broader coverage and/or the higher limits maintained by the contractor. Any available insurance proceeds in excess of the specified minimum limits of insurance and coverage shall be available to the County.

B. Other Insurance Provisions: The insurance policies are to contain, or be endorsed to contain, the following provisions:

1. Additional Insured Status. The County, its officers, officials, employees, and volunteers are to be covered as additional insureds on the CGL policy with respect to liability arising out of work or operations performed by or on behalf of the Contractor including materials, parts, or equipment furnished in connection with such work or operations. General liability coverage can be provided in the form of an endorsement to the Contractor's insurance (at least as broad as ISO Form CG 20 10 11 85 or if not available, through the addition of both CG 20 10, CG 20 26, CG 20 33, or CG 20 38;

and CG 20 37 if a later edition is used).

2. Primary Coverage. For any claims related to this contract, the Contractor's insurance coverage shall be primary coverage at least as broad as ISO CG 20 01 04 13 as respects the County, its officers, officials, employees, and volunteers. Any insurance or self-insurance maintained by the County, its officers, officials, employees, or volunteers shall be excess of the Contractor's insurance and shall not contribute with it.

3. Notice of Cancellation. Each insurance policy required above shall provide that coverage shall not be canceled, except with notice to the County.

4. Waiver of Subrogation. Contractor hereby grants to County a waiver of any right to subrogation which any insurer of said Contractor may acquire against the County by virtue of the payment of any loss under such insurance. Contractor agrees to obtain any endorsement that may be necessary to affect this waiver of subrogation, but this provision applies regardless of whether or not the County has received a waiver of subrogation endorsement from the insurer.

5. Self-Insured Retentions. Self-insured retentions must be declared to and approved by the County. The County may require the Contractor to purchase coverage with a lower retention or provide proof of ability to pay losses and related investigations, claim administration, and defense expenses within the retention. The policy language shall provide, or be endorsed to provide, that the self-insured retention may be satisfied by either the named insured or County.

6. Acceptability of Insurers. Insurance is to be placed with insurers authorized to conduct business in the state with a current A.M. Best’s rating of no less than A:VII, unless otherwise acceptable to the County.

7. Verification of Coverage. Contractor shall furnish the County with original

Certificates of Insurance including all required amendatory endorsements (or copies of the applicable policy language effecting coverage required by this clause) and a copy of the Declarations and Endorsement Page of the CGL policy listing all policy endorsements to County before work begins. However, failure to obtain the required documents prior to the work beginning shall not waive the Contractor's obligation to provide them. The County reserves the right to require complete, certified copies of all required insurance policies, including endorsements required by these specifications, at any time.

8. Special Risks or Circumstances. County reserves the right to modify these requirements, including limits, based on the nature of the risk, prior experience, insurer, coverage, or other special circumstances.

9. Failure to Comply: Upon failure to comply with any of these insurance requirements, this Agreement may be forthwith declared suspended or terminated. Failure to obtain and/or maintain any required insurance shall not relieve any liability under this

Agreement, nor shall the insurance requirements be construed to conflict with or otherwise limit the indemnification obligations.

7.5. Hold Harmless/Indemnification

Contactor shall hold harmless, defend and indemnify County and its officers, officials, employees and volunteers from and against any and all liability, loss, damage, expense, costs

(including without limitation costs and fees of litigation) of every nature arising out of or in connection with Contractor's performance of work hereunder or its failure to comply with any of its obligations contained in the agreement, except such loss or damage which was caused by the sole negligence or willful misconduct of the County.

If such indemnification becomes necessary, the County Counsel for the County shall have the absolute right and discretion to approve or disapprove of any and all counsel employed to defend the County. This indemnification clause shall survive the termination or expiration of this

Agreement.