RFP 033-25 PROFESSIONAL REFERENCE CHECK SERVICES.pdf

DOUGLAS COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Finance Department, Purchasing Division

100 Third Street, Suite 130

Castle Rock, Colorado 80104

Telephone: 303-663-6161 www.douglas.co.us

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

NO. 033-25

PROFESSIONAL REFERENCE CHECK SERVICES

YOUR PROPOSAL RESPONSE MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN

NOVEMBER 03, 2025 @ 3:00PM

PROPOSAL CERTIFICATION

We offer to provide to Douglas County the materials, supplies, products and/or services requested in accordance with the specifications and subject to the terms and conditions of the purchase(s) described herein:

NAME:

ADDRESS:

CITY: STATE: ZIP:

TELEPHONE NUMBER: FAX NUMBER:

E-MAIL:

BY:

(Printed or Typed Name)

(Signature)

TAXPAYER I.D. NUMBER:

Signature constitutes acceptance of all terms and conditions listed on this form and all documents attached.

Proposals shall be received ELECTRONICALLY ONLY through the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing/BidNet

System website at (www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/douglas-county-government). All proposal responses should consist of one (1) PDF document, without password protection. It is the sole responsibility of the respondent to ensure that their response is received on time. Proposals will not be considered which are received after the time stated.

Douglas County distributes solicitation documents through the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing/BidNet System only.

Copies of solicitations obtained from other sources are not considered official copies and the County cannot attest to their accuracy. All BidNet System questions must be addressed with BidNet Vendor Support at 800-835-4603.

Douglas County Government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive formalities, informalities, or irregularities contained in the said proposal and furthermore, to award an agreement/contract for items herein, either in whole or in part, if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the County to do so. Additionally, the County reserves the right to negotiate optional items and/or services with the successful respondent.

http://www.douglas.co.us/ http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/douglas-county-government

SECTION ONE ~ GENERAL INFORMATION:

A. Overview:

Through this Request for Proposal (RFP), the Department of Human Resources of Douglas County Government, hereinafter referred to as the County, respectfully requests proposals from responsible and highly-qualified companies to perform professional reference check services.

The initial agreement/contract, issued as a result of this RFP, will be for a period of one (1) year, beginning approximately January 1, 2026 to and including December 31, 2026. All pricing shall be firm and fixed for the initial agreement/contract period. The County shall have the option to renew the award for four (4) additional periods of one (1) year each, with the same terms and conditions. This agreement/contract and any extension to the original period of a subject agreement/contract shall be contingent upon annual funding being appropriated, budgeted, and otherwise made available for such purposes and subject to the County’s unanimous satisfaction with the services received during the preceding agreement/contract period.

B. Profile of Douglas County:

Douglas County was formed in 1861 as one of the first sixteen Colorado counties originally stretching from the

Rocky Mountains to the Kansas border. Today the County covers almost 844 square miles highlighting the beauty of the mountains, foothills and plains along the I-25 corridor between Denver and Colorado Springs. Urban areas, include unincorporated Highlands Ranch, the City of Lone Tree, the City of Castle Pines, and the towns of Castle

Rock (county seat), Parker and Larkspur. We are recognized for being one of the most family friendly communities in Colorado. The County has an estimated population of 381,500 persons.

The County provides a wide range of services that includes law enforcement and public safety, planning and zoning, parks and open space, highways and streets, culture and recreation, public health and human services, elections, and general administrative services.

The three-member Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) serves as the legislative, policy-making and administrative body governing the unincorporated area of the County. The commissioners are elected at large from one of three geographical districts and serve staggered four-year terms (term-limited to two terms).

Budget authorization is one of the few oversight roles the Board can legally exercise with the other elected officials, who derive their responsibilities and authorities from statute. Those seven elected offices include

Assessor, Clerk and Recorder, Coroner, District Attorney, Sheriff, Surveyor and Treasurer. Douglas, Lincoln and

Elbert Counties make up the new 23rd Judicial District. The creation of the new judicial district was driven by the area’s population growth. State House Bill 20-1026 created the 23rd Judicial District on January 14, 2025.

The Board is directly supported by the County Manager, and the County Attorney. Appointed officials manage the remainder of the County’s functions, including Budget, Community Development, Community Justice

Services, Community Services, Emergency Management, Engineering, Facilities, Fleet and Emergency Support

Services, Finance, Human Resources, Human Services, Information Technology, Open Space and Natural

Resources, Public Affairs, Public Health, and Public Works.

The Board is charged with the responsibility of providing adequate budget appropriations to fund statutory functions, as well as responding to the service needs of the citizens. In turn, the other elected and appointed officials are charged with managing their authorized budgets to meet their statutory obligations and service demands as cost-effectively as possible. The Board is required to adopt a final budget by December 15th. The adopted budget becomes the County’s annual financial plan and mechanism to control spending.

The Board is also financially accountable for five blended component units, the Douglas County Law

Enforcement Authority, the Douglas County Woodmoor Mountain General Improvement District, the Lincoln

Station Local Improvement District, the Douglas County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Fallen Officers

Fund. The Sheriff’s Forfeiture Fund, the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Fallen Officers Fund are subject to audit, but not to budget law, and are also included in the financial statements of the County.

C. Scope of Services:

We are seeking a company to facilitate professional reference checks for job candidates.

• The County’s intent is to award to only one (1) company for the provision of professional reference check services, as specified; however, the results of this RFP do not obligate the County in any manner.

• The contract placed as a result of this RFP, shall be a Blanket Purchase Agreement. The Blanket Purchase

Agreement authorizes, but does not obligate, the County to any minimum or maximum dollar amount or quantity of professional reference check services.

The mandatory requirements are as follows:

1) Must support an online/web-based process

2) Reference checks collected must remain anonymous and confidential

3) Allow for multiple HR users with individual accounts

4) Allow Douglas County to create free-form questions for respondents (essay-style & short answer)

5) Ability to add mandatory questions like “Would you work with this person again? Yes/no”

6) HR must be able to download the report into PDF or similar format

7) Ability to customize email invitations to the candidate and responders

8) Ability to finalize reference check requests even if we do not have a set number of responses

9) Must not be limited to a specific number of references; we require unlimited invitations/collections of reference checks

The preferred (but not required) requirements are as follows:

1) Tracking data collected from respondents (IP Addresses, duplicate responses)

2) Ability to differentiate responses between managers and peers/coworkers

3) Surveys with a rating scale/comparing scale, or a similar scoring system

4) A mobile friendly application

5) Options to select from multiple surveys/types of surveys

6) Applicant Tracking System (ATS) integration

7) Ability to text the candidate and references the links to surveys and links to the instructions

8) Ability to add Douglas County logo & branding

9) Ability to archive and access bulk downloads

10) Reference checks remain in the dashboard indefinitely until user deletes them

11) Standard and custom reports

12) See candidate’s history (if we sent them a reference check before)

13) HR can go into a candidate’s profile and edit items like email addresses and phone numbers

14) HR can see the reference details (name, email, cell (if text is available), and the date the reference responded)

D. Time Requirements/Tentative Proposal Calendar:

October 14, 2025 Request for Proposal (RFP), posted on the RME-Purchasing System

October 21, 2025 Request for Proposal (RFP), deadline for submission of questions

October 24, 2025 Request for Proposal (RFP), posting of questions/responses

November 03, 2025 Request for Proposal (RFP), due date (see page one)

November/December 2025 Interview of Finalists, if necessary

November/December 2025 Final Selection

January 2026 Contract Start Date

E. General Requirements:

All proposals submitted shall become the property of the County. All proposals shall include all of the information requested in this RFP and any additional data that the respondent deems pertinent to the understanding and evaluation of their proposal response. All proposals shall meet, at a minimum, all criteria outlined in the following sections. At the discretion of the County, companies submitting proposals may be requested to make presentations as part of the evaluation process. The respondent should not withhold any information from their written response in anticipation of presenting the information orally, since oral presentations may not be solicited. The County will not reimburse the respondents to this RFP for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of said proposal or in the preparation for and attendance at a presentation.

F. Mandatory Information to be Included in your Proposal Response:

All proposal responses must address each of the following and be submitted with the ability to complete the work as described. Do not exclude any major or minor items of information not specifically mentioned, but which would normally and reasonably be provided. Please be advised that the greater the degree of specificity, the more likely it will be for the County to review your response favorably. Proposal responses must include, but are not limited to, the following information.

1) Include a statement related to your complete understanding and compliance with all of the general and mandatory requirements. Provide a detailed narrative of how your proposal intends to meet the objectives of the County, as outlined.

2) Provide a complete description of your company to include the number of years you have been doing business in the State of Colorado and the prior experience you have had with similar agreements/contracts.

3) Please provide pricing for the requested services. Is there a setup fee or monthly service fee? Are there any other costs or expenses we should know about?

4) Describe the step-by-step procedure that would be followed by each party involved in the reference check process.

5) Describe your customer support/service:

a. How many hours per day and how many days per year is a representative available to the HR Dept?

Is that the same or different for candidates or survey respondents?

b. In what format is customer service available (for example, email, phone call, chat, text)?

c. What is your average response turn-around time?

6) Describe the role of the HR recruiter in using your tool.

7) Describe your data’s validity:

a. How are your questions developed?

b. Can HR develop its own set of questions?

c. What is the scoring methodology used?

8) All responses shall include a list of three (3) current references, with a minimum of one (1) being a State and/or Local Government client. All references shall include name, title, address, telephone number, and e-mail address for which you are currently furnishing or have in the past sold services on a same or similar agreement/contract. The failure to include references and/or the inability to contact the references shall be ample cause for the rejection of your proposal response.

9) All respondents must submit written disclosure of any known potential conflicts of interest that may result during the performance of the services listed herein.

10) List any and all legal disputes, mediations, arbitrations, and/or lawsuits in which you or your company has been involved over the last five (5) years, and for each, include a description of all claims asserted, a synopsis of the underlying factual allegations, and a discussion of the current status and/or outcome. For all lawsuits, identify the parties, the case number and the court in which the lawsuit proceeded.

G. Questions/Inquires/Addendum:

All questions related to this RFP must be submitted ELECTRONICALLY ONLY through the Rocky Mountain

E-Purchasing/BidNet System website at (www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/douglas-county-government). Please enter only one (1) question per line.

Questions will be received until 3:00 pm MDT on October 21, 2025. Responses to all questions will be posted on the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing/BidNet System no-later-than October 24, 2025.

If it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP or if additional data is necessary to enable an exact interpretation of the provisions of this request, an addendum will be issued. It is the responsibility of the respondent to ensure that they have received all addendums prior to submitting their RFP response.

http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/douglas-county-government

SECTION TWO ~ PROPOSAL CONDITIONS AND PROVISIONS:

All proposals must be submitted in accordance with all terms, conditions, specifications, and stipulations contained herein. Respondents shall carefully read and be familiar with all terms, conditions, specifications, and stipulations contained in this RFP, which shall become part of the final agreement/contract.

All proposals must be signed by a duly-authorized official of the company. The completed and signed proposal certification page (together with all required attachments) must be uploaded to the Rocky Mountain E-

Purchasing/BidNet System before the due date and time shown on page one (1).

All participating respondents, by their signature on the certification page, shall agree to comply with all terms, conditions, specifications, and stipulations of this RFP as stated or implied herein. Any alteration, erasure or interlineation by the respondent in this RFP shall constitute cause for rejection by the County. Exceptions or deviations to this RFP must not be added to the RFP pages and must be on company letterhead and accompany the proposal response.

All respondents are required to complete all of the information requested in this RFP. Failure to do so may result in the disqualification of your proposal response.

All pricing shall be fixed and subject to acceptance or rejection within ninety (90) days of the proposal due date.

The County will not be responsible for any goods delivered and/or services performed without its purchase order, signed by an authorized representative of the County’s Purchasing Division.

The successful respondent will be required to provide proof of and the required limits of liability insurance, including Workers’ Compensation. This proof of insurance must be in the form of a “Certificate of Insurance” and must show coverage in the amounts specified by the laws of the State of Colorado for the duration of any agreement/contract issued as a result of this RFP. Additionally, the County must be notified of any changes occurring in this coverage and the successful respondent must demonstrate to the County that such changes do not, in any way, affect the minimum liability insurance required for this proposal.

All information submitted in response to this RFP may be subject to disclosure under the Colorado Open Records

Act. Respondents are discouraged from providing information that they consider confidential and/or privileged as part of their response to this RFP. If any portion of your response is identified as proprietary and/or confidential, a redacted copy must be uploaded to the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing/BidNet System with your original/complete response.

The successful respondent may be required, as a provision of this RFP, to submit proof of compliance with governmental health and safety codes, regulations and standards, as appropriate.

The successful respondent shall be in complete compliance with all terms, conditions, specifications, and stipulations of this RFP as outlined herein. The County shall have the right to inspect the facilities and equipment of the successful respondent to ensure such compliance.

No proposal shall be accepted from, and no agreement/contract will be awarded to, any person, firm or corporation that is in arrears to the County, upon debt or contract, or that is a defaulter, as surety or otherwise, upon any obligation to the County, or that has failed to attain or demonstrate compliance with any law, ordinance, regulation, or agreement/contract term or condition as may be provided for or required in any County agreement/contract, or that may be deemed irresponsible or unreliable by the County. Respondents may be required to submit satisfactory evidence that they have a practical knowledge of this particular work and that they have the necessary financial resources to perform and complete the work outlined in this RFP.

All respondents agree to abide by all of the laws, regulations, and administrative rulings of the United States, the

State of Colorado, and the County of Douglas, securing all necessary licenses/permits in connection with this

RFP.

All materials furnished or services performed under the terms of this agreement/contract issued as a result of this

RFP shall comply with the requirements and standards specified in the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and

Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 (Public Law 91-596), as well as with other applicable federal, state, and local codes.

In the event that this RFP requires a formal contract to be prepared by the County, the successful respondent will properly sign and furnish any bonds, insurance, Workers’ Compensation, etc. as may be required by the County within ten (10) days (unless a longer period is allowed by the County) from the date of receipt of the formal contract forms.

All respondents must take into consideration that only the County’s documents will be used in the finalization of any contract issued as a result of this RFP. Respondents are responsible for reviewing such documents prior to submitting their proposal response.

ETHICAL STANDARDS:

It shall be a breach of ethical standards for any person to offer, give, or agree to give any employee or former employee, or for any employee or former employee to solicit, demand, accept, or agree to accept from another person, a gratuity or an offer of employment in connection with any decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, preparation of any part of a program requirement or purchase request, influencing the content of any specification or procurement standard, rendering of advice, investigation, auditing, or in any other capacity in any proceeding of application, request for ruling, determination, claim or controversy, or other particular matter, pertaining to any program requirement or an agreement/contract or subcontract, or to any solicitation or

RFP, therefore.

It shall be a breach of ethical standards for any payment, gratuity, or offer of employment to be made by or on behalf of a subcontractor under an agreement/contract to the prime contractor or higher tier subcontractor or any person associated therewith, as an inducement for the award of a subcontract or order.

In the event that any gratuities or kickbacks are offered or tendered to any County employee or representative, the proposal response shall be disqualified and shall not be reinstated.

ETHICSPOINT/NAVEX GLOBAL:

Douglas County is committed to an environment where open, honest communication is the expectation, not the exception. Douglas County has implemented a phone and Internet-based reporting system called

EthicsPoint/Navex Global. The reporting system allows employees to report issues or concerns that they may have in an anonymous and confidential manner. We consider it a critical component in providing a safe, secure, and ethical workplace.

An option within the system allows vendors to also report an issue. As a vendor, you are in a position to observe not only questionable or unethical behavior by our employees but also identify areas that you would like to make a suggestion for change. By calling 1-888-337-3094 or logging-in on the Internet to www.ethicspoint.com and entering Douglas County Government, you can file a report, offer a suggestion or voice a concern. Online instructions are available on how to use the system. The EthicsPoint/Navex Global system also offers a follow-up/response mechanism. You can be assured that this is a fast, easy, and confidential system.

NON-COLLUSIVE PROPOSAL CERTIFICATION:

By the submission of your proposal, the respondent certifies that:

1) The proposal has been arrived at by the respondent independently and has been submitted without collusion with any other company.

2) The contents of the proposal have not been communicated by the respondent; nor, to the best of their knowledge and belief, by any of their employees or agents, to any person not an employee or agent of the respondent or the surety on any bond furnished herewith, and will not be communicated to any such person prior to the official opening of this proposal.

3) No company shall submit more than one (1) proposal for this purchase.

http://www.ethicspoint.com/

NON-DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT:

In connection with the performance of work under an agreement/contract issued as a result of this RFP, the successful respondent must agree not to refuse to hire, discharge, promote or demote, or to discriminate in matters of compensation against any person otherwise qualified, solely because of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, military status, sexual orientation, marital status, or physical or mental disability. The successful respondent must further agree to insert the foregoing provision into all subcontracts.

INDEMNIFICATION:

The County cannot and by this agreement/contract does not agree to indemnify, hold harmless, exonerate or assume the defense of the company or any other person or entity whatsoever, for any purpose whatsoever. The company shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the County, its commissioners, officials, officers, directors, agents, and employees from any and all claims, demands, suits, actions or proceedings of any kind or nature whatsoever, including Workers’ Compensation claims, in any way resulting from or arising from the services rendered under this agreement/contract; provided, however, that the company need not indemnify or save harmless the County, its officers, agents and employees from damages resulting from the sole negligence of the

County’s commissioners, officials, officers, directors, agents, and employees.

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR:

The company is an Independent Contractor and is free to perform services for other clients. Notwithstanding any provision of this agreement/contract, all personnel assigned by the company to perform work under this agreement/contract shall be, and remain at all times, employees of the company for all purposes. The County shall have no responsibility for any federal and state taxes and contributions for Social Security, unemployment insurance, income withholding tax, and other taxes measured by wages paid to employees of the company and/or its designated agents. The company acknowledges that it and its employees are not entitled to Workers’

Compensation benefits or Unemployment Insurance benefits from the County, unless the company or a third party provides such coverage, and that the County does not pay for or otherwise provide such coverage. The company shall provide and keep in force Workers’ Compensation (and provide proof of such insurance when requested by the County) and Unemployment Compensation insurance in the amounts required by law, and shall be solely responsible for its own actions, its employees and agents.

ASSIGNMENT OF PURCHASE ORDER OR CONTRACT:

The successful respondent may not assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations under any purchase order or agreement/contract made and entered into pursuant to the County RFP without the prior written approval of the County Purchasing Division.

CANCELLATION:

The County reserves the right to cancel the whole or any part of an agreement/contract issued as a result of this

RFP due to the failure of the successful respondent to carry out any term, promise or condition of the agreement/contract. The County will issue a written notice of default to the successful respondent for failing to act in compliance with the terms and conditions of such an agreement/contract.

EXAMINATION OF RECORDS:

The successful respondent agrees that the County shall, until the expiration of three (3) years after the final payment under an agreement/contract issued as a result of this RFP, have access to and the right to examine any directly pertinent books, documents, papers, and records of the respondent involving transactions of such agreement/contract.

PRICE AND PAYMENT:

1) All prices shall be firm and fixed for the specified time frame.

2) All payment terms shall be “Net 30”; consideration will be given to any discounts offered for payments made earlier than “Net 30”, please explain.

3) In an effort to improve efficiency, Douglas County encourages the use of purchasing cards to make payments.

Under this method, payments are made after the verification of the receipt of the goods and services and following the receipt of a proper invoice. Please confirm if this would be an acceptable payment option.

TAXES:

All pricing shall reflect all applicable tax exemptions for Douglas County:

1) Federal Registration Number: 84-6000761

2) State Registration Number: 98-04428

COOPERATIVE PURCHASING:

Douglas County encourages cooperative purchasing in an effort to assist other agencies to reduce their cost of bidding and to make better use of taxpayer dollars through volume purchasing. Vendors may, at their discretion, agree to extend the prices and/or terms of the resulting award to other state or local government agencies, school districts, or political subdivisions in the event they would have a need for the same product/service. Usage by any entity shall not have a negative impact on Douglas County in the current term or in any future terms. The vendor must deal directly with any governmental agency concerning the placement of purchase orders/agreements, freight/delivery charges, contractual disputes, invoices, and payments. Douglas County shall not be liable for any costs or damages incurred by any other entity.

EXHIBITS:

1) Exhibit “A” ~ Standard Public Contract for Services (for information only)