RFQ - Applicant Tracking System - Revised 20250326.pdf

Applicant Tracking System

Request for Quote (RFQ)

Issue Date: March 26, 2025 Proposal Due Date: April 16, 2025

THIS RFQ AND ALL RESPONSES HERETO INCLUDING THE WINNING BID SHALL

BECOME PUBLIC RECORD, AND CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE STATE AUDITOR’S

OFFICE, LEGAL UNIT BY SENDING AN EMAIL TO https://www.mass.gov/forms/submit-a-public-records-request-to-the-osa . ANY PORTIONS OF A RESPONSE THAT ARE

LABELED AS CONFIDENTIAL WILL STILL BE CONSIDERED PUBLIC RECORD.

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Table of Contents

1. GENERAL PROCUREMENT INFORMATION

2 DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE OF PROCUREMENT

3 SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

4 BIDDER RESPONSES

5 PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND AWARD PROCESS

1. General Procurement Information

1.1 General Information

RFQ File Name/Title: Applicant Tracking System

Procuring Department: Office of the State Auditor (OSA)

Mailing Address: One Ashburton Place Room 1819 Boston, MA 02108

Procurement Team Leader

(PTL):

Rhonda Edwards 857-242-5510 Rhonda.Edwards@massauditor.gov

Procurement Contact: Shannon Gianatassio 857-242-5534 Shannon.Gianatassio@massauditor.gov

Procurement Category: ITS75: Software and Services

This Request for Quotes (“RFQ”) does not commit the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (“Commonwealth”) or the Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor (OSA) to approve a Statement of Work, pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a Bidder’s response to this RFQ or to procure or contract for products or services. OSA reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals received as a result of this RFQ and to contract for some, all or none of the products and services specified in this RFQ. OSA further reserves the right to negotiate with any or all qualified Bidders and to cancel in part or in its entirety this RFQ if it is in the best interest of OSA or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to do so.

OSA reserves the right to amend the RFQ and to terminate this procurement in whole or in part at any time. If OSA decides to amend or clarify any part of this RFQ, such amendment will be posted on CommBuys.

1.2 Eligible Bidders

Bidding is restricted to vendors on the following Statewide Contract: ITS75, Interested bidders must submit bids through COMMBUYS.

COMMBUYS Link to ITS75:

https://www.commbuys.com/bso/external/purchaseorder/poSummary.sdo?docId=PO-21-1080- OSD03-SRC01-21250&releaseNbr=0&external=true&parentUrl=close

The selected vendor will be subject to all the terms and conditions of Statewide Contract ITS75.

Any conflicting or additional terms, conditions, or agreements included in or attached to this form by the vendor shall be superseded and void. All terms herein shall be subject to OSA’s sole interpretation.

1.3 Event Calendar

The following represents the proposed timeline for this RFQ and project. All times stated are in prevailing Eastern Time. These dates represent a tentative schedule of events. The OSA reserves the right to modify these dates at any time. Bidders are responsible for checking the Bid record, including Bid Q&A, on COMMBUYS for Procurement Calendar updates.

The decision to invite top-scoring vendor(s) to make a presentation of their written proposal(s) prior to selection of a vendor is at the sole discretion of the OSA.

Task Date/Time

RFQ posted on COMMBUYS March 19, 2025

Deadline for Submission of Questions March 26, 2025

Estimated Release of Responses to Questions March 31, 2025

Deadline for Submission of RFQ Responses April 16, 2025 5:00pm

Vendor Selection and Contract Finalization April 23, 2025

Projected Contract Start Date TBD

After the deadline for response submission, OSA reserves the right to extend a Best and Final Offer Opportunity to all or a selected number of responders. Responders may be asked to submit additional information specific to project specifications and cost.

1.4 Term

The term of any resulting agreement made pursuant to this RFQ may extend in accordance with the terms and conditions of ITS75. The OSA anticipates that the start date for the engagement will begin upon the receipt of a fully executed SOW. The anticipated professional services should be completed within 100 days of the signature of the statement of work (SOW). Additional related services may be performed under change orders or amendments.

2 Description and Purpose of Procurement

2.1 Introduction

The Office of the State Auditor (hereinafter referred to as "OSA" or "Agency") is issuing this Request for Quote (RFQ) to solicit quotes from qualified vendors (hereinafter referred to as "Respondent" or "Vendor") for the provision of a comprehensive Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Applicant Tracking System (ATS). This system will support the OSA's recruitment and hiring processes, from job posting and application management to candidate evaluation and onboarding.

2.2 Project Overview

The OSA is a Massachusetts State Agency comprised of 200 to 225 staff located across 8 offices in the Commonwealth. OSA staff work in a hybrid model from home, office, and in the field at other Massachusetts agencies.

The OSA seeks a modern, user-friendly, secure SaaS Applicant Tracking System. The new system should streamline the hiring workflow, improve the candidate experience, and enhance the efficiency of the OSA's recruitment efforts.

The system's target users include job applicants, Deputies, Directors, HR staff, the hiring teams, and administrators. Specifically, 50 OSA employees are anticipated to use the system.

2.3 Scope of Work and Deliverables

To facilitate better requirements from the business, work will be completed, as needed, at the OSA’s facility at 1 Ashburton Place, Room 1819 in Boston, Massachusetts or through telework as agreed to by both parties.

The selected Vendor will be responsible for:

Provide project management services for oversight of the project, which includes a project plan and weekly status updates.

Provide a cloud-based or SaaS applicant tracking system.

System configuration and customization to meet the OSA's specific needs.

Comprehensive training for administrators, managers, and employees.

Ongoing accessible technical support and maintenance for administrators, managers, and employees.

General product documentation (e.g., user manuals, training materials).

Training videos for staff and administrators.

Assist in integrating with relevant OSA IT managed systems and services

OSA IT will support any questions regarding technology use or access to network resources.

2.4 Requirements

Provide the candidates with a user-friendly application process and timely communication.

Provide a centralized portal for candidates to apply to a job posting. (e.g., enter personnel information, submit a resume, etc.)

Provide a centralized portal for HR staff to capture, store and review candidate personnel information and resumes.

Provide applicant tracking and management features for HR staff.

Provide the ability for HR staff to define hiring teams for one or more job postings within the system.

Provide hiring teams with the ability to choose pre-defined meeting timeslots and for candidates to select a desired timeslot.

Provide a centralized location to capture hiring team feedback for a candidate.

Provide the ability to define standardized interview questions and rubrics.

Provide the ability to send automated email notifications that include applicant acceptance and regret notices.

Provide the ability to automate the process of sending and collecting new hire onboarding forms and data (e.g., CORI, Tax Check, etc).

Provide a mechanism to support job posting creation and distribution across multiple channels (e.g., MassCareers, Handshake, LinkedIn, etc.)

Providing dashboard reporting with filters and analytics to track key metrics.

Provide a mechanism to decrease data entry errors and the time required to input data into the Commonwealth’s HRCMS system for new employees.

Integrate with the OSA’s Active Directory or Entra ID to provide single sign-on for OSA employees.

Integrate with the OSA’s Exchange Online for emailing and scheduling where applicable.

Ensure compliance with relevant regulations and equal opportunity employment guidelines.

3 Submission Requirements

Responses must be submitted in COMMBUYS no later than the response due date and time indicated in the Event Calendar, or they will not be evaluated.

If Bidders have any issues with responding through COMMBUYS, they should contact the OSD Help Desk at OSDHelpDesk@mass.gov or call during regular business hours (8 a.m. -5 p.m., Monday - Friday) at (888) 627-8283 or (617) 720-3197.

Respondents may submit questions regarding this RFQ in writing to the procurement contact listed above before the deadline for submission of questions. All questions and answers will be posted to CommBuys

4 Bidder Responses

Respondents are required to submit a comprehensive proposal that includes the following sections:

Company Overview: Brief history, mission, and relevant experience in providing similar systems to government or public sector clients.

Proposed Solution: Detailed description of the proposed system, including features, functionality, architecture, security measures, and compliance with relevant regulations (e.g., data privacy). Demonstrate how the system addresses the OSA’s goals and scope.

Project Plan: This initial project plan must consider all project aspects and identify other recommended tasks, milestones, and key deliverables. The Bidder may propose to complete this project in phases, some of which may be worked on concurrently and/or depend upon OSA staff time and available funding.

Technical Specifications: Information on the hosting provider, data security, application security, and integration capabilities.

Implementation Plan: Detailed plan for system implementation, including timelines, milestones, data migration strategy, training approach, and risk mitigation.

Project Team: Introduce the key personnel involved in the project, highlighting their experience and qualifications.

References: Contact information for at least three clients for whom similar services have been provided, preferably in the public sector.

Security and Compliance: Detailed information on security measures, data privacy policies, and compliance with relevant regulations (e.g., state and federal data privacy laws).

Accessibility: Information on accessibility features and compliance with accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG).

Appendix: Supporting documents, such as case studies, certifications, or product brochures.

4.1 Bidder Cost Response

The bidder’s response for the cost proposal is preferred to be an all-inclusive fixed-price quote.

This quote should include a clear breakdown of all costs, including software licenses, implementation fees, training costs, ongoing maintenance, and support. Payment terms are 45 days per the statewide contract.

Bidders must submit a Cost Response as part of their bid. Note that all responses must include a fixed bid proposal and a rate card detailing the hourly rates used to develop the fixed price proposal.

Responses missing either the fixed bid or rate card will be considered incomplete and will not be accepted.

5 Proposal Evaluation and Award Process

5.1 Evaluation Criteria

The responses to this RFQ will be evaluated based on the criteria listed below.

Functionality and Features: How well the proposed system meets the OSA’s requirements and offers desired features.

Technical Capabilities: System architecture, scalability, security, integration capabilities, and ease of use.

User Experience and Usability: The intuitiveness and ease of use of the system for all user roles (administrators, managers, employees). This includes the clarity of the user interface, the efficiency of workflows, the accessibility of information, and the overall user satisfaction potential. Proposals should demonstrate a commitment to user-centered design principles.

Training and Support: The comprehensiveness and effectiveness of the proposed training program for all user roles, including initial training, ongoing resources, and documentation. The availability and responsiveness of live, real-time support channels (e.g., phone, chat, email) for addressing user issues and technical difficulties will also be evaluated. Proposals should detail service level agreements (SLAs) for support response times and issue resolution.

Implementation Plan: Clarity, feasibility, and completeness of the proposed implementation plan including schedule to complete.

Experience and Expertise: Vendor’s experience in providing similar systems, particularly to government or public sector clients.

Pricing and Value: Competitiveness of the proposed pricing and overall value proposition.

References: Positive feedback from previous clients.

Security and Compliance: Robustness of security measures and compliance with relevant regulations.

As part of the evaluation process, OSA may request a demonstration of a vendor’s product.

OSA reserves the right to engage in a Best and Final Offer (BAFO) period. The highest-scoring bidder or bidders may be requested to submit BAFOs.

The RFQ evaluation committee will recommend selecting the response that demonstrates the best value overall to OSA and the Commonwealth. OSA and the selected Bidder may negotiate a change in any element of contract performance or cost identified in the original RFQ or the selected Bidder’s response, which results in lower costs or a more cost-effective or better value than was presented in the selected Bidder’s original response.