Vendor Questions and Department Responses.pdf

Vendor Questions & Department Responses ITN 25/26-25, Employee Recognition System

Questions received timely and the Department response are below:

1. Question: Doheny Promo holds an active contract with the State of Florida through the Department of

Management Services, Division of State Purchasing; State Term Contract No. 80141600-24-STC for Promotional Merchandise.

Before proceeding further, I wanted to confirm whether our existing state contract and vendor registration can be leveraged for this solicitation, or if we are required to complete and submit the full administrative documentation package again as part of this bid.

Department Response: Please submit a complete reply to this Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) as described in Section 4. As for leveraging an existing state contract and vendor registration, please see Section 3.25 on Joint Ventures and Subcontractors of the ITN.

2. Question: To help us model pricing for branded materials and creative elements, we kindly request your company’s high-resolution logo (preferably in PNG, EPS, or SVG format).

Department Response: The Department’s logos and the State of Florida Seal will be attached to the solicitation as part of our Department Response to Vendor Questions.

3. Question: Can gift cards and prepaid cards be included as an employee redemption option?

Department Response: No.

4. Question: Is branded merchandise a redemption option that must be included for employees?

Department Response: Yes.

5. Question: Is a [peer to peer] recognition feature a desired feature? Do all 4,500 employees need access to the platform to reward one another?

Department Response: Yes to both questions.

6. Question: When do you plan on launching the program?

Department Response: At this time the date is To Be Determined.

7. Question: When do you plan to award the bid?

Department Response: No specified date at this time; however, see Section 3.22 of the ITN.

8. Question: Would you send us a picture of your lapel pin for reference?

Department Response: Images of the Department’s current lapel pins are included as attachments to the Department’s Response to Vendor Questions.

9. Question: Would you send us your brand guidelines with your logo for reference?

Department Response: The Department’s Brand Guide, logo, and the State of Florida Seal are included as attachments to the Department’s Response to Vendor Questions.

10. Question: What does the weighted factor mean in the 10-year contract term on the cost sheet (page 63)?

Department Response: The Cost is multiplied by the Weight Factor to give the Weighted Cost, which is used to derive the Total One-Time Cost (D in the formula used to determine the Total 10-Year Contract Term Cost.) There is a 70% weight to the initial 5-year term of the contract and 30% weight to the renewal years, to compute the Total Software Cost for the 10-year contract term. One-time costs are then added to reach the total cost, used for cost comparison and cost point calculation.

11. Question: Is there a requirement or interest in peer-to-peer recognition or input?

Department Response: See response to question 5 above.

12. Question: If using a point-based solution, would point accruement be allowed or desired?

13. Question: Are [there] award value classes? Or are all awards classed strictly by purpose (i.e.

milestone/retirement, agency, local)?

Department Response: Currently, all awards are classed by purpose (years of service, retirement, agency-wide recognition, etc.).

14. Question: If using a point-based solution, would all points expire upon employment separation or have some conversion value?

Department Response: All points would expire upon the earlier of employment separation or end of each fiscal year.

15. Question: Confirm whether the stated annual system budget is intended to cover all platform licensing, support, hosting, and implementation across the full user base.

Department Response: The stated budget is intended to include the items identified above. See Section

1.2 of the ITN.

16. Question: Confirm whether the $70,000 annual recognition awards budget is expected to flow through the vendor platform (vendor as merchant) or remain FDOR-controlled and only tracked/administered in the system.

Department Response: The Department anticipates maintaining control of the annual token budget and only tracking it through the system.

17. Question: Confirm if FDOR expects a single statewide instance or multiple instances (by division/region), and whether branding/configuration differs by business unit.

Department Response: The Department at minimum expects a single statewide instance of a recognition System. It is possible that program area-specific branding may be requested under the prospective agreement.

18. Question: Please confirm whether FDOR requires SSO (SAML/OIDC) and which identity provider is in use

(Azure AD/Entra, Okta, etc.).

Department Response: The Department requires Single Sign-On (SSO) functionality using SAML 2.0 with Department credentials, leveraging Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Entra ID) as the identity provider.

The Vendor’s Solution must integrate with Azure AD (Entra ID) and must not maintain local user credentials. User authentication and account lifecycle management remain under Department control. The Department's multi-factor authentication (MFA) and conditional access requirements must be supported.

Any user attributes exchanged during authentication must be approved by the Department. Alternative authentication methods or identity providers are not permitted unless expressly approved by the Department.

19. Question: Confirm the required data retention period for recognition data, audit logs, and reporting exports, including any public records retention expectations.

Department Response: Per the General Records Schedule GS1-SL for State and Local Government Agencies, Bonus/Award Records for employees (Item #333) must be retained for five (5) fiscal years.

20. Question: Please confirm expected integration points (HRIS/payroll, email, Teams/Slack, intranet, service desk) and whether APIs/webhooks are required.

Department Response: The Department expects integration points with Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Azure Active Directory (Entra ID), ServiceNow Service Desk, and SharePoint. Any integrations must use Department-approved APIs and standard secure protocols.

Inbound connectivity to Department systems is not permitted. The solution must operate only over secure outbound connections.

The use of APIs may be required to support approved integrations. Webhooks or additional third-party integrations are not permitted unless expressly approved by the Department.

All integrations are subject to Department security and architectural review and must comply with applicable Department standards and policies.

21. Question: Are there any mobile requirements (native app vs responsive web), and must the platform support ADA/WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility?

Department Response: The Department does not require a mobile or native mobile application as part of the solution.

The Solution is expected to be accessed via a web-based interface. The Solution must comply with applicable accessibility requirements, including ADA (2008), Section 508, WCAG 2.1, and the Florida Accessible Electronic and Information Technology Act.

Accessibility compliance must be maintained for the duration of the contract.

22. Question: Does FDOR require a pilot phase before statewide rollout? If yes, what is the target pilot population, duration, and success criteria?

23. Question: What is FDOR’s preferred implementation approach (fixed timeline vs phased), and what internal FDOR resources will be available for configuration decisions and testing?

Department Response: The Department is seeking a fixed timeline implementation. FDOR will have subject matter experts available both from technical (IT) and operational business processes for configuration decisions and testing.

24. Question: Confirm whether FDOR expects administrators/training to be included in the base price and how many train-the-trainer sessions are required.

Department Response: The Department expects administrator training to be included in the base price.

Department expects at least two train-the-trainer sessions.

https://files.floridados.gov/media/703328/gs1-sl-2020.pdf https://files.floridados.gov/media/703328/gs1-sl-2020.pdf

25. Question: Please clarify whether the system must support multiple recognition types (peer-to-peer, manager awards, service anniversaries, spot awards) and associated approval workflows.

Department Response: Yes, the Solution must support multiple recognition types, including peer-to-peer and spot awards (local/on-demand), years of service and retirement milestones (anniversaries), and Department-wide nominations with associated approval workflows.

26. Question: Does FDOR require budget controls by department/cost center and automated reporting by budget owner?

27. Question: Confirm if FDOR requires employee eligibility rules (e.g., employment type, tenure, bargaining unit) and whether the vendor must ingest HR roster updates on a schedule.

Department Response: Yes, there are some employee eligibility rules that need verification depending upon the award. For example, service milestone awards are dependent upon years of service with the State of Florida and Department-wide tangible awards (but not certificates) exclude contracted employees.

The Vendor will need to ingest HR data on a regular schedule to successfully implement Department recognition.

28. Question: Does FDOR require content moderation or restricted language controls for recognition messages (policy-based filters, approvals, reporting)?

Department Response: Yes, policy-based filters/moderations with audit trails.

29. Question: Clarify expectations for reporting: standard dashboards vs custom reports, export formats, and frequency of leadership reporting.

Department Response: The Department desires standard dashboards with applicable recognition engagement data, with the ability to run specific reports by Programs, engagement, etc. Export formats are expected to be in Microsoft Excel and presentation ready PDFs. We would prefer monthly reporting capabilities.

30. Question: Confirm whether FDOR expects customer success/adoption services (comms campaigns, engagement analytics reviews, quarterly business reviews) and whether those should be priced separately.

Department Response: The Department wants initial communication campaigns to inform employees of the Solution but does not require communication campaigns throughout the term of the contract.

Engagement information is expected throughout the term of the contract. These services could be included in the cost of the Solution or priced separately, as determined by the Vendor.

31. Question: Please confirm any service level requirements (support hours, response time, uptime SLA) and whether after-hours support is required.

Department Response: See Sections 2.1.13, and 2.3 of the ITN for service level requirements. After-hours support is not required.

32. Question: Confirm how FDOR will evaluate cost: should vendors price as subscription, subscription + implementation, or per-user—and what user count should be assumed? We are assuming 4,500 users. Is this accurate?

Department Response: The Department will evaluate cost data in accordance with Section 3.16. See also Attachment K: Cost Sheet. The Department may consider other pricing models during negotiations. See Section 1.3. We have 4,500 employees that we anticipate will need the ability to utilize the Solution.

33. Question: Confirm whether vendors may include optional priced items in the Cost Volume, and how those options will be scored.

Department Response: Yes, if the Vendor has other functionality or offerings that are not listed as the Department’s mandatory or optional system requirements, Vendors may include the additional priced items included with or attached to the Cost Sheet. See also answer to question 32.

34. Question: Please confirm whether FDOR expects negotiation of payment terms such as progress payments or holdbacks, and what structure FDOR prefers.

Department Response: FDOR anticipates negotiating pricing models and payment terms. No preferred payment structure has been identified at this time.

35. Question: Confirm FDOR’s expectations for data ownership and post-termination access: required export formats, transition support period, and any fees allowed.

Department Response: The Department must retain ownership and access to all Department data. Upon request or contract termination, the Vendor must provide all Department data in standard, non-proprietary formats, including .xlsx and .csv, at no additional cost. The Vendor must provide reasonable transition support to facilitate data transfer until the Department confirms successful receipt of the data. No additional fees may be charged for data export or upon contract termination.

36. Question: Confirm whether FDOR permits referencing cost drivers in Technical Volume (without pricing) given the instruction that cost must not be disclosed outside Cost Volume.

37. Question: Please confirm which elements FDOR anticipates negotiating (scope, pricing model, SLAs, implementation timeline, contract terms), and whether FDOR expects a Best and Final Offer (BAFO) after negotiations.

Department Response: See Section 1.3, Questions Being Explored of the ITN. The Department expect to request Best and Final Offers at the conclusion of negotiations.

38. Question: During negotiations, what factors will carry the most influence beyond initial scoring (total cost, risk, implementation speed, security posture, user adoption approach, award fulfillment capability)?

Department Response: The Department desires a Solution that provides the best value to the State. See Sections 3.19, Selection Criteria and Section 1.2, Description of Services Requested of the ITN.

39. Question: What baseline assumptions should all vendors use for comparable pricing (estimated employee count, admin roles, expected transaction volumes, number of award programs, number of departments/cost centers)?

Department Response: Please see Attachment K, Cost Sheet, of the ITN.

40. Question: What liability/risk posture does FDOR prefer regarding award fulfillment errors, platform outages, privacy incidents, and disputed recognitions (vendor responsibility vs FDOR responsibility)?

Department Response: The Department expects the selected vendor to be responsible for all the above-mentioned items. See also, Section 2.3, Performance Accountability Measures (PAMS) and Financial Consequences of the ITN.

41. Question: Does FDOR expect a defined transition-out period and optional transition services pricing, and if so, what duration and deliverables are preferred?

Department Response: As part of their reply the Department is not requesting vendors provide an exit migration plan; however, this may be explored during negotiations. See also answer to question 35 above.

42. Question: What does the Department like about the current program in place?

Department Response: Notable qualities of our current program include, but are not limited to, Department-wide recognition supports values, all employees can participate, multiple recognition opportunities (local, Department-wide), celebration of state service milestones and retirements.

43. Question: And what do employees/end-users like about the current program?

Department Response: The Department has not recently surveyed its employees regarding the program.

44. Question: What does the Department wish could be changed/improved about the current program?

Department Response: Elimination of manual processes and inventory management, increased employee engagement, more robust data analytics, streamlined processes.

45. Question: And what do employees/end-users wish could be changed/improved?

Department Response: Please see answers to questions 43 and 44 above, and Section 1.3, Specific Goals, Questions, and Facts of this ITN.

46. Question: It seems you are open to having awards branded with the Departmt’s logo, having some awards branded, and having none of the awards branded. Which of these is most preferred by the Department?

Department Response: The Department would prefer that items be Department branded, but as stated in Section 1.3, Specific Goals, Questions, and Facts of this ITN, we are interested in understanding the cost differential between branded and non-branded items.

47. Question: Which do you think would be most preferred by the employees/end-users?

Department Response: Unknown.

48. Question: Additionally, would the Department like to include non-physical awards like experiences or egift cards as part of the rewards catalog options as well?

49. Question: re: Section 2.1, MANDATORY SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. This section highlighting integrations does not specifically mention an HRIS related integration for enrollment data management.

Is People First/SAP still the HRIS and if so, would an integration be preferred by the Department?

Department Response: People First/SAP remains the Department’s human resources system. The Department does not anticipate a direct integration with the HRIS for this solution.

The Department expects the Vendor to support data transfer of applicable information between the Department’s systems and the Vendor’s Solution, as determined by the Department. Any such data exchange will be subject to Department approval and applicable security requirements and must be included in the Vendor’s base pricing, with no additional fees or charges.

50. Question: Are there any other potential integration requirements not mentioned in the ITN (i.e. LMS)?

Department Response: Other potential integrations not mentioned may include uploading recognition certificates into the Axiom Pro personnel file system. See answer to question 20.

51. Question: Outside of the existing programs mentioned (service milestones, retirement, agencywide nominated awards, and local [on demand] recognition), what other program ideas does the Department have in mind for the new launch?

Department Response: Unknown.

52. Question: Are these programs such as Wellness, Gamification, KPI-based rewards, attendance, activity, or other? Please provide examples!

Department Response: See answer to question 51.

53. Question: Which processes are manual as part of your program today and which elements would you like to be automated in an ideal program?

Department Response: The Department manually procures and maintains inventory of all award tokens for all recognition types. Recognition letters, certificates, memos, and address labels are manually generated from data from People First or our active directory/recognition system. Recognition awards are packaged and mailed out by hand. Data is manually generated from the system and undergoes manual tabulation and analysis. Recognition letters are manually indexed into the personnel filing system. We would like all of these processes to be automated. See section 1.1 of the ITN.

54. Question: In addition to the goals stated, what overarching goals does the Department have for the success of the program itself? A few examples may include: employee engagement, culture, attendance, retention, productivity, wellbeing, connectivity, employee morale, etc.

Department Response: The Department desires increased employee engagement and wellbeing, improved system functionality and recognition program awareness and visibility, fostering a culture of appreciation and recognition throughout the Department, improved employee morale and retention.

Increased ability to provide managers and team leaders with tools to efficiently and effectively recognize and reward employees.

55. Question: Furthermore, are they any organizational challenges that you would like for the program to address (i.e. high turnover, unhappy employees, poor production, etc.)?

Department Response: Increased employee engagement, employee satisfaction, connection with the organization, and retention.

56. Question: How important is contracting with a provider that focuses on strategic support and guidance to complement its technology as opposed to just a platform partner?

Department Response: The Department is interested in reviewing value-added services and products that may be offered by vendors.

57. Question: What specific types of analytics do you envision your team utilizing to track success of the program? Specific KPIs?

Department Response: Analytics the Department may be interested in include but are not necessarily limited to: employee participation rates, management-initiated recognition, budget utilization, redemption rate, employee satisfaction, correlation with engagement and retention data.

Thank you for your interest in doing business with the Florida Department of Revenue.

Sincerely, Ed Valla, FCCN, FCCM, FCPM, CPPB

Purchasing Analyst EXE Program/Office of Financial Management/Purchasing Florida Department of Revenue

(850) 717-7567 edwin.valla@floridarevenue.com mailto:edwin.valla@floridarevenue.com