O2019-0830 ORDINANCE approving and authorizing contract between the City of Houston and A-1 PERSONNEL OF HOUSTON, INC, EXECUTEAM STAFFING L.P., SMITH & DEAN, INC d/b/a DEAN’S PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, and LANESTAFFING, INC, for Contingent Workforce Services for the Human Resources Department; providing a maximum contract amount - 3 Years with two one-year options - $15,000,000.00 - Central Service Revolving Fund

Request for Qualifications received November 29, 2018 for S69-Q28721 – Approve an Ordinance authorizing various vendor contracts between the City of Houston and each of the following firms:  A-1 Personnel of Houston, Inc., Smith & Dean, Inc. d/b/a Dean’s Professional Service, ExecuTeam Staffing and LaneStaffing in the maximum contract amount not to exceed $15,000,000.00 to provide contingent workforce services for Human Resources.

Specific Explanation:

The Director of Human Resources and the Chief Procurement Officer recommend that City Council approve an Ordinance authorizing various vendor contracts for three (3) years, with two (2) one-year option to each of the following firms:  A-1 Personnel of Houston, Inc., Smith & Dean, Inc. d/b/a Dean’s Professional Services, ExecuTeam Staffing and LaneStaffing in the maximum contract amount not to exceed $15,000,000.00 to provide contingent workforce services for Human Resources.  The Director of Human Resources and/or the Chief Procurement Officer may terminate the contract at any time upon 30-days written notice to the contractor. 

These multi-vendor contracts will provide skilled personnel to help with a range of operational, project, and support initiatives through qualified business/administrative, industrial, healthcare professionals and information technology staffing augmentation firms. Temporary employees are retained for seasonal work, work of fixed duration, or other work which does not have a reasonable expectancy to continue indefinitely.

The scope of work requires the contractor to provide the following, but not limited to:

1. Administrative/Clerical

2. Customer/Community Services

3. Finance/Accounting

4. General Labor/Maintenance

5. Planning/Program/Project Management

6. Technical

The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was advertised in accordance with the State of Texas bid laws. Twenty-one (21) responses to the RFQ were received on November 29, 2018 from the following firms:

The evaluation committee consisted of evaluators from Human Resources, Houston Public Works, Houston Airport System, and Houston Health Department.  The evaluation was based upon the following criteria:

1. Responsiveness of Proposal

2. Technical Competence

A-1 Personnel of Houston, Inc., Smith & Dean, Inc. d/b/a Dean’s Professional Services, ExecuTeam Staffing and Lane Staffing  were deemed as having met all requirements as outlined in the RFQ. 

Mark-ups from agencies are separated into two categories, Payrolling and Regular Agency. Payrolling is defined as contingent workers referred by the City to an agency for processing. Regular Agency is defined contingent workers referred to the City by an agency.  For “Regular Agency” postings, job postings are automatically distributed to all agencies.   Agencies who wish to participate can submit candidates for evaluation.  Once the candidate is selected, that agency will begin the onboarding process.  For “Payroll” job postings, the request is processed through best value pricing and the best low-cost bill rate within the markup parameters.  If the agency can supply our demand, then the City obtains the best low cost. If the agency cannot meet our demands, the next agency with the lowest cost is used.

These vendors will provide a very efficient, effective and low cost temporary employee services program to the City.  The use of contingent workers has been a strategic augmentation of City staffing and vendors have continued to improve on the delivery of services.

As a central services revolving fund budgetary account, the actual costs of contingent workers’ are billed to the respective department’s operating departmental budgets. Prior to ordering/rendering services, departments must have adequate budget authority to receive the requested services.  Departments are engaged, and they provide a schedule of anticipated needs for each year.

To ensure there are enough funds to cover grant awards and emergencies, 25% will be reserved for grants and 10% will be reserved for emergencies. The remaining 65% will be used for operational activities.

M/WBE Participation:

The MWBE participation goal for this contract is 8.77%. Below is the breakdown of participation by each vendor.

SUBCONTRACTOR LISTING

Pay or Play Program:

The proposed contract requires compliance with the City’s ‘Pay or Play’ Ordinance regarding health benefits for employees of City contractors. In this case, A-1 Personnel of Houston, Inc., and ExecuTeam Staffing, have selected to provide health benefits to eligible employees in compliance with City policy. Smith & Dean, Inc. d/b/a Dean’s Professional Services and LaneStaffing have selected to provide both.

Hire Houston First:

A-1 Personnel of Houston, Inc., Smith & Dean, Inc. d/b/a Dean’s Professional Services, ExecuTeam Staffing and LaneStaffing are designated HHF companies, but they were the successful awardees without application of the HHF preference.

Fiscal Note:

Funding for this item is included in the FY2020 Adopted Budget.  Therefore, no Fiscal Note is required as stated in the Financial Policies.

$15,000,000.00

Central Service Revolving Fund

Fund No.: 1002