Why does it take so long for the customer/manager to get back to us after the interview? Typically, the time frame is 7-10 days. Doesn’t the customer/manager know what minimum requirements they are looking for and why does the customer/manager need to interview all 30-40 candidates before making up their mind?
DIR does not impose official time frames upon Customers for completion and / or provide guidance for the selection/hiring of candidates. DIR does however, contact customers weekly to obtain status of all pending solicitation opportunities that is then communicated to all Vendors. DIR does suggest to customers a two week turnaround for placement of staff augmentation personnel.
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Is changing a vendor after the end of contract (August 31 st) allowed for the same job (renewal)?
In accordance with Section XII of Exhibit A of the ITSAC contract, “The Vendor shall not hire employees of another Vendor providing Workers to a DIR Customer and offer such employees as Workers for a project on which that Worker is currently participating.” This provision does apply to Purchase Orders that are expiring and the DIR Customer chooses to extend the engagement by issuing a new Purchase Order for the same scope of work. This provision is included in the contract to provide our customers with stability for the vendors with whom they are contracting across fiscal year boundaries.
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On a dual submittal… what is the acceptable supporting documentation? Will DIR consider vendors completing a form showing candidate permission to submit?
Supporting documentation includes written documentation showing that the vendor did receive authorization from the candidate to submit them for the solicitation. That documentation can be forwarded to DIR via email, facsimile and/or US mail and in other alternative formats including Vendor generated forms.
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Are vendors notified as soon as an infraction is determined for ‘all’ possible infraction categories? In other words, we shouldn’t be surprised at the number of infractions on our quarterly reports, right?
Vendors are notified promptly upon any infractions, and should therefore not be surprised at time of quarterly reports.
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Are all acceptable candidate resumes provided to the customers?
All acceptable candidate resumes are forwarded to Customer for consideration.
Does DIR scan for quality of candidates based upon “vendor comments” and are disqualifications made based upon these scans?
DIR does not screen for quality. DIR’s screening and determination of a candidate’s resume as acceptable is based solely on meeting the minimum requirements defined in the solicitation. “Vendor Comments” section is not considered, however, may offer insight to the Customer during the review process.
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How do we go about getting interview feedback?
Customers will be best source of information for feedback.
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Who do we contact when our contractor nears the end of the allocated hours on the PO?
Vendor should contact Customer POC identified on Purchase Order regarding contractual issues.
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How much does a disqualification count against us?
Infractions vary and carry different point deductions. Reference Vendor Opportunities and Performance Metrics (Section IX, page 17) of Exhibit A, Department of Information Resources Information Technology Staff Augmentation Contract (ITSAC) Terms and Conditions for more detail.
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When a candidate is disqualified, does it count against them on later submissions?
No. Candidate disqualification is specific to each solicitation opportunity.
Regarding duplicate submissions, if there is valid proof of permission from a candidate submitted, do we still receive point/points taken off and, if so, what is the outcome if a vendor clearly had permission from the candidate?
Infractions are only assessed for unauthorized submissions. It is the responsibility of the Vendor to provide supporting documentation to DIR for review.
How are you ensuring each customer is reviewing each and every resume presented to them and not just selecting out of the first 20 – 50 resumes because they choose not to review 100+ resumes?
DIR does not offer any guidance as to hiring practices or require Customers to provide evaluation criteria and /or methodologies.
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When the date due for the sales report (15th) falls on a Sunday, does the DIR deadline fall on Friday the 14th or Monday the 16th?
Due date of reports falls to the following Monday.
How many of the 203 jobs/solicitations were re-issued and/or cancelled?
Q1 and Q2 reports were based on 132 solicitations.
12 Re-solicitations
7 of 12 were cancelled
5 of 12 were awarded
40 cancellations
8 of 40 had interviews held with no award
32 of 40 had resumes submitted, no action taken.
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Can DIR provide rules for customers to adhere to so that customers can respond to submissions in a timelier manner, i.e., possibly impose specific response times so that customers can be rated with other customers?
DIR is committed to the success of the program and as such will explore solutions to assist our Vendor community in this area.
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What is the purpose of the 11:00 a.m. deadline and has DIR considered a 5:00 p.m. deadline?
The deadline is arbitrary. It has been changed in the past and consideration may be given for a change in the future.
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Why does DIR not allow vendors to choose a category for a candidate based on that particular candidate’s availability?
Vendors were awarded specific ITSAC Level / Technology Type categories based on evaluation criteria. No further negotiation of categories is allowed.
Will there be another RFO for adding staffing vendors and, if so, when will this occur?
DIR plans to re-advertise in the very near future (August / September 2007 time frame). Current Vendors do not need to respond unless they are wanting to be awarded additional Category, Level or Technology Types.
Is DIR expecting growth in the non-state agency staffing business and, if so, will DIR expect the vendors to supply this business and what would the advantages be to the vendors to bring K-12/Higher Education/Local Gov’t business to DIR? Also, the perception is to not bring staffing business to DIR outside of state agencies because it will be taken out to bid.
DIR does anticipate growth outside the traditional staffing Customers, which is primarily State of Texas agencies at this present time. DIR markets and provides outreach services through internal channels to educate all eligible entities (which include K-12, Higher Education, Local Gov’t and State Customers) on the types of contracts (products / services) offered through DIR.
Vendors are encouraged to promote (market and sell) their DIR staffing contract(s) to all eligible entities. Advantages to Vendor include establishing / fostering Customer relationships and increased sales. Many local governmental entities use DIR contracts today for many of their IT commodity purchases and are aware that using the DIR contracts eliminates the need to go out for a separate bid.
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Is a vendor allowed to submit a candidate in June for a July start date when a contract ends on June 30th?
Yes.
Why do most of the solicitations end on August 31 st and is it possible to extend the candidate’s work beyond the August 31 st date?
Contract duration periods are defined by Customers and in most instances are coterminous with the State Fiscal year which is September 1 through August 31. Appropriation of funds also factors into the equation. Extensions / renewals are also a possibility.
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If a vendor “back-fills” a solicitation with a different candidate, what does a vendor state on the monthly report and, would this be considered a competitive or best-value?
Reporting requirements should remain consistent through reporting period. If a placement was the result of a competitive solicitation it should continue to be reported as such for the duration and the same for the other acquisition types which include “Best Value” and “Renewal”.
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Any way to avoid “bombarding” vendors with multiple solicitations at a time. It is difficult for smaller firms to compete with larger firms when solicitations are sent in short time spans and / or late / early in the day. Is there any way to send out solicitations in a more consistent manner?
DIR will make every effort in the future to spread out requirements if at all possible; however, submissions are based on Customer demand.
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Do the 132 solicitations include cancelled solicitations?
Yes.
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Do the 3600+ resumes include resumes submitted to cancelled solicitations?
Yes.
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When a customer cancels a solicitation after the submittals are made, how is that handled in the matrix? Also, how are re-posting handled in the matrix?
The solicitation is calculated for Vendor metrics. It is one of the five Vendor performance categories (Responsiveness) that are measured. Each category is weighted equally (20%). Responsiveness is the number of Work Order Solicitations to which the Vendor responded, within the prescribed time, during a quarter.
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We submitted over 300 resumes and have had one placement. How can DIR provide assistance so that our performance can be improved?
DIR suggests consulting with Customers for feedback and initiating improvements / processes related to recruiting.
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Will DIR announce a top performing vendor?
No. However, the metrics for all vendors are available through the Texas Open Records Act.
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How can a vendor dispute an infraction?
Submit in writing to brian.bell@dir.state.tx.us
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Is it possible that a vendor can contact customers directly so that a candidate’s resume can be previewed so that when the solicitation comes a decision is arrived at more quickly?
Vendors are encouraged to meet with Customers to discuss requirements/projects. The intent of the program is for the process to be as fair and as objective as possible, thus providing a fair playing field for all vendors. Any information gathering prior to an open solicitation is considered acceptable; however, Vendors should refrain from having discussions during a solicitation. Customers are also encouraged to hire candidates through the Best Value process if they already know which Worker they want to hire. This saves time for Vendors, DIR and the Customers.
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It appears that specific candidates are targeted. How often does a customer ask a vendor to submit a candidate and that candidate is placed?
DIR is not aware of this behavior. All solicitations advertised through DIR are considered to be competitive opportunities.
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If a successful candidate’s contract is extended numerous times, at what point can a vendor take the opportunity to increase the candidate’s rate?
Vendors may attempt to negotiate rate(s) at the end of the contract duration period. The final rates negotiated between the Vendor and the Customer cannot exceed the Not-to-Exceed rates in the ITSAC contract.
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Can requirements be rated or weighted so that the most important requirement is placed first?
Minimum requirements within a solicitation are presently ranked in order of precedence (highest to lowest) and also correlate to Level / Technology Type solicitation is advertised under.
