TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF MAY 21, 2020
COMMITTEE ON PROCUREMENT
Mr. Brian A. Perkovich, Executive Director
Title
Issue purchase order and enter into an agreement for Contract 19-RFP-41 Compensation and Benefits Study with MGT of America Consulting, LLC in an amount not to exceed $80,224.00, Account 101-25000-612430, Requisition 1532429 (Deferred from the April 16, 2020 Board Meeting)(Deferred from the May 7, 2020 Board Meeting)
Body
Dear Sir:
Authorization is requested to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with MGT of America Consulting, LLC to conduct a compensation and benefits study. The contract for these services will expire on December 31, 2020.
On December 11, 2019, Request for Proposal 19-RFP-41, Compensation and Benefits Study was publicly advertised. Two hundred forty-nine (249) firms were notified and nineteen (19) requested proposal documents. On January 17, 2020, the District received two (2) responsive proposals from the following vendors: Evergreen Solutions, LLC; and MGT of America Consulting, LLC.
The proposals were evaluated by staff from the Human Resources Department and the Procurement and Materials Management Department. The criteria for these evaluations were outlined in Request for Proposal 19-RFP-41 and included: understanding of the project, approach to the work, technical competence of the firm and assigned consultants, financial stability, compliance with insurance requirements, submission of licenses/permits, and cost. Following the preliminary evaluation of the proposals, both proposers were invited to a finalist interview. Finalist interviews were held on February 25, 2020 and February 27, 2020. A solicitation was sent to the finalist on March 2, 2020 for an unqualified “best and final” offer. The “best and final” offers were returned to the Director of Procurement and Materials Management on March 6, 2020.
Based on the evaluation of the proposals using the criteria described above and the pricing provided in the “best and final” offers, the Human Resources Department recommends that a contract to conduct a compensation and benefits study be awarded to MGT of America Consulting, LLC (MGT). MGT is a national management consulting firm that has been providing services exclusively to the public sector since 1974. The firm has conducted more than 300 compensation, classification and human resources studies nationwide, including four similar studies for clients in Illinois. They have a highly qualified team of consultants and research staff with extensive experience working in the public sector environment.
The proposed project plan includes a thorough review of existing job documentation, organizational structure, policies, statutes and other information that serve as the basis for the District classification and compensation structure. A job content questionnaire will then be utilized to solicit information regarding job duties; necessary education, experience and training required to perform the job; work environment; and other factors from each incumbent in the approximately 1,200 non-represented positions at the District. MGT has a thorough communication strategy for informing participating employees and supervisors about the project and aiding in the collection of this data. This data collected will be utilized to verify the accuracy of current job specifications and recommend changes where necessary, as well as to analyze internal consistency in the compensation plan across the non-represented job classifications.
The project will also analyze the external competitiveness of the District compensation plan. MGT will work with the District to identify the target recruitment market for each job classification. This will help determine the appropriate public and private sector comparable organizations and markets (i.e. local, state, national) to be included in the compensation study. Appropriate external data sources include Salary.com, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and other large databases of information related to compensation. These sources provide data that is current; can be segmented by factors such as state or region, organizational size, and industry; and allows identification of comparable jobs based on similar duties and responsibilities not just job title. This data will be utilized to analyze the external competitiveness of each non-represented job classification at the District. In addition, a customized peer survey will be conducted for a group of benchmark job classifications. This survey will be sent to a group of other local public sector agencies and/or water/wastewater agencies identified in consultation with the District. This customized survey will collect data on compensation as well as detailed information on the various benefits programs (i.e. health benefits, discretionary time, work-life balance programs, retirement plans, voluntary benefits, etc.) offered by these comparable organizations.
Compensation information collected from all of these relevant sources will be analyzed by MGT to determine the competitiveness of the District compensation and benefits program. MGT will provide a final report containing a detailed methodology for the project; results of the study; any recommended changes to the classification, compensation and benefits plans; an implementation strategy for any recommended changes, including estimated financial impacts of implementing the changes; and guidance on how to maintain the compensation plan going forward. In addition, MGT will provide on-call consultation with its consultants for 12 months following conclusion of the project at no additional cost to the District to assist with any implementation issues that may arise.
The Diversity Section has reviewed the proposal and has concluded that goals under Appendix A and Appendix V are not required since the total value of the contract is not in excess of $100,000.00.
In view of the foregoing, it is requested that the Director of Procurement and Materials Management be authorized to award a contract to MGT of America Consulting, LLC in the amount of $80,224.00. Funds are available in Account 101-25000-612430 for 2020.
Recommended, Beverly K. Sanders, Director of Human Resources
Recommended, Darlene A. LoCascio, Director of Procurement and Materials Management
Respectfully Submitted, Barbara J. McGowan, Chairman Committee on Procurement
Disposition of this agenda item will be documented in the official Regular Board Meeting Minutes of the Board of Commissioners for May 21, 2020
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