Text Message Recruiting and Scheduling Solution

Agency:	Sedgwick County
State:	Kansas
Type of Government:	State & Local
NAICS Category:	511210 - Software Publishers 541511 - Custom Computer Programming Services 541512 - Computer Systems Design Services 541519 - Other Computer Related Services 541612 - Human Resources Consulting Services
Posted Date:	Oct 4, 2024
Due Date:	Nov 19, 2024
Solicitation No:	24-0066
Original Source:	Please Login to View Page
Contact information:	Please Login to View Page
Bid Documents:	Please Login to View Page

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP #24-0066

TEXT MESSAGE RECRUITING AND SCHEDULING SOLUTION

October 4, 2024

Sedgwick County, Kansas (hereinafter referred to as “county”) is seeking a firm or firms to provide a Text Message

Recruiting and Scheduling Solution. If your firm is interested in submitting a response, please do so in accordance with

the instructions contained within this Request for Proposal. Responses are due no later than 1:45 pm CST, Tuesday,

November 19, 2024.

All contact concerning this solicitation shall be made through the Purchasing Department. Proposers shall not

contact county employees, department heads, using agencies, evaluation committee members or elected officials with

questions or any other concerns about the solicitation. Questions, clarifications and concerns shall be submitted to the

Purchasing Department in writing. Failure to comply with these guidelines may disqualify the Proposer’s response.

Sincerely,

Jaimee O’Laughlin

Purchasing Agent

JO/ks

RFP #24-0066

Table of Contents

About this Document

II. Background

III. Project Objectives

IV. Submittals

V. Scope of Work

VI. Sedgwick County’s Responsibilities

VII. Proposal Terms

A. Questions and Contact Information

B. Minimum Firm Qualifications

C. Evaluation Criteria

D. Request for Proposal Timeline

E. Contract Period and Payment Terms

F. Insurance Requirements

G. Indemnification

H. Confidential Matters and Data Ownership

I. Proposal Conditions

VIII. Required Response Content

IX. Response Form

RFP #24-0066

I. About this Document

This document is a Request for Proposal. It differs from a Request for Bid or Quotation in that the county is seeking a solution,

as described on the cover page and in the following Background Information section, not a bid or quotation meeting firm

specifications for the lowest price. As such, the lowest price proposed will not guarantee an award recommendation. As

defined in Charter Resolution No. 68, Competitive Sealed Proposals will be evaluated based upon criteria formulated around

the most important features of the product(s) and/or service(s), of which quality, testing, references, service, availability or

capability, may be overriding factors, and price may not be determinative in the issuance of a contract or award. The proposal

evaluation criteria should be viewed as standards that measure how well a vendor’s approach meets the desired requirements

and needs of the county. Criteria that will be used and considered in evaluation for award are set forth in this document. The

county will thoroughly review all proposals received. The county will also utilize its best judgment when determining whether

to schedule a pre-proposal conference, before proposals are accepted, or meetings with vendors, after receipt of all proposals.

A Purchase Order/Contract will be awarded to a qualified vendor submitting the best proposal. Sedgwick County reserves the

right to select, and subsequently recommend for award, the proposed service(s) and/or product(s) which best meets its

required needs, quality levels and budget constraints.

The nature of this work is for a public entity and will require the expenditure of public funds and/or use of public

facilities, therefore the successful proposer will understand that portions (potentially all) of their proposal may become

public record at any time after receipt of proposals. Proposal responses, purchase orders and final contracts are subject to

public disclosure after award. All confidential or proprietary information should be clearly denoted in proposal responses

and responders should understand this information will be considered prior to release, however no guarantee is made that

information will be withheld from public view.

II. Background

Sedgwick County, located in south-central Kansas, is one of the most populous of Kansas’ 105 counties with a population

estimated at more than 514,000 persons. It is the sixteenth largest in area, with 1,008 square miles, and reportedly has the

second highest per capita wealth among Kansas’ counties. Organizationally, the county is a Commission/Manager entity,

employs nearly 2,800 persons, and hosts or provides a full range of municipal services, e.g. – public safety, public works,

criminal justice, recreation, entertainment, cultural, human/social, and education.

Sedgwick County is looking to implement a Text Messaging and Scheduling solution to increase recruiting power. The

solution that the county is seeking for text messaging and scheduling are to help provide two-way text communication

with candidates, automated scheduling functionality, and to help in the efforts in finding a greater number of eligible and

qualified candidates. The county believes that the recruitment climate has changed and is seeking ways to be more

proactive and flexible with the types of communication that are used in recruiting candidates.

Sedgwick County implemented SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting and Marketing in 2019 and currently has the ability to

send emails and text messages to candidates, letting them know where they are at different steps in the application

process. Additionally, the county is able to email and text applicants letting them know that an interview has been

requested, as well as provide dates and times available for those interviews. Sedgwick County, however, does not have the

ability to carry on a conversation with applicants through those same emails and text messages, or track the messages

within the recruiting system. The current SAP Recruiting system does have scheduling options available, however, those

options are unable to be customized with the security features needed and required for separation by departments. The

county needs to be able to track communication as well as have the ability to schedule interviews across different

platforms, with different groups of employees within the county, to organize a successful interview team. Sedgwick

County is currently using a messaging providing with the recruiting system that provides the messaging services and

provides a text messaging short code. Sedgwick County is open to including the messaging provider as part of the

proposed solution but would like the ability to continue to use the same text messaging short code that we currently have

so that should be included as part of the proposal.

RFP #24-0066

III. Project Objectives

Sedgwick County, Kansas (hereinafter referred to as “county”) is seeking a firm or firms to partner with the county’s Human

Resource department to provide Text Messaging Recruiting and Scheduling Services. The following objectives have been

identified for this contract:

1. Acquire Text Message Recruiting and Scheduling solution meeting the parameters, conditions and mandatory

requirements presented in the document.

2. Acquire an implementation partner for Text Message Recruiting and Scheduling Solution with the most

advantageous overall cost to the county.

3. The implementation partner shall develop a project plan that provides guidance regarding the design and

development, avoiding known pitfalls, and provide recommendations and accelerators to improve timelines as to

ensure a successful integration.

4. The implementation partner shall provide implementation services meeting the professional goals of Sedgwick

County and the specified timeline set in place to complete the implementation project.

5. The implementation partner shall have the expertise and knowledge to lead Sedgwick County through the

implementation delivering efficient, high-quality work.

6. The implementation partner should have the ability to make changes within the project plan, when unknown

situations occur, and still maintain a successful implementation.

7. The implementation partner chosen will have the best proven “track-record” in performance, service, and

customer satisfaction and shall establish contract pricing for support, implementation, and training with Sedgwick

County.

8. The implementation partner shall have a high level of integrity, be engaged, and committed fully to the success of

the Text Message Recruiting and Scheduling solution implementation.

IV. Submittals

Carefully review this Request for Proposal. It provides specific technical information necessary to aid participating firms in

formulating a thorough response. Should you elect to participate with an electronic response, the RFP number must be

entered in the subject line and email the entire document with supplementary materials to:

Purchasing@sedgwick.gov

Should you elect to participate with a physical response, the response must be sealed and marked on the lower left-hand

corner with the firm name and address, bid number, and bid due date. Submit one (1) original AND one (1) electronic

copy (.PDF/Word supplied on a flash drive) of the entire document with any supplementary materials to:

Jaimee O’Laughlin

Sedgwick County Purchasing Department

100 N. Broadway, Suite 610

Wichita, KS 67202

SUBMITTALS are due NO LATER THAN 1:45 pm CST, TUESDAY, November 19, 2024. If there is any difficulty

submitting a response electronically, please contact the Purchasing Technicians at purchasing@sedgwick.gov for

assistance. Late or incomplete responses will not be accepted and will not receive consideration for final award. If you

choose to send a hard copy of your proposal, Sedgwick County will not accept submissions that arrive late due to the fault

of the U.S. Postal Service, United Parcel Service, DHL, FedEx, or any other delivery/courier service.

Proposal responses will be acknowledged and read into record at Bid Opening, which will occur at 2:15 pm CST on the

due date. No information other than the respondent’s name will be disclosed at Bid Opening. We will continue to have

Bid Openings for the items listed currently. If you would like to listen in as these proposals are read into the record,

please dial our Meet Me line @ (316) 660-7271 at 2:15 pm.

RFP #24-0066

V. Scope of Work

Items listed in this section are requirements to completion of services under this contract. Contractor shall furnish labor,

parts, material, and equipment necessary to perform the following:

A. Applicant Communications

1. Allow for all standard email notifications that are part of the SAP standard SuccessFactors Recruiting module to

be able to be sent as text messages. Allow for conversational text with these.

a. Examples might be job alerts, application accepted, text to apply link to application.

2. Allow for all standard emails and email triggers that can be sent as part of the SAP standard SuccessFactors

Recruiting module to be able to be sent as text messages. Allow for conversational text with these.

a. Example email triggers through the candidate pipeline, offer letter notifications, new hire notifications

that include attachments such as images or pdf documents.

3. Allow applicant communications that are automated text responses to be generated based on an applicant’s place

in the pipeline or a category placement in the candidate pipeline.

4. Allow for one-on-one text communication between the applicant and an identified user that is tracked within the

system.

5. Allow for recurring marketing campaigns that can be sent through email, text messaging, text campaigns, and

bulk messaging and allows the county to gain insights into the performance of those campaigns through reporting

analytics.

6. The ability to text to apply for open and eligible requisitions.

7. The ability to allow for two-way texting with an identified user or an allowed user and for that communication to

be tracked within the system.

8. The ability for two-way text messaging to be received real-time once the employee applies to a requisition.

a. The expectation is the vendor would also incorporate services, or provide services, that provides the

messaging service platform.

9. The ability for Conversational AI bot recruiting software that automates work and communication between

Sedgwick County and candidates to start as early as the Career Site and continue through the application process.

a. Conversational ATS for ease of communication with high-volume hiring managers.

b. 1:1 interview scheduling, mass communication campaigns, and reminders that integrate with calendar

apps such as Google Calendar, Outlook, etc.

c. Contact with candidates from any source and without recruiters using personal devices.

d. Video conferencing tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Microsoft Outlook 2019 and 2016

10. Allow for QR code and text-to-apply to begin the application process.

a. Sedgwick County currently has a short code that they prefer to continue to use and would need to carry it

forward with any future service provider.

11. The ability to include connections to social media and job boards to include, but not limited to, Indeed, LinkedIn,

and WhatsApp.

a. Ability to retain current short code whether for SMS, marketing campaigns, or any other communication

channels to ensure that the code remains valid and effective.

i. Identify where the short code is used, such as SMS campaigns, two-factor authentication (2FA),

or other services.

ii. Document how and where the short code is utilized to ensure continuity and avoid service

disruptions.

iii. Ensure the current short code usage complies with industry regulations and guidelines (e.g., the

Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the U.S., GDPR in Europe).

iv. Maintain an active agreement with current short code provider, which includes renewal terms and

compliance with their policies, or move to short code provider with integration partner.

v. Keep track of renewal dates to avoid losing the short code. Set reminders for renewal well in

advance and start the renewal process before the short code expires to ensure a smooth transition.

vi. Maintain records of all short code assignments, usage statistics, and communications related to

the short code.

vii. Develop a backup plan in case of issues with the short code, including alternative codes or

channels.

RFP #24-0066

This page summarizes the opportunity, including an overview and a preview of the attached documents.

Text Message Recruiting and Scheduling Solution

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See Also

RFB/RFP	Due Date	Description	Document	Pre-bid Conference
24-0066	11/19/2024 1:45:00 PM	Text Message Recruiting and Scheduling Solution	RFP