UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
President’s Office
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL UP16-DF-1202 HR Recruiting Solution
Answers to Bidder Questions
Question 1
Are you mandating that all campuses utilize the awarded solution? Or will you give each campus the option to stay with
the solution they are currently subscribing to (or any other vendor)?
UMass Answer to Question 1
Participating campuses will eventually be rolled into the same vendor, however as indicated in 10.0e of the RFP,
certain campuses may require a staggered rollout in which two vendors could be utilized for different populations.
Question 2
Does the University of Massachusetts require 6 separate implementations/instance (IE one instance/implementation
per campus) or do you prefer one single instance where all schools share the same database while providing campus
specific branding, workflows, candidate portals, talent pools, etc. for each individual site?
UMass Answer to Question 2
Please quote both ways.
Question 3
Has a budget been defined and approved for this project?
UMass Answer to Question 3
Budgets have not yet been defined for this particular project, however campus operating budgets are defined and will
continue to be adjusted through the Calendar and Fiscal Year.
Question 4
Please provide estimated employee count totals for each campus; these numbers should include full and part time
employees if applicable.
UMass Answer to Question 4
All data is as of Fall 2014. Fall 2015 data is not yet available for all segments. Student worker information is not
needed for completion of this RFP. If pricing is done based on 2014 employment FTE as well as utilization as
required in the RFP, you must indicate the pricing differences.
Amherst:
Staff/Faculty: 5,726
Student Workers: n/a
Boston
Staff/Faculty: 2,870
Student Workers: n/a
Dartmouth
Staff/Faculty: 1,495
Student Workers: n/a
Lowell
Staff/Faculty: 2,071
Student Workers: n/a
Worcester
Faculty: 1,194
Student Workers: n/a
President’s Office
Staff/Faculty: 406
Student Workers: n/a
Question 5
Can the University please provide the number of unique position types/hiring workflows (i.e. Staff, Facility, Adjunct,
Student etc.) required at each University location?
UMass Answer to Question 5
The University is unable to answer this question at this time and will need to be worked on during the
implementation with each campus.
Question 6
Regarding section 15 – The University would be getting service not software and the Contractor is using the software to
provide the service. As a result, the University would not be entitled to title of any of the Contractors software,
programs, or systems.
Question - Would the University please confirm that the University will agree that it is not entitled to and will not seek
rights in Contractor’s product, software, or services? And allow for its removal from the Terms and Conditions for SaaS
providers?
UMass Answer to Question 6
It is likely the University would agree in removing any terms related to rights of contractor’s product, however, a
definitive answer cannot be given without a review of the suggested contract wording by our Legal office.
Question 7
As stated in the RFP, PeopleSoft is used for HCM. Can you please confirm that all campuses, and the President’s Office,
are on the same PeopleSoft Database?
UMass Answer to Question 7
Yes, there is one instance of Oracle PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 used University-wide.
Question 8
Is the goal to implement each campus and the President’s Office simultaneously or do the implementation as a phased
approach?
UMass Answer to Question 8
Please see the answer to question 1
Question 9
While the RFP explains that each campus and the President’s Office has its own recruiting process, should we assume
that each campus and the President’s Office has its own onboarding process or is the onboarding process more
consistent?
UMass Answer to Question 9
Each campus has their own onboarding process.
Question 10
How many recruiters and hiring managers will require access and training at each campus and the President’s Office?
UMass Answer to Question 10
Access should not be limited, however, training may be a much smaller defined group on a per campus level. If your
software has a limit on the number of user accesses, please identify.
Question 11
Will data conversion be needed for any or all campuses and the President’s Office?
UMass Answer to Question 11
Data conversion may be needed, though not yet determined.
Question 12
Will each campus have their own functional SME to support the solution or will the support be centralized?
UMass Answer to Question 12
Yes each campus would need their own SME if processes can be unique by campus.
Question 13
Will the System accept partial bids?
UMass Answer to Question 13
At a minimum the System requires a bid for Applicant Tracking Software
Question 14
Will the System accept multiple vendor/partnering bids?
UMass Answer to Question 14
The University would prefer working with one vendor, however it would not exclude multiple vendor/partnering bids
if the applicant tracking vendor is able to provide the full array of services as required. Vendors should fully disclose
any partnering relationships and what each vendor’s roles and responsibilities would be under a multi-vendor bid.
Question 15
Is there a limit to length of the proposal response?
UMass Answer to Question 15
No, there is no limit to the length of the proposal response.
Question 16
Has the System already articulated a more comprehensive Talent strategy for the System as whole, into which the
recruiting solution would integrate, or is the definition of the overall Talent strategy taking place independent of this
effort?
UMass Answer to Question 16
Talent strategy is independent from the Applicant Tracking Software but is also dependent on the software for
recruiting processes.
Question 17
Has the System conducted any recruitment/applicant tracking business process assessment and implemented any
transformation efforts and/or leading practices?
UMass Answer to Question 17
Each campus will have different business processes in this area. There has not been a System approach in this area.
Question 18
Has an in-depth current state assessment been conducted of each individual campus (e.g., what the key differences are
across campuses and how those would affect both selection of the software as well as aspects of implementation)? For
example, different levels of capability across campuses may require substantially different levels of deployment,
functionality, project governance and training? Or, would this be an integral part of the project?
UMass Answer to Question 18
Each campus is inherently different which is why implementation needs will be different on each campus.
Question 19
Does the System already have a project governance and management structure (including change management) in
place, or do you expect the vendor to propose one? If you have an approach in mind, could you please describe who
will be involved from the System?
UMass Answer to Question 19
The Human Resources Control Board is the governance group that will sponsor the project, define the scope and
oversee the implementation.
Question 20
Besides the systems mentioned in Attachment 1-Recruiting Requirements, are there any other systems or vendors that
will require integration? For example, are there external job boards, social channels or recruiters that require
integration?
UMass Answer to Question 20
The RFP requires that the selected vendor have integration capabilities with other vendors such as job boards, social
channels etc.
Question 21
There is an overall stated Go-Live date of July 1 (approximate). What factors are driving this proposed timing?
UMass Answer to Question 21
Expiration of current vendor contracts as well as quieter downtime to provide training at the campus level before
there is an increase in campus activities in the Fall. The go-live date could be pushed back based on campus need.
Question 22
In addition to the Go-Live date of July 1, 2016 on page 3, the RFP also seems to indicate the possibility of a phased
implementation (page 13 states that the System is interested in having the “ability for campuses to roll out the entire
product or prices of the product to different areas on a campus at varying times” and mentions that the Amherst
campus will begin the process with faculty on 7/1/16, but then address staff the following year). Could you provide
some additional clarification regarding your expectations for what Go-Live on 7/1/16 means? What would you, as a
System, want to have or be ready to do as of that date (in terms of functionality, deployment, training, etc.)? And are
you looking to the vendor to recommend a staggered implementation timeline based on individual campus
assessments?
UMass Answer to Question 22
The University would expect that the applicant tracking software to be fully functional by the anticipated go-live date
of July 1. If there are any staggered implementation, due to a campus need, that will need to be worked out between
the campus and the vendor.
Question 23
Who will be part of the selection committee for this effort? How will the campuses be represented?
UMass Answer to Question 23
Each campus has representation comprised of HR staff and Faculty representation. HR and IT from the System Office
will also be part of the selection committee.
Question 24
Page 3 of the RFP indicates that you are looking for “one or more solutions” depending on campus needs. How will the
System evaluate the opportunity for multiple vendors across campuses? Will the selection committee be choosing a
short list of approved vendors?
UMass Answer to Question 24
The University will not choose multiple vendors. One vendor will be selected to provide a complete and integrated
Applicant Tracking Software (ATS).
Question 25
Is the System is envisioning separate implementation teams organized by campus given that campuses operate
independently?
UMass Answer to Question 25
Yes, the System is envisioning separate implementation teams organized by campus given that campuses operate
independently
Question 26
What is the breakdown of faculty recruiting compared to staff job requisitions across all campuses?
UMass Answer to Question 26
This information is not easily attainable at this time.
Question 27
Will the System consider a vendor who is independent of the chosen software provider to provide additional services
such as Recruitment Process Transformation, Project Governance and Management, Change Management, Data
Transformation and Integration, Migration and Technology Roadmap, Cutover Plan, Testing Strategy, Performance
Measurement, System Decommissioning, Analytics Strategy, etc.?
UMass Answer to Question 27
The System is not willing to consider this at this time.