Selection of a Commercial Software Package for the Management
of Human Resources at ESA
Purpose of the announcement
ESA (European Space Agency) is an inter-governmental organisation composed of 14 member
States: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The dynamic environment in which the Agency operates requires a strategic approach to the
management of its Human Resources. A modernisation of its HR policy has been initiated and a
state-of-the-art HR management information system to support this strategic approach is
considered a priority.
ESA intends to adopt a package-based solution. The solution that ESA will acquire can be either a
stand-alone package or two integrated packages (one for Human Resources Management and one
for Payroll) recognised as a workable solution in the market place.
The objective of this announcement is to solicit package manufacturers (i.e. not retailers, not
distributors and not integrators) to inform ESA about their product(s), their prices and their
licensing conditions.
Background information
ESA has approximately 1,800 staff located in 4 main establishments: Headquarters (France - 300
staff), ESTEC (The Netherlands - 1000 staff), ESOC (Germany - 200 staff), ESRIN (Italy - 135
staff). Other staff are located in various ancillary offices in the world e.g. Brussels, Houston,
Moscow.
ESA is organised in nine Directorates. Four Directorates are in charge of ESA’s Programmes while
the five other Directorates provide support to the organisation.
ESA Personnel Department and ESA Informatics Department are both part of the Directorate of
Administration, which also includes the Financial Department and the Site Services Department.
ESA Personnel Department has approximately 60 staff.
The management of ESA’s staff is subject to a unique rule, the «Staff Rules and Regulations»,
which applies to all staff independently of their work location. In many of its aspects this statute is
similar to the practice followed by Public/State Administrations.
Who should reply to this announcement
HR or Payroll packages that were analysed in one of the following reports are already known to the
Agency. The manufacturers of these packages are therefore requested NOT to reply to this
announcement as additional information is not necessary

Human Resources & Payroll Management – © 1999 SPEX

Ovum Evaluates: HR Systems - © 1998 Ovum Ltd.
All other HR or Payroll package manufacturers are invited to reply to this announcement.
Selection process that will be followed by ESA
The selection of the most suitable package(s) will be performed in three phases.
Title: Announcement - HR & Payroll package RFI
Page: 1
The first phase will consist of identifying suitable packages and evaluating them against the
Agency’s requirements. At the end of this phase, a maximum of 3 candidate packages will be
selected.
The second phase will be to evaluate the selected candidate package(s) through a prototype with
the objective of selecting the best solution in terms of the functionality of the package and the ability
of the manufacturer to parameterise it to satisfy ESA’s needs. As a result of this second phase the
most suitable package manufacturer and product(s) will be selected for deployment within ESA.
It should be noted that the Agency intends to select a market leader package manufacturer, which
has demonstrated experience in deploying its product in a public and preferably international
organisation.
How to reply
The following sections are composed of a list of questions organised by themes. Questions are
presented in a tabular format. In the 1st column a sequential number has been assigned to each
question. The 2nd column contains the text of the questions. The 3rd column is where you should
provide your Company’s answer to the questions.
Your are requested to answer all questions. If a question does not apply, please state “Not
Applicable”.
You are requested not to modify the document structure, in particular you should not add or split
questions. You should not modify the title of the sections, the question numbers and the text of the
questions (1st and 2nd columns). If you wish to provide additional information, please do it in a
separate document.
You are requested to provide ESA with the information listed thereunder not later than 5 June,
2000.
The information is to be sent both as a hardcopy and as an electronic version (MS Word format) to:
ESRIN Contract Service
To the attention of Mr. S. Benetti
Via Galileo Galilei
00044 Frascati
Italy
The hardcopy version shall bare the signature of an authorised person of the Company certifying
the correctness of the information provided to the Agency.
Conditions and assumptions to be used

Replying to this announcement does not guarantee that the Company’s products will be
selected for the next selection phase i.e. the development of the prototypes.

All prices must be in Euro only

Platforms: Sun Solaris or NT

1st language of the package: English

2nd language of the package: French (the price for the second language must appear as an
option)

Number of staff to be managed: 1,800

Number of HR Department users: 60

Deployment sites: ESA HQ (France), ESTEC, (Netherlands), ESOC (Germany), ESRIN (Italy).
Title: Announcement - HR & Payroll package RFI
Page: 2
General Package Information
1.
Package name
2.
Current release/version available
3.
How long has this version been on the
market?
4.
Projected date of next release
5.
Date of release of original version
6.
If acquired, original package name
General Company Information
7.
Name of the Company:
Address:
Telephone:
Fax:
Web:
8.
Name of the contact person for ESA:
Address:
Telephone:
Fax:
E-mail:
9.
Country of origin of the Company:
10.
Is the company publicly traded or privately
held?
11.
Revenues (most recent figures available –
indicate the year)
12.
Breakdown per activity as % of revenues
13.
Company’s HR market share:
14.

World-wide:

In Europe:
Company’s Payroll market share:

World-wide:

In Europe:
15.
Net profits after tax (most recent figures
available – indicate the year)
16.
Staff levels:
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Page: 3
17.
18.
19.

World-wide:

In Europe:
Total number of R&D staff :

World-wide:

In Europe:
Percentage of revenues invested in R&D
for:

All products:

HR products:

Payroll products:
Number of person years invested in the
design and development of the HR
package:

World-wide:

In Europe:
20.
Share of software business
21.
Revenues (most recent figures available –
indicate the year)
22.
Breakdown per activity as % of revenues
23.
If applicable, company’s Human Resources
market share:
24.

World-wide:

In Europe:
If applicable, company’s Payroll market
share:

World-wide:

In Europe:
25.
List ESA Member States countries where
the Company distributes its product directly
26.
List ESA Member States countries where
the Company distributes its product trough
distributors
27.
List ESA Member States countries where
the Company offers local office support
28.
Does the Company maintain agreements
with other software suppliers?
If YES, what kinds of agreements are in
place in ESA Member States countries?
Title: Announcement - HR & Payroll package RFI
Page: 4
29.
Number of installed sites of the current
release in each ESA Member States
countries
30.
For the HR module, number of staff
managed:
31.
32.

World-wide:

In Europe:
For the Payroll module, number of staff
managed:

World-wide:

In Europe:
List ESA Member States countries where a
users’ group exists
Licenses
33.
34.
What types of contracts exist:

User licenses?

Rental?

Other?
What is the pricing policy:

Server license depending on platform?

Server license depending on number of
concurrent accesses?

Workstation license according to
number of stations connected or
named users?

Workstation license according to
number of concurrent accesses?

Included as part of package
maintenance?
Guarantee/Warranty & Maintenance
35.
How many months are included at no cost
in the guarantee period?
36.
Is maintenance supplied by provider or
through outsourcing?
37.
Is the use of source code restricted?
38.
Is a maintenance contract optional or
automatic to user licenses?
39.
Does the maintenance contract cover the
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following items:

Free delivery of new releases?

Upgrades?

Training for new releases?

Telephone support?

Onsite assistance?

Cost-based phone support service?

Maximum reaction time included?

Debugging?

Changes in hardware or operating
system?

The transfer of the package and all
related files to any hardware listed in
the supplier’s catalogue?

Documentation updates?

User group participation?

Upgrading of specific changes provided
by the supplier?

Access to a Web server that lists bugs
identified by users and the supplier’s
replies?
Package Cost Structure and Associated Services
40.
What is the package pricing policy (e.g.,
based on platforms, number of users)?
41.
Cost (no discount) of user license for the
current release on Sun Solaris platform
(specify cost per module, stating if the
module is bundled with the package or
available as an option)
42.
Cost (no discount) of user license for the
current release on NT platform
(specify cost per module, stating if the
module is bundled with the package or
available as an option)
43.
Cost of source programs
44.
Cost of additional copies of documentation
45.
Annual package maintenance cost as % of
initial license cost
46.
Cost of new versions
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47.
Daily cost of onsite start-up support
48.
Daily cost for in-house training provided by
Company
49.
Daily cost of outside training per participant
50.
Daily cost of support for loaned equipment
51.
Cost of remote maintenance
52.
List, if any, other unavoidable costs for
proper package operation (specify cost per
license)
Implementation
53.
What are the formalised implementation
method and tools available?
54.
Is a process-modelling tool provided with
the package?
If not, are standard interfaces with thirdparty tools provided?
55.
Are public organisation-specific
templates/forms available?
For what processes?
56.
What is the average (or projected)
implementation cost (installation,
configuration/consulting, testing, training)
compared to the licensing cost
57.
What are the internal resources (IT, end
users and management)?
TECHNOLOGY
Product Development
58.
What methods and/or tools were used for
the software package’s design and
development?
59.
Software package’s programming
language(s) for its various components (if
this is the case):

Central machine?

Department server?

Workstation?
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Hardware and Software Environment
60.
Hardware architecture on which the
software package is based (e.g. central
machine/passive terminals, central
machine/intelligent workstations, central
machine/intermediate, server/workstations,
local workstation network)
61.
Is the software package part of a product
line or architecture?
If YES, list the other products.

Can these products communicate
directly among themselves?

Can they exchange data among
themselves?

Do they share the same database?

Is the user interface homogenous?

Are the different products accessible
from a common menu?
62.
Was the software package designed to
function in client/server architecture?
63.
Was the software package designed to
function in Java thin client architecture?
64.
Was the software package designed to
function in Microsoft CUA client
architecture?
65.
Machine supported as a workstation (Frontend)
66.
Can the software package work with Oracle
DBMS?
If YES, which version?
67.
Basic needed on the server:

Web server?

Others?
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FUNCTIONALITY
Human Resources Data Management
68.
Does the system support:

Multiple departments?

Multiple sites?
69.
What is the maximum number of
employees that can be managed by the
system?
70.
Is the human resources database common
and shared by each module?
71.
Is the HRMS integrated in an ERM
package?
72.
Is the database in a predefined format?
73.
What are the following modules/facilities
available:
74.

Personnel data management?

Time and attendance management?

Job and position management?

Appraisal management?

Recruitment management?

Training management?

Salary administration?

Benefits administration?

Forecasting?

Expense management?

Absence management?

Payroll?

Service bureau and payroll front end?
Does the database store the following
details:

Personnel records (e.g., gender,
marital status,)?

Contract history?

Position history?

Salary history?
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75.

Benefit details?

Location history?

Sickness and medical history?

Qualification details?

Skills and training history?
Does the system provide facilities for multicriteria searches across the database:

Using a standard query language
(which one)?

Using a report writer (which one)?

Using standard reports with userdefined selection criteria?
If YES, do these include historic data?
76.
Does the system include integrated utilities
such as:
77.

Graphical presentation capability?

Spreadsheet (which ones)?

Word processor (which ones)?

standard interfaces with other systems
Is a calendar facility provided:

To inform users of coming events (e.g.,
new hires, terminations, appraisals,
retirement)?

For enabling users to produce their
own “to do” lists?
Time and Attendance Management
78.
79.
Is time worked tracked:

By keyboard entry?

By entering exceptions to standard time
worked by keyboard?

Using a computerised or metered time
card or data recording system (e.g.,
badge code or swipe card reader)?

If so, which systems are supported?
Does the system enable a customised work
schedule or shift to be established:

For a group of employees?
Title: Announcement - HR & Payroll package RFI
Page: 10

For an individual employee?
80.
Does the system provide shift roster
management?
81.
Does the system provide facilities for
comparing actual labour costs against
budgeted costs?
82.
Does the system provide facilities for:

Tracking and reporting time accrued?

Tracking and reporting compensatory
time (in lieu of overtime wages)?
Employment and Position Management
83.
Does the system provide facilities for
defining job categories
Are skills, qualifications, and other
requirements or prerequisites definable?
(If YES, how)?
84.
Does the system provide facilities for
defining positions?
Can the terms and benefits for a position
be defined (if YES, how)?
85.
Does the system include:

Functional organisation charts?

Hierarchical organisation charts?
If YES, is it possible for these to be user
defined?
86.
Does the system provide facilities for
career planning and succession
management?
Can the user customise this process?
87.
Does the system provide a standard
method for evaluating positions?
If YES, which (e.g., Hay)?
Appraisal Management
88.
Are facilities provided for the appraisal
process covering:

Current performance?

Potential development (e.g., training,
Title: Announcement - HR & Payroll package RFI
Page: 11
qualifications, promotions)?
Recruitment Management
89.
90.
Does the system provide facilities to:

Assist in the preparation of recruitment
advertising?

Monitor the cost of advertising?

Monitor use of a recruitment agency?

Analyses the response from
advertisements/recruitment agencies?
Does the system provide facilities to assist
matching candidates to jobs?
If YES, how?
91.
Does the system provide facilities to
simulate the results of recruitment on:

The organisation structure?

The salary hierarchy?

Length of service?
Training Management
92.
93.
94.
Does the system enable the user:

To develop and store training budgets?

To monitor training costs?

To compare training costs to budgets?
Does the system provide facilities for:

Storing details on training courses and
course providers?

Preparing lists of candidates and
delegating them to a specific course?
Is it possible to automatically update
employee records as a result of attending
training?
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Page: 12
Salary Reviews
95.
What standard types of salary increments
does the system provide (e.g., percentage,
amount, scale points)?
96.
Can a provisional update of salary
increases be prepared for budgetary
purposes?
97.
Does the system provide facilities for
automatic yearly salary updates?
Forecasting
98.
99.
Does the system provide short-term
workforce planning:

To meet defined requirements?

To include recruitment and training
needs?
Can a provisional budget be defined to
meet these requirements?
Employee Benefits and Expense Management
100.
101.
102.
Does the system maintain details of
company cars:

Allocated to an employee?

For business mileage?

Details concerning tax and insurance?

Details of repairs and servicing?
Does the system record details of other
employee expenses such as:

Travel costs?

Accommodation and meal allowances?

Other expenses?
Does the system maintain details of other
employee benefits such as:

Private medical insurance?

Other benefits (which ones)?
Are flexible benefits plans supported?
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Absence Management
103.
104.
105.
Does the system provide facilities:

For setting vacation time?

to monitor vacation time taken:

For a group of employees?

For an individual employee?
Does the system provide facilities for
recording and calculating:

Statutory and occupational disability
pay?

Workers’ compensation?

Other?
Does the system provide facilities for:

Recording time away from work?

The reasons for absence?

An analysis of absence:

By employee?

By groups of employees?

Over user-defined time periods?
Payroll
106.
107.
108.
109.
How many gross pay elements can the
system define:

For the entire payroll?

For an individual employee?
How many deductions can the system
define:

For the entire payroll?

For an individual employee?
Does the system support the following
payment frequencies:

Weekly pay period?

Biweekly pay period?

Four-week pay periods?

Monthly pay period?
Does the payroll support the following
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features:

Pensioners payroll?

Net-to-gross calculations?

Calculation of retroactive pays awards?
If so, over how many years maximum?
110.
Are electronic funds transfer (EFT)
payment methods supported?
111.
Does the system support the following
pension deductions:

As a percentage of pensionable pay?

As a fixed amount?

Additional voluntary contributions?
112.
Does the system provide calculation of a
pay or deduction element based on basic
salary or other elements?
113.
Does the payroll module provide a link to
accounting systems?
If YES:
114.

Is the link to the supplier’s own financial
system?

Is the link to other financial systems;
and if so, which ones?

Is the link to pension administration
systems; and if so, which ones?
Is a payroll service bureau available?
If YES, is there a front-end system for:

Data entry?

Inquiries and report production?
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