Archived decisions

Hantsdirect Staff Assessment Process

Summary of Recommendation

The assessment panel interviewed 15 candidates, one candidate applying for two posts and withdrawing from one position on the day. The interviews followed the pre-agreed process and weighting of quality and cost, as described in Appendix A.

The panel consisted of 4 people plus a financial advisor:

· Head of IT - Chair

· Assistant Director, Environment

· Business Solutions Manager

· Assistant Director, PBRS (County Supplies)

Panel members made individual scoring for each candidate. The panel considered that the weighting for references was unnecessary and could favour the existing team.

None of the panel had previously been involved in interviewing for the contact centre consultancy roles, ensuring objectivity in assessing all applications, including the existing external consultants who applied.

The results concluded that 4 candidates as shown in the following (anonymous) table should be appointed (candidates I, V, IX and XIII).

The panel also concluded that on the technical role faster transition to internal staff might be feasible after the first 3 months and this would be reviewed by the Business Solutions Manager. It is likely that the programme will wish to retain the programme manager until the end of the phase, whilst acknowledging the gradual handover to an internal management as described in the main report. This will be reviewed on an on-going basis. The other two posts will be phased out according to the perceived risks to the programme in conjunction with the departmental service owners affected.

Introduction

This document describes the processes that are being undertaken to ensure that best value is obtained in the provision of external consultancy required to support the Hantsdirect programme.

Market Testing using Manpower

Manpower were engaged in order to generate interest in the supply market and have provided 44 CVs for the four roles (with five being the lowest number for an individual role).

Manpower have been advised that the contracts are 6 month assignments, but that we would wish to have a provision to terminate with one month's notice on either side (a minimum of 3 month's work being guaranteed) and this requirement is unlikely to cause any difficulty.

Four candidates for each role have been selected based on Contact Centre knowledge and experience. Panel interviews took place on four separate days during the week commencing 21 January. The final session was held on the afternoon of Friday 25 January, after which the panel was able to recommend staffing outcomes with regard to all posts.

The existing documented Hantsdirect Role Profiles for all four positions will be used to guide the panel. The roles and the range of daily rates for those being interviewed are outlined below.

Programme Manager: Daily Rate Range - £602 to £809

Business Transition Manager: Daily Rate Range - £551 to £675

Operational Set-Up Manager: Daily Rate Range - £542 to £675

Lagan Configuration Analyst: Daily Rate Range - £375 to £495

A formal assessment process was followed by the interview panel and the template for this is attached in Appendix A.

As can be seen from the Assessment Form the Quality/Price ratios were agreed to be based on a 60% (Quality) to 40% (Price) basis, with the quality categories weighted according to importance.

Following the completion of all interviews the assessment outcomes provided the panel with a method of supporting their recommendations.

Transitional Costs

If different external consultants are engaged there may be a cost associated with skills transfer, and in addition a delay to the expected programme delivery dates.

Market Testing through OGC

The OGC Catalist framework is a procurement process that has been established by Central Government to enable all public sector organisations to buy goods and services. OGC's Catalist offers a set of pre-tendered public sector framework contracts. These are described in OGC's publications as best-practice procurement with all suppliers having been subject to a rigorous procurement process.

With regard to assessing the rates for the existing Hantsdirect consultants, a process has been followed and a comparison has been undertaken between the rates that are currently being charged and the rates for the organisations providing the same type of consultancy through the OGC. A summary of the outcomes of the comparison is outlined below and the details regarding the specific OGC organisations can be provided as required.

OGC Consultancy Rates

The discounted day rates for the lowest cost supplier under the multi-disciplinary framework agreement are as follows:

Senior Consultant £690 per day

Principal Consultant £915 per day

The average discounted rates are:

Senior Consultant £1137 per day

Principal Consultant £1419 per day

There are other grades - junior consultant at the bottom end, and Director/Partner at the top end. Junior consultants are new graduates, and Directors typically have several years experience of Principal Consultancy and Partner level experience.

Comparing Existing Hantsdirect Consultants

Based on the above disciplines the current Hantsdirect consultants have been matched as follows:

Two Senior Consultants: Current daily rates between £480 and £550.

Two Principal Consultants: Current daily rates between £620 and £790.

In purely price comparison terms the existing consultancy rates are substantially lower than the lowest cost supplier on the framework.

Appendix A - Manpower Assessment Form

ORGANISATION:

ROLE:

CANDIDATE:

1. QUALITY 600 POINTS

SCORING

100% - EXCEED REQUIREMENTS (EXCELLENT)

75% - MEETS ALL REQUIREMENTS (GOOD)

50% - MEETS MOST REQUIREMENTS (FAIR)

25% - MEETS SOME REQUIREMENTS (POOR)

2. PRICE 400 POINTS

BEST SCORE = lowest price, e.g. £285,000

OTHERS TO BE EXPRESSED AS A % OF THIS

TOTAL POINTS: