To: Board of Supervisors
From: Ann Elliott, Human Resources Director
Report Title: Contract with iCIMS, Inc. for SkillSurvey Software
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Director of Human Resources, or designee, to execute a contract with iCIMS, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $91,080, for SkillSurvey applicant reference software, for the period of June 3, 2024, through June 2, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost of $91,080 for the subscription will be offset by charges to departments utilizing the system. 100% User Departments.
BACKGROUND:
In October 2022, iCIMS, Inc. acquired SkillSurvey, Inc., which the Human Resources Department previously contracted with for use of the applicant reference software SkillSurvey Reference. The previous contract terminated on September 30, 2023, and prior to termination, iCIMS, Inc. informed the Human Resources Department that the contract renewal must be moved to iCIMS, Inc. terms.
Per the conditions of the Purchasing Division, the service provided by iCIMS, Inc. qualifies as an eligible purchase through the use of a blanket purchase order. County Counsel has reviewed and modified indemnification language in the iCIMS, Inc. service agreement. The service agreement is subject to review by County Counsel due to the indemnification obligation under the agreement and the limitation of liability.
SkillSurvey Reference is an automated, cloud-based reference checking system. This tool has hundreds of job-specific questionnaires designed by industrial and organizational psychologists to help references rate the candidate on the specific behaviors that are relevant to a given job. Ratings have been validated to correlate with reduced first-year turnover for cause and better post-hire performance.
This tool will allow representatives from County departments to perform online reference checks on their finalist candidates in accordance with guidelines established by the Director of Human Resources. Using a secure login, County departmental representatives will log into SkillSurvey Reference’s online system and select a set of customized job-related questions to assess a candidate's competencies for a specific job. The questionnaire will then be forwarded by SkillSurvey Reference to the references provided by the candidate. The references will complete the online questionnaire and SkillSurvey Reference will compile an aggregate report summarizing the responses, which will be made available to the requesting County representative. The automated system will eliminate the need for telephone calls to references as well as the inconsistency in the way questions are asked, increasing the validity of the responses. References are more likely to complete the online questionnaire more candidly which can better predict future job success. By using this automated system, we will be able to identify quality hires quickly and more efficiently. The average time for completion of reference checks using this system is two days or less.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If the agreement is not approved, the County will be unable to utilize the technology to increase efficiency and streamline the reference checking process.