REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
September 12, 2023
FROM
DIANE RUNDLES, Assistant Executive Officer, Human Resources Department
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Krout & Schneider, Inc. dba SmartHire for Pre-Employment Background and Reference Check Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Contract with Krout & Schneider, Inc. dba SmartHire to provide pre-employment background and reference check services on a fee-for-service basis, not-to-exceed a total of $1,750,000 for the period of September 12, 2023 through September 11, 2028.
(Presenter: Diane Rundles, Assistant Executive Officer, 387-5570)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of the recommendation will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total cost will not exceed $1,750,000 for the period of September 12, 2023 through September 11, 2028. The Human Resources Department (Department) will monitor the total aggregate amount on an ongoing basis throughout the contract term. This is a countywide fee-for-service contract and costs will be paid by the departments that utilize the services.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department is responsible for the competitive selection of vendors to conduct background and reference checks. County Policy 07-18 states that pre-employment and pre-appointment reference as well as background checks shall be conducted on potential new hires (including contract employees) and specific promotional candidates prior to hire. The County currently has an average of 3,700 new employees per year and promotes an average of 2,800 current employees per year.
Approval of the recommendation allows for a countywide contract with Krout & Schneider, Inc. dba SmartHire (SmartHire) to conduct pre-employment background and reference checks to allow for prudent hiring decisions based on comprehensive job-related information, for the period of September 12, 2023 through September 11, 2028.
PROCUREMENT
On June 23, 2023, the Department issued Request for Proposal (RFP) No. HRD123-HR-5017 for pre-employment background check services on the County Electronic Procurement Network (ePro). Email notifications were sent to 136 vendors. Proposals were received from Exquisite Financial Services & Investigations, Global Investigative Services, Inc., SmartHire, and Securecheck360, LLC. Of the four vendors, only two vendors met the minimum requirements of the RFP. The two vendors who met the minimum requirements of the RFP were SmartHire and Securecheck360, LLC. The Department conducted a comparative analysis of the two vendors and their ability to meet the needs of the County. Both vendors were invited to participate in the interview process. Unfortunately, after multiple attempts, the Department was unable to contact SecureCheck360, LLC. The Department recommends the Board of Supervisors award a contract to SmartHire. The Purchasing Department approves of this procurement based on the competitive solicitation described above.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Cynthia O’Neill, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on August 24, 2023; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Buyer III, 386-8046) on August 18, 2023; Finance (Abigail Grant, Administrative Analyst, 387-4603) on August 25, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on August 27, 2023.