Human Resource and Investigation Services CUAHRS2021

Contractors providing services under this category will work collaboratively with the Customer (applying relevant legislation or regulations) to:

• Undertake a range of investigations including those that involve alleged, suspected and proven activities that may lead to criminal and civil prosecutions and administrative decisions (e.g. disciplinary and misconduct issues). This may also include investigations leading to other administrative and workplace decisions (e.g. grievance and substandard performance issues).
• Provide advice required by a Customer concerning investigation frameworks, processes and techniques involved in dealing with the investigation, as well as advice on when it is appropriate to undertake an ‘Improvement Action’ rather than an investigation.
• For investigations, consider what identity, criminal records or other security checks you require from the investigator and determine whether a licensed investigator is required.

Contractors providing services under this category will work collaboratively with the Customer (considering the responsibilities of the designed job, organisational structure, and Customer outcomes) to:

• Provide expert advice on job design, and/or;
• Conduct job design and classification review processes, including: 
  • Prepare classification business cases (i.e. request type and catalyst, work changes, employee impacts, funding source, flow-on effect).
  • Draft and/or amend job descriptions/role statements.
  • Undertake and draft classification assessment and recommendations.
  • Prepare draft and final criteria progression reports with recommendations.

Contractors providing services under this category will work collaboratively with the Customer (considering the context of the position/s to be filled and the Customer’s operating requirements) to:  

• Provide advice on pre-recruitment planning and support, best practice recruitment, innovative retention strategies, and candidate assessment techniques; and
• Provide assistance with recruitment processes and decisions (including the provision of reviewable/transparent documentation, quality and timely feedback to candidates). The assistance provided may range from a specific part of the recruitment process through to a complete recruitment solution. This will vary in accordance with the Customer’s requirements.

Note: Contractors can prepare advertisements but agencies must lodge advertisements with the Government’s current non campaign advertising contractor Initiative Media Australia Pty Ltd (refer to CUA MBBP2018 Media Booking, Buying and Planning Services for Advertising)

Contractors providing services under this category will work collaboratively with the Customer (considering the context of the position/s to be filled and the Customer’s operating requirements) for the recruitment and selection advice and/or services for the appointment of Commissioners, Chief Executive Officers/Directors General and the Senior Executive Service (SES).  

Recruitment services will range from a specific part of the recruitment process through to the end-to-end recruitment process. This can include:

• advice on pre-recruitment planning and support, best practice recruitment, innovative retention strategies, and candidate assessment techniques; and/or
• providing assistance with recruitment processes and decisions (including the provision of reviewable and transparent documentation, and quality and timely feedback to candidates). 

Note: Contractors can prepare advertisements but agencies must lodge advertisements with the Government’s current non campaign advertising contractor Initiative Media Australia Pty Ltd (refer to CUA MBBP2018 Media Booking, Buying and Planning Services for Advertising).

The following services are out of scope of CUAHRS2021:

• HR Consulting 
• Policy and project development & implementation
• HR strategy development and evaluation
• Workforce planning support
• Productivity measurement
• Consultative services for the development of new organisational structures
• Change management services
• Workload assessment 
• Employee performance management strategies / plans / methods 
• Compliance risk assessment relating to Public Sector Standards in HR Management. 
• Employee Relations
• Occupational Safety and Health
• Wellness or Wellbeing Programs
• Outplacement and/or Career Transition Services. 

The rates quoted by Contractors at the Head Agreement are maximum rates, and Customers are encouraged to negotiate lower rates for each Customer Contract. Customers are to request a project cost prior to the engagement of a supplier.

Other policy requirements

State agencies should be aware of the following requirements under Western Australian Procurement Rules as they apply to purchases from this CUA. The below table is a summary of the requirements, and State agencies are encouraged to review the WA Procurement Rules.

Procurement Planning

Request Development and Contract Formation

Contract Management

Buyers must publish all contract award details on Tenders WA where the contract is valued $50,000 or more.

Exemption from using this CUA

Procurement Frameworks are responsible for processing and approving all requests from State agencies seeking exemption from using a mandatory CUA. Requests for an exemption are considered on a case-by-case basis, and a requesting agency must be able to demonstrate that a business need cannot be adequately met by the relevant CUA.

Exemption requests should be directed to the Assistant Director Procurement Frameworks through an email to the contract manager in the first instance. Requests for exemption must be in writing via email, and must provide sufficient explanation and background to enable the request to be considered. The requesting officer should be the Accountable Authority or delegate of the agency.

For guidelines on what to include in an exemption request, please refer to the Purchase from a CUA or my Agency’s Panel Arrangements Guideline.

CUAHRS2021 contractors have provided details of, and have been evaluated on, their waste reduction and recycling practices, for example:

• providing staff access to recycling bins for office waste, such as paper and packaging; and
• implementation of recycling programs for office equipment and e-waste.

Other sustainability initiatives that were evaluated as part of the tender process include the assessment of strategies to monitor energy usage and reduction of carbon emissions, for example:

• the use of energy saving initiatives such as energy efficient lighting and office equipment
• maintaining energy efficiency policies that ensure that lighting and office equipment are either turned off or utilise ‘sleep mode’ when not in use
• implementing ‘paper light’ or ‘no paper’ office processes, and
• encouraging staff to conduct virtual meetings to cut down on travel related carbon emissions.

To access the list of all contractors and assist with the selection of CUAHRS2021 contractors please refer to the  Contractor Catalogue.

The rates quoted by Contractors at the Head Agreement are maximum rates, and Customers are encouraged to negotiate lower rates for each Customer Contract. Customers are to request a project cost prior to the engagement of a contractor to determine value for money.

Buyers should consider negotiating a fixed rate on projects where appropriate. This may be a more cost effective approach.

View the Price Schedule to obtain prices for the services you require.

Pricing

Contractors have quoted maximum hourly rates for each consultant across two levels of experience. These two levels are listed below:

Refer to individual Contractor Profiles and cross reference the consultants’ experience level with the hourly rate in the Price Schedule.

Additional charges

Some contractors charge additional fees above their hourly rate (e.g. for photocopying, travel etc). These charges are outlined in the Price Schedule (available through the ‘additional pricing’ tabs at the base of the Price Schedule). 

Any additional charges must be itemised separately in the both the Order Form and on the contractor’s invoice. No other charges can be applied other than those listed in the Price Schedule.

Payment by Purchasing Card

The government Purchasing Card offers a quick and convenient method of payment allowing many goods and services to be efficiently purchased. 

Always remember to inform the contractor that you will be paying by government Purchasing Card, at the time of ordering the product or service, and ensure they clearly understand that they must send the tax invoice directly to you, the cardholder.

Contractors have quoted maximum hourly rates, which can be reduced upon negotiation. Consider levers such as contract timeframes, payment terms and multiple quotes for your negotiations.

Consider negotiating a fixed rate on projects where appropriate. This may be a more cost effective approach.

This CUA covers Recruitment Management Services but is NOT for sourcing/engaging temporary personnel. CUATPS2019 for Temporary Personnel must be used for this.

For investigations, consider what identity, criminal records or other security checks you require from the investigator and determine whether a licensed investigator is required.

Step by step buying process

Orders should be placed directly with contractors, using the Order Form. Before ordering, consider taking the following steps:

1. Draft a brief engagement plan that could be rolled out to all contractors. This may incorporate a number of the elements below:
   • Scope your agency’s requirements in detail.
   • Identify objectives, roles, responsibilities, escalation processes and contacts.
2. Discuss and obtain a shared understanding of the scope of the engagement and seek advice on the circumstances that may lead to a variation.
3. Request an estimate of hours, additional costs and timeframes or where this is not feasible negotiate a strategy to monitor costs such as progress meetings to discuss hours worked and number of hours required to complete the investigation.
4. Negotiate rates as the CUA rates are maximum hourly rates.
5. Request the name of the consultant(s) assigned to the work and specify where you require a specific consultant or a licensed investigator.
6. You can evaluate which contractor represents best value for money for your needs by referring to the information in the Price Schedule and the applicable contractor profile documents.
7. Once you have established value, then contact the preferred contractor to make your purchase.

Active contract management pays off

• Manage your contract term – keep an eye on your contract expiry date.
• For medium to longer term engagements, consider putting in place progress meetings with the contractor to review the costs, progress and scope of the engagement.
• Test the market on a regular basis to see what the other contractors on the CUA are offering
• Investigate different strategies to reduce both hourly and additional costs.
• Check invoices for accuracy before authorising payment.
• Monitor contractor performance and deliverables.
• Document any issues as they arise even if they are resolved. This will assist in ongoing supplier performance management.
• If you encounter an issue and you are unable to resolve it directly with the contractor, please contact the contract manager.