City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: May 9, 2023
Agenda Item: 5.I
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Lori Gentles, Chief People Officer, Human Resources Department Subject: Award Request for Proposal No. 342 to BetterUp, Inc. for Employee Coaching, Mentoring, Training and Development Support Services Recommended Action
Staff recommends the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Award RFP#342 to BetterUp, Inc., for Employee Coaching, Mentoring, Training and Development Support Services for all City employees provided by the Human Resources Department;
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with BetterUp, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $988,708 for 5 years with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
The Human Resources Department seeks the assistance of BetterUp, Inc., to offer employee coaching, mentoring, training, and development support services to provide 1:1 coaching and on-demand leadership, personal development, and other types of performance management services to all active City employees. Making these services available 24/7 through an online platform increases the likelihood of maximizing the accessibility, effectiveness, potential, and capacity of both employees and the organization while meeting the diverse needs of City staff.
Discussion
On May 5, 2020, Council approved the “Santa Monica: A Plan for the Future” to restructure the City government as a result of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2 of 4
This restructuring plan eliminated 331 budgeted full-time equivalent positions, which included the entire Organizational and Development Division within the Human Resources Department. The division provided various professional development, mentoring and leadership opportunities for all City staff.
As a result, the Human Resources Department sought Council authority for an exception to the competitive bidding process to provide immediate professional coaching services to employees impacted directly and indirectly by the restructuring. On May 26, 2020, City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into an agreement with BetterUp, Inc., for professional coaching services. Currently still in use with an expiration date of June 30, 2023, the BetterUp platform delivers transformative coaching experiences to drive productivity, engagement, and employee retention based on 550 member responses, 78% percent of users rate their session quality as life-changing or amazing. 99% rated the service as good or better and 94% reported being more effective at work because of this coaching. In line with best practices, staff initiated a Request for Proposal to identify alternative service providers.
Vendor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Qualified Person/Firm BetterUp Inc.
Evaluation Criteria
(include all that apply)
References, experience, services provided and cost.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.
RFPs Received
Alchemi Coaching BetterUp Inc. Hayden Lee Coaching LifeSpeaksToYou, LLC Lonestar Synergistx, Inc. Looking Forward
Consulting
Milli Micro Systems,
Inc.
Prism Leadership
Group
The Resurgent Group of
Metro Atlanta LLC
Zilo International Group
LLC
RFP Data
Posted On Posted On
Advertised In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
1/12/2023 City's Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica Daily Press 48 2/13/2023
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Justification to Award
Based on the evaluation criteria above and criteria in SMMC 2.24.190, staff recommends BetterUp Inc. as the best-qualified firm to provide employee coaching, mentoring, training and development support services based on their extensive experience and previous work with the City as well as the US Military, Google, Hilton, Warner Media, ZenDesk, and many others. BetterUp Inc. received the highest rating from the City’s evaluators in the following categories: references, experience, services provided and cost. BetterUp is able to provide all active City employees with 24/7 access to 1:1 professional coaches in addition to 24/7 access to specialist coaches who focus on well-being habits, navigating grief, supporting others in grief, sleep coaching, nutrition coaching, working parents coaching, small group topic driven studio workshops, 360- degree feedback tool, and access to a world-class library of personal and professional development tools. BetterUp can offer these services in numerous languages using their proprietary web-based platform or dedicated app. These services in addition to the most competitive cost resulted in BetterUp being selected as the preferred vendor to provide the requested services to the City.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
05/26/2020
(attachment A)
Award of agreement with BetterUp for professional coaching services
Environmental Review
The award agreement to provide employee support services is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the CEQA Guidelines, which states that CEQA does not apply, where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.
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Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the Human Resources Professional Services to award an agreement with BetterUp, Inc. for employee coaching, mentoring, training, and development support services. Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Agreement Request
FY 2023-24 Budget
Request Amount
Future Years
Amount Department Account Total Contract Amount
$178,836 $809,872 01130004.552010 $988,708
Prepared By: Sasha Sargent, Executive Administrative Assistant Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachment A- 2020_05_26 City Council - Public Minutes-1249 B. OAKS Expires 4-19-24
C. ITEM.5.I.Written Comments