Government Temporary Help Services Advisory Committee Meeting Record of Decision - December 18, 2008

• Agenda
• Record of Decisions

Agenda

Thursday, December 18, 2008
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Place du Portage
14A2, Room 101
11 Gatineau, Québec

1. Approval of Record of Decision of December 11^th Meeting
2. Discussion on the Assessment Framework and Sanctions Document
3. Other Items
4. Next Meeting
5. Round Table and Closing Remarks

Record of Decisions

In attendance

• Pierre Paquette, PWGSC (Chair)
• Debbie Sinclair, PWGSC
• Helen Seto, PWGSC
• Jason Storm, PWGSC
• Trina Poots, PWGSC
• Ray Paquette, PWGSC (Material Management)
• Caroline Carson, HC
• Julie Chartrand, LAC
• Sandy Proulx, DND
• Kathryn Tremblay, ACSESS
• Meredith Egan, ACSESS
• Paul Gagnon, Portage Personnel
• Dan Moorcroft, QMR Staffing
• Martin Chenier, Spherion

Item

Item 1 Approval of Record of Decision of December 11^th Meeting

The Record of Decision from the December 11^th, 2008 meeting was adopted by the Committee with one revision:  The second page, first bullet, last sentence will be modified to read, “PWGSC will continue working with the Client Engagement Sector of  PWGSC and client departments on this issue.”

Item 2 Discussion on the Assessment Framework and Sanctions Document

PWGSC provided a copy of the presentation titled “Federal Department Users’ Training Sessions” with updates based on Committee feedback.

PWGSC provided a copy of the User Guide with all comments received embedded. If there are any additional comments, they will be included in the FAQs.

Industry does use a form to address travel requirements; however, this will not be provided to Government as previously indicated in the Business Rules/Requirement. Industry concerns regarding acceptance of travel requirements will be addressed in the User Guide. PWGSC agreed that all travel requirements should be included in the contract/call-up or an amendment to the contract/call-up.

Industry will provide PWGSC the wording for the User Guide section regarding Health and Safety expectations.

Supplier Assessment Framework

PWGSC confirmed that for the SO, “Right of First Refusal” must be adhered to: “Name Referral” is acceptable only under SO component and only after the supplier has been selected in accordance with the steps for selecting a supplier. For example, under the SO component, if the THS On-Line System indicated that Company “X” was the company who can provide the resource(s) at the lowest rate based on the client’s requirement, and the Supplier has confirmed availability of a resource or resources, then once the supplier has been selected in accordance with the steps for selecting a supplier, the federal department user can then ask for a specific resource. NOTE: If the supplier cannot provide the specific resource, this does not allow the client to move forward to the next supplier or bypass a supplier.

Industry comments received on the Assessment Framework were distributed.

The checklist of documentation that must be contained in each candidate file was discussed. The Committee agreed to keep the supplier assessment simple and to use the refresh period as an opportunity to modify the documentation covering testing procedures, e.g. typing and clerical tests. PWGSC will modify the checklist based on the discussions and present the update to the Committee at a subsequent meeting.

Industry will provide wording regarding Online Testing (Stream 1 only).

PWGSC confirmed that when assessing the testing for Stream 1, the assessment is not to evaluate the quality of the tests, but to ensure that the tests are in place and comply with the requirements in the RFSO/RFSA.

PWGSC confirmed that suppliers must already have in place Testing for Stream 1 (Annex 1.3 of the RFSO/SA), a commercial office and contact names (Annex 1.2 of the RFSO/SA) as these are requirements for receiving an SO and/or SA. Sanctions.

PWGSC clarified Section 6 of the Protocol and Standards document. This section applies to Sanctions (for Clients and Suppliers) relating to the Protocol and the proper use of the THS On-Line System. There are 5 types of Sanctions for Suppliers and two for Clients:

Suppliers

1. Immediate deactivation for not accepting an unscheduled site visit. Immediate re-activation will occur when the site visit is accepted and occurs.
2. Immediate deactivation for refusing to respond to the conditions of the Assessment Framework, e.g. failure to respond to an e-mail request from PWGSC to schedule an on site assessment. PWGSC will send an initial request and two follow-up requests (one week apart). Immediate re-activation will occur when the site visit is scheduled.
3. Immediate deactivation for not meeting a mandatory criterion, e.g. commercial office or for missed documentation on all 3 candidate files that are assessed, e.g. the 3 are the first group of files that are requested by PWGSC under an assessment of the Supplier’s testing procedures. Immediate re-activation will occur following confirmation by PWGSC that the mandatory criteria (or criterion) are met and/or when file documentation has been obtained.
4. A three business day correction period will be identified for missed documentation on 1 or 2 of the 3 candidate files that are assessed from the first group of files that are requested by PWGSC under an assessment of the Supplier’s testing procedures. After the three business day correction period, should the files not be corrected, immediate deactivation will occur. Immediate re-activation will occur following confirmation by PWGSC that the file documentation has been obtained. The above is in response to Industry’s suggestion that, in place of having an immediate deactivation when there are problems with 1 or 2 of the 3 sample files, suppliers be given 3 business days to correct the problem before being deactivated. If there are problems in all 3 sample files, immediate deactivation, with immediate reinstatement upon correction, is accepted.
5. As a result of the assessment of a Federal Department User, should unacceptable behaviour be identified, the Supplier involved in the situation would be subject to the approach and time periods detailed in item 6 of the Protocol (the same as the Federal Department User).

Federal Department Users

1. Immediate deactivation for refusing to respond to the conditions of the Assessment Framework, e.g. failure to respond to an e-mail request from PWGSC to schedule an on site assessment. PWGSC will send an initial request and two follow-up requests (one week apart). Immediate re-activation will occur when the site visit is scheduled.
2. As a result of the assessment of a Federal Department User, should unacceptable behaviour or inappropriate use of the THS On-Line System be identified, the Federal Department User would be subject to the approach and time periods detailed in item 6 of the Protocol.

PWGSC clarified that the 3-month sanctions are to be applied to individual placements and not all placements of an individual supplier.

Industry Code of Ethics

Will not be included in the Assessment Framework.

Client Assessment Framework

When PWGSC gives notification to a THS user of an assessment that will be performed by PWGSC and if there is no response after sending an email 3 times, there will be a deactivation of their THS account.

PWGSC clarified that the documentation needed for an assessment can be in separate areas in a Federal Department, e.g. portions with the Federal Department User and portions with the Client within the Federal Department.

Client Satisfaction Report

Copy of the template will be on the THS website.

Although industry expressed interest in receiving copies of these reports, not all client users complete these reports, making it difficult to administer.

Item 4. Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for January 8, 2009 at Place du Portage, 11 Laurier, PDP III, Gatineau, Québec, Tower A, 14A2, Boardroom 101 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. A meeting confirmation, agenda and location will be sent to members via e-mail prior to the meeting.