Data collection activities for the Current Employment Statistics (CES) and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) programs

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is conducting market research to receive input from the commercial marketplace regarding best practices and approaches to perform data collection activities for the Current Employment Statistics (CES) and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) programs. Any information received from this request may be used in developing a viable solicitation that will best communicate the Government's requirements to industry while incorporating ideas from the commercial marketplace to increase the likelihood of successful performance. Response to this Request for Information (RFI) is strictly voluntary and will not affect any firm's ability to submit an offer if, or when, a solicitation is released. The requested information is for planning purposes only and does NOT constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. No entitlement to payment by the Government of direct or indirect costs or charges will arise because of the submission of information in response to this RFI. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any improperly identified proprietary information. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. Introduction This is an RFI per FAR 15.201(c) for market research purposes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has relied on the commercial marketplace for data collection activities for the CES and JOLTS programs, with distinct contracts for each program. BLS maintains a CES help desk in Washington, DC, and data collection centers in Atlanta, GA; Dallas, TX; Fort Walton Beach, FL; and Kansas City, MO. BLS maintains data collection centers for JOLTS in Atlanta, GA, and Kansas City, MO. The vendor staffs these data collection centers with interviewers, who collect data and enter it into the BLS proprietary web-based computer-assisted telephone instrument, TopCATIWeb. The vendor is also responsible for training and managing the interviewer staff and ensuring quality control. Background CES BLS collects data each month on employment, hours, and earnings from a sample of nonfarm establishments through the CES program. The CES survey includes about 122,000 businesses and government agencies, which cover approximately 666,000 individual worksites drawn from a sampling frame of Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax accounts covering roughly 11 million establishments. The active CES sample includes approximately one-third of all nonfarm payroll employees in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. From these data, several employment, hours, and earnings series in considerable industry and geographic detail are prepared and published each month. 2. JOLTS BLS collects data each month on employment, job openings, hires, and separations from a sample of nonfarm establishments through the JOLTS program. The survey includes about 21,000 business and government agency worksites drawn from a sampling frame of approximately 11 million private and government establishments. The JOLTS sample includes establishments located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Challenges and opportunities Declining response rates: BLS establishment surveys have been suffering from decreasing unit response rates over the past ten years, according to data published by the BLS Office of Survey Methodology and Research (https://www.bls.gov/osmr/response-rates/#chart2a) BLS data collection activities have been further impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected some respondents availability, ability, or willingness to provide data to BLS interviewers. BLS and vendors must strive to increase response rates in the current environment and ensure that acceptable quality levels are met. 2. Introduction of telework: The data collection activities for CES and JOLTS have historically been performed 100% on-site, but the pandemic led to BLS instituting telework privileges to contractor staff to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The introduction of telework has created management challenges given the inherent differences in monitoring performance for individuals working remotely while ensuring data quality and confidentiality. That said, to consistently recruit successful interviewers, BLS intends to continue allowing telework flexibilities for proficient interviewers. 3. Web collection: BLS introduced an option for reliable respondents to submit data to CES via the web, in a process described internally as - Flex reporting. Approximately 50 % of data collected by CES Data Collection Centers now comes from Flex reporting. Similarly, web collection comprises 60% of JOLTS's monthly data submissions. This frees up time for interviewers to work on address refinement and enrollment activities, as well as on more complex cases. 4. Labor categories. The current contract for data collection activities for CES and JOLTS is a hybrid firm-fixed-price and labor hours. The firm-fixed-price component covers supervision, management, travel, and training activities. The labor hours component covers the individual interviewers hourly rates of performed labor. There are currently three categories of interviewers: Interviewer 1, Interviewer 2, and Lead Interviewer. These positions are paid hourly rates subject to the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA). BLS seeks to ensure that the contract's labor categories accurately reflect the nature of the work. 5. Performance incentives: The contract does not currently have incentives or disincentives built in, but the labor hours structure provides an unintentional incentive for the contractor to retain consistent poor performers. BLS is considering the introduction of incentives based on acceptable quality levels being met or exceeded while ensuring that such incentives do not compromise data integrity. 6. Competition. The contract has historically been awarded to small businesses. Given changes to the labor market which have made recruiting and retaining contractor staff challenging, BLS is considering whether opening competition to large businesses will provide better value for taxpayers. Information Requested The most recent versions of the Performance Work Statements are included in Appendix A (CES) and Appendix B (JOLTS). BLS welcomes comments from the commercial marketplace about any elements contained therein that they believe may jeopardize the successful performance of the contract and propose suggestions that increase the likelihood of success. BLS is requesting feedback on three specific topics: Contract structure and performance incentives The current contract has a hybrid firm-fixed-price and labor hours structure. The firm-fixed-price component covers management, supervision, training, and travel. The labor hours component covers the hourly rates of the interviewers. Wage determinations for the interviewers under the SCA are currently based on the Survey Worker category for Interviewer 1 position and Computer Operator II category for the Interviewer 2 position. The Lead Interviewer positions are based on a premium paid over the Interviewer 2 position. BLS specifically would like to know how many, and which labor categories in the commercial marketplace should be included in the performance work statement. Furthermore, would the contractor be able to more successfully perform the work given the increase in web collection and the flexibilities afforded under a firm-fixed-price contract? Additionally, which incentives and penalties should be included in the contract? Specifically, BLS is considering performance incentives if the acceptable quality levels are exceeded, and penalties if the contractor is not fully staffed or far below the acceptable quality levels. How can BLS introduce incentives to reward successful performance without compromising data integrity? How can BLS introduce penalties without discouraging potential vendors from competing for the work or retaining poor consistent performers? 2. Telework flexibilities BLS introduced telework flexibilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure continuity of operations. The current vendor has faced recruiting challenges, as candidates indicate a strong preference for full-time telework positions. BLS requires that recent hires and poor performers report to work on-site for training, therefore it is unlikely that these positions will be true full-time telework positions. Furthermore, candidates are required to be within commuting distance of their respective data collection centers. BLS understands that maintaining telework flexibilities will likely be necessary to recruit the best-qualified candidates. BLS would like vendors to describe their approach to telework, and what measures they would take to ensure performance requirements and data confidentiality needs are met. 3. Competition BLS has typically awarded this contract to small businesses. CES and JOLTS have been unable to consistently meet certain acceptable quality levels under different contracts. BLS is considering opening competition to include large businesses to increase the likelihood of success. BLS would like comments as to why BLS should or should not include large businesses in competition. Responses BLS thanks members of the commercial marketplace for their insight. This collaboration will help BLS design a performance work statement that is more aligned with current business practices and increase the likelihood of success.