We will summarize your responses in a report to the Legislative Audit Committee. We will also analyze your responses and the information you report in the Uniform Statewide Accounting System (USAS) to identify which agencies and institutions need further review and/or technical assistance.

• Temporary workers supplied by staffing companies: Individuals who are employed by a private "temp" company and are assigned, usually for a specified period of time, to particular and various clients.
• Independent contractors: Individuals who have a contract directly with a state agency or institution.
• Contract company workers: Individuals who work for a contract company and who, like temps, are assigned to particular and various clients.
• Consultants: Individuals who provide a certain type of informational expertise to a client.

1. Description of Contract Workforce
   
   
   1. What types of work does your contract workforce perform and what is the estimated duration for each type of work?
      Clerical Temporaries Temporary Nursing Contract Computer Programmers Contract Labors and Skilled Crafts Specialty Consulting Services · Medial Education · Marketing Administrative Training Curriculum · Neuroimaging · Conference Planning
      
      
   2. Approximately how many full-time equivalent contract workers are assigned to each type of work listed in your answer to 1a?
      Clerical Temporaries 8.2 FTEs Temporary Nursing 58.9 FTEs Contract Computer Programmers 3.5 FTEs Contract Labors and Skilled Crafts 1.5 FTEs Specialty Consulting Services · Medial Education N/A · Marketing Administrative Training Curriculum N/A · Neuroimaging N/A · Conference Planning N/A (Consultant FTEs are not captured.)
      
      
   3. What is the approximate length of tenure for the contract workers who perform each type of work listed in your answer to 1a? Average tenure should be a rough calculation based on the number of consecutive months and years working at your agency in the current or similar position.
      The tenure for Clerical Temporaries, Temporary Nursing and Contract Computer Programmers is on average from 1 – 6 months. The tenure for Consulting Contractors is dependent of the terms of each Consulting Contract. In most cases it is between 1 to 3 months.

   
   
   

2. Strategic Planning
   
   
   1. Please answer YES or NO for questions 2.a.i through 2.a.vi. If you answer NO for any question, please explain.
      Have you analyzed your contract workforce in terms of how it fits into your agency's/institution's staffing strategies, including:
      

      Consideration of mission, goals, and objectives?	YES
      The need for existing and future employee skills?	YES
      Compensation costs?	YES
      Productivity?	YES
      Nature of services to be provided?	YES
      Workload?	YES

      Please explain all NO answers from above:
      
      
      

   2. Please explain why and how the use of contract workers fits into your agency's/institution's staffing strategies.
      · Due to organizational restructuring, and an institutional goal to have programs in the top 25% nationally, UTMB is analyzing its staffing needs more critically. Such initiatives may not always require full-time FTEs. · For the past 18 months, the institution has participated in an attrition management program that requires senior level authorization for new staff and related expenditures. · The evolution of e-commerce and e-business require talent not necessarily available in-house or locally · A shift in local, state and national economies have resulted in a low unemployment rate resulting in smaller pools of traditional applicants · Galveston’s relative isolation requires alternative means of staffing · The national workforce environment is seeing a shift to contract labor pools as an alternative to employing FTEs

   
   
   

3. Policies and Procedures
   
   

   Has management developed policies and procedures for managing and using contract workers? If YES, please answer 3b and 3c. If NO, please explain and then continue with question 4.

   YES

    

   Are the policies and procedures comprehensive? If NO, please explain.

   YES

   Yes. Each department that utilizes temporary or contract workers has specific rules and guidelines that govern the work to be performed (e.g. nursing protocols). Contracts for consultants or independent contractors have specific terms, conditions and requirements for the work and deliverables. Therefore, the management of contract workers has been decentralized to department level managers to more efficiently and effectively manage these workers on a daily basis with additional periodic oversight by the Contract Administration section of the institutional Purchasing Department.

   
   

   If management has developed policies and procedures, have they been implemented? If YES, please answer 3d. If NO, please explain and then continue with question 4.

   YES

   
   

   4. What process did management use to implement the policies and procedures?
      As mentioned above, decentralized procedures are in place to meet compliance requirements. Training classes have been provided to campus and attendance tracked. This training is available to campus on video complete with handouts.

   
   
   

4. Cost-Benefit Analysis
   
   

   Has management conducted a cost-benefit analysis of its current contract workforce? If YES, please answer 4b through 4d. If NO, please explain and then continue with question 5.

   NO

   Management has not conducted a comprehensive analysis that covers all areas of the institution. Utilization of each contract workforce is analyzed on its own merit. In the clinical arena, where the use of contract labor is most prevalent, continual analysis is conducted for determining ongoing staffing levels. Typically, we analyze the term of the project and services required (i.e., one-time or ongoing requirement). Then based on these requirements and the training/education required, we look at the cost of FTE, salary and benefits, versus the cost of a contract worker.

   
   

   Does management compare the costs and benefits of contract workers to state employees prior to contracting for additional contract workers? If NO, please explain.

   
   

   Is written documentation available to support cost-benefit analyses? If NO, please explain.

   
   

   4. Please provide a brief description of the cost-benefit analysis performed when considering whether to use contract workers or state employees.
      

   
   
   

5. Legal and Personnel Issues
   
   

   Has management examined the legal and personnel issues related to the use of a contract workforce? (For information on legal and personnel issues, please see Best Practices and Guidelines for Effectively Using a Contract Workforce, SAO Report No. 99-326. This report is available through our website or by calling 479-4740.) If YES, please answer questions 5b and 5c. If NO, please explain and then continue with question 6.

   YES

   
   

   2. Please describe what actions have been taken to address these issues.
      New contracts being established with temp agencies specifies that contract employees will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability A bid process is used to establish all vendors. Vendors who feel that they did not receive a contract due to discriminatory practices may appeal through established legal channels. We adhere to the Contracts Checklist provided on page 17 of Best Practices and Guidelines

   
   

   3. Please describe any policies and procedures that have been developed to address these issues
      Non-discrimination Policy #2.12.2 contains a special section addressing external users. EEO Policy #3.2.1 is under review to include the contract workforce. Policy for Hiring Independent Contract Workforce #4.5.5 is under review to specifically address these issues.

   
   
   

6. Contract Completion
   
   

   Excluding contracts with staffing companies that supply temporary workers and contracts for less than $10,000, how many contracts were scheduled to be completed between September 1, 1998, and August 31, 1999?

   (Numeric Values) 999999

   Of those contracts, how many were completed on time?                    Information not available	999999
   Of those contracts, how many were completed within budget?                    Information not available	999999
   Of those contracts, how many were completed within contract specifications?                    Information not available	999999

   
   

7. Monitoring
   
   How does management ensure that work performed by a contract workforce is completed on time, within budget, and within contract specifications?
   By the use of the Department Program Managers and the Purchasing Department’s Contract Administration Section (referenced in 3.a above), workforce contracts are both daily administered and periodically reviewed/audited to ensure both UTMB and the Contractor are meeting the terms conditions and requirements of the Contract. Additionally, all requests for payment and time revisions must be reviewed and approved by the Department Program Managers and/or the Purchasing Department’s Contract Administration Section.