Agency TEACHERS RETIREMENT ASSOC

Contractor MMB

SWIFT Contract Number 200930

Project Name Investigation Services

Project Number (if applicable) {Empty}

Summarize purpose of the contract, including why it was necessary: Outside Investigation services related to TRA employees

Project Duration

Start Date Tue, 09/21/2021 - 00:00

Original end date Fri, 06/30/2023 - 00:00

Actual end date Fri, 06/30/2023 - 00:00

Did project finish on time? Yes

Total billable hours utilized (if applicable) {Empty}

Contract Amounts

Original contract: $30977.00

Amendments {Empty}

Contract total $30977.00

Did project finish within budget? Yes

What was the funding source? State Funds

Is this a sole source contract? No

If this was a single source contract, explain why the agency determined there was only a single source for the services (if applicable) {Empty}

Evaluator Name Stephanie Summerville

Evaluator Email Address ssummerville@minnesotatra.org

Evaluate the contractor's timeliness Due to competing priorities, there was a several month gap where TRA did not receive a work product from one of the investigators. This timeliness was not great. It is understood that using an outside resource to perform investigations will create a longer investigatory process/turnaround time, but there is some opportunity for improvement in regards to turnaround time for all outside investigators TRA has been assigned

Evaluate the contractor's quality Investigators used 2021-2023 had good communication (excluding the gap I mentioned above). Overall performance and final work product was very good other than timeliness.

Evaluate the contractor's cost The cost is high, given that our organization is currently in need of using outside investigators in order to comply with MMB guidance. Currently, I am the only TRA Commissioner’s Plan employee who has the experience to perform investigations, and I cannot do this and be the primary HR consultant if a fair/unbiased investigation is to occur, per MMB. This will hopefully change in the future, but is the reality right now. It would be nice if there were more varied price points for outside investigator services, depending on the complexity of the investigation that needs to be performed. Not all of the investigations we seek assistance with require a high-degree of expertise that an employment lawyer brings. (Only some investigations at TRA truly need this expertise, and warrant the related high expense.)

Evaluate the contractor's overall performance Overall performance and final work product for investigations performed 2021-2023 were very good, other than timeliness.

Would you engage the contractor's services again? Yes

Describe any negative action taken during the duration of this contract (i.e., termination, pursuit of suspension, etc.): 2020 – action could not be taken due to the employee resigning when the investigation concluded
2022 – written reprimand was issued to employee
2023 – one employee was terminated; another employee received a written reprimand

Please rate the overall experience with the contractor 4 - satisfied