The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) is seeking a comprehensive, robust, and streamlined solution to improve and modernize how State employees access information on their benefits, creating scenarios for their individual benefits needs, benefits rates and eligibility criteria, as well as providing real-time benefits information. Consistent and accurate benefits information across all platforms and operating systems​ will result in a reduction in the number of benefit appeals for our CalHR Benefits Division​.

The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) is responsible for issues related to employee salaries and benefits, job classifications, civil rights, training, exams, recruitment and retention. For most employees, many of these matters are determined through the collective bargaining process managed by CalHR. The Benefits Division administers dental, vision, the Employee Assistance Program, workers' compensation and other benefits to state employees and their dependents; and partners with the California Public Employees Retirement System to administer health benefits.

The CalHR Benefits Division has been working to improve and modernize the benefit services it provides to all State Of California employees. Over the past 12 months, the division has rebranded its public facing web site to provide a modern interface with a customer centric design. The updated website improved access to all CalHR administered benefit information.

While a majority of state employee benefit information is not easily accessible across multiple platforms, a key tool for state employees is the Benefits Calculator which compares health, dental, and vision plans to assist employees in making informed financial decisions regarding their benefits. The Calculator remains difficult for employees to navigate and takes the CalHR Benefits staff several weeks to update and test. Specifically, CalHR is facing the following challenges:

• Information needs to updated constantly and immediately - there is a need for a real-time integration in order to ensure data communicated to the public remains up-to-date
• Testing and Quality Assurance currently go through a manual process, in which each individual rate has to be validated by CalHR staff 
• No current mobile capability
• Information can be harder to interpret due to bargaining unit requirements and employee-specific scenarios
• Limited benefit scenario functionality that may not accurately portray all applicable benefits across the 22 different bargaining units for which an employee may be eligible
  • For example, many state employee families have dual state employment where different benefit election scenarios could result in increased benefits depending on which family member carries which benefits.

 

CalHR is seeking to modernize the Benefits Calculator to provide a customer centric user experience while being portable across multiple device form factors. CalHR would like to be able to easily update benefits, benefit rates, and eligibility criteria to provide accurate real-time benefit information to employees when selecting their benefits. To this end, CalHR is looking to partner with a vendor to help solve these challenges, as well as create a display that is accessible, easy-to-navigate, and easier to maintain. 

Here is a link to the current CalHR Benefits Calculator. 

The proposed SaaS solution, which will be integrated seamlessly into the CalHR website, must: 

• Serve as a centralized solution for access across all bargaining units​
• Calculate eligibility benefit scenarios based on each employee’s specific bargaining unit, party size and benefits selected
  • Calculate dual state employment scenario
• Populate PDF enrollment forms for health, vision and dental benefits
• Provide mobile functionality and be accessible to all employees and perspective employees regardless of device being used (must be mobile webpage friendly, a mobile app is not required)
• Able to make updates without needing to shut down access to the solution
• Enhanced drop-down list and menu option functionality
• Clear landing page with prominent CalHR branding
• Consistent benefit terminology and date ranges for benefits rates
• Customizable warning messages that can be modified by CalHR Benefits staff and made specific to California employee bargaining unit and employment type
• Meet WCAG accessibility compliance
• Provide a staging environment
• Ability to accept data, real-time or batch, programmatically through an API

 Vendors will be expected to provide the following services and resources to accompany the Benefits Calculator: 

• Implementation Lead
• Project Manager/Project Management support
• Customer Journey Map 
• Knowledge Transfer Plan
• Testing plans (e.g. UAT)
• Training materials
• Training videos for members of the general public utilizing the Benefits Calculator
• Self-service support portal for CalHR staff
• 30 Day post-production hyper-care to fast-track resolution to solution defects (6 month guarantee) 

Preferred Proposer Qualifications: 

• Experience providing public-facing benefits calculator solutions to government agencies
• Familiarity with California State benefits structure
• Experience working with California government agencies and/or authorities