How to Write an RFP to Find the Best Employee Scheduling Software
Written By Ryan Algie | 
Why is a Well-Crafted RFP Important?
Creating a Request for Proposal (RFP) when researching employee scheduling software vendors can feel overwhelming – especially if your organization has complex, unionized operations. But here’s the thing: getting this step right is essential. It’s the gateway to attracting a vendor who understands your organization’s challenges and has a solution that meets your needs.
A well-crafted RFP is more than a list of requirements; it’s a chance to align your team and set clear expectations for outcomes. It gives vendors the insight they need to propose tailored solutions and show how they’ll work with you to solve your unique challenges. It’s the first step toward finding a partner who isn’t just checking boxes but is invested in your long-term success.
Let’s explore how you can write an RFP that lays the foundation for a successful–and lasting–partnership.
Step 1: Define Your Needs by Evaluating the Current State
Before you begin preparing your RFP, evaluate the current state of your scheduling processes. Gather feedback from key stakeholders–schedulers, supervisors, employees, and union representatives–to understand the pain points and needs from everyone’s perspective.
In this discovery phase, you may find that schedulers need help tracking overtime and ensuring compliance with labor laws and union agreements. In contrast, union representatives may need help to verify schedules are compliant with fair working conditions. These insights will help guide the technical and functional requirements you list in the RFP.
Your RFP should also clearly define specific and measurable goals. These might include improving scheduling efficiency by a specific percentage or reducing manual errors by half, or achieving 100% compliance with union contracts. These goals will help vendors understand your success metrics, ensuring they propose solutions aligned with your expectations.
Step 2: Develop Your RFP with Clarity and Purpose
Once you’ve gathered the insights from stakeholders, it’s time to draft the RFP. Again, this document serves as the blueprint for your vendor search, outlining your needs, goals, and expectations – take time to prepare it thoughtfully and thoroughly.
Introduce Your Organization
Start with a clear introduction that describes your organization’s size and structure. For example, if your company manages hundreds of employees across multiple locations with several union contracts, you can outline these operational complexities upfront. This will give vendors the context they need to tailor their proposals accordingly.
Example: “We are XYZ Company, managing over 500 employees across three locations, with multiple union contracts and unique scheduling challenges. Our goal is to find a solution that improves scheduling efficiency while ensuring compliance with union regulations.”
Define Scope of Work
Clearly outline the scheduling challenges you’re facing and what you expect the software solution to do. Whether it’s improving shift rotations, managing overtime, or adhering to union rules, make sure you provide these details so vendors can propose relevant solutions.
Pro Tip: Be as specific as possible! For example, outline features like automated schedule generation that adheres to CBAs, ease of use for management and employees, shift swapping and leave request capabilities, automatic calling for coverage, mobile employee app, real-time schedule updates, and advanced reporting. Providing these details helps vendors tailor their solutions to your exact needs.
Identify Essential Features
As you draft the RFP, specify the features your scheduling solution must include. Refer to your stakeholder feedback for insights here. Examples of “essential features” may include system integration with existing HR software, mobile access to employee schedules, or real-time scheduling updates for supervisors. If compliance with labor regulations or overtime rules is a major concern, these should be highlighted as essential features, too.
Pro Tip: List your requirements in simple terms. It’s better to be more specific with these requirements than general. Details are essential for vendors to understand your organization’s specific operational needs. This will save you time and money by selecting a vendor that actually does what you need it to do.
Address IT Security and Other Technical Requirements
When outlining your IT security requirements in the RFP, it’s essential to specify the minimum standards and practices your organization expects from a SaaS vendor. Emphasizing compliance with industry standards and data protection regulations ensures that the vendor meets your expectations for safeguarding sensitive information. Including security requirements at this stage not only helps identify potential roadblocks but also addresses concerns early, which reduces delays and costs during the contracting phase.
For example, when specifying Security Standards and Compliance, you can include detailed areas of inquiry like the ones below to assess the vendor’s security practices and ensure they align with your organization’s needs:
Security Standards and Compliance
The selected SaaS scheduling solution must meet specific security standards and compliance requirements to ensure data protection and adherence to applicable laws and regulations.
- Data Protection and Encryption
Ask the vendor to explain how data is encrypted both in transit and at rest. Inquire about their data backup and disaster recovery procedures to ensure robust protection. - Access Controls
Request details about the access control measures in place to ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive information. Also, find out how user access levels are managed and monitored. - Compliance and Certifications
Ask the vendor to list the data protection and cybersecurity standards and certifications their service complies with, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or SOC 2. Request documentation or evidence of their most recent audits or certifications. - Incident Response
Inquire about the vendor’s incident response plan in the event of a data breach or cyber attack. Ask how quickly they notify clients of such incidents and what measures they take to mitigate the impact. - Data Privacy
Clarify how the vendor ensures data privacy in compliance with relevant industry regulations. Ask them to describe their process for handling data deletion or modification requests under privacy laws. - Vendor Risk Management
Request details about the vendor’s process for assessing and managing the security risks associated with third-party vendors or services they use. - Employee Training and Awareness
Find out what kind of security training the vendor provides to their employees and how often this training is updated.
By including these specific areas of inquiry, you can better assess the security maturity of potential vendors and their ability to protect your organization’s data. Additionally, requesting supporting documentation or evidence will help verify the vendor’s claims and provide further confidence in their security practices.
Consider Vendor Qualifications
In your RFP, be sure to ask about the vendor’s qualifications to ensure they can meet your specific needs. Focus on understanding their experience with companies that operate in similar industries, particularly those dealing with unionized or regulated environments. Request detailed case studies or references from current clients that faced challenges similar to yours.
Additionally, ask about the vendor’s ability to provide ongoing support and training after implementation. This helps you understand their capacity for long-term partnership and their commitment to the success of your scheduling solution. Make sure the vendor outlines their approach to implementation, troubleshooting, and any additional services that could help ensure the success of the project.
Communicate Budget and Timeline Constraints
It’s important to provide vendors with a clear understanding of your budget range and the timeline for the project. If, for instance, you have a budget between $100,000 and $175,000 for the first year, including setup and training, and aim to implement the solution by the first quarter of the next year, this should be communicated clearly. Transparency around your financial and operational constraints helps vendors propose realistic solutions that fit within your parameters.
Establish Vendor Evaluation Criteria
In this section of the RFP, clearly communicate the criteria by which you will evaluate vendor proposals. This ensures transparency and helps vendors tailor their responses to meet your expectations.
Inform vendors that you will be evaluating their proposals based on how well their solutions align with your technical and functional requirements, their experience with similar industries, and the cost-effectiveness of their solutions. Additionally, emphasize that the quality of their customer support, scalability of their platform, and ability to meet your implementation timeline will also be key factors.
By outlining these evaluation criteria upfront, vendors will better understand what’s important to your organization, allowing for more focused and relevant responses.
Provide Submission Guidelines
To streamline the evaluation process, be sure to specify how vendors should format their proposals. Key sections should include a company overview, a detailed description of the solution being proposed, the implementation plan, and a clear cost breakdown. This not only helps ensure consistency but also makes it easier to compare proposals side by side. Additionally, you may request references to further assess the vendor’s experience.
Make sure to provide the contact details of the person responsible for managing vendor inquiries, such as a procurement manager or project lead, so vendors know where to direct questions. For example, “Questions and final proposals should be directed to Jane Doe, Procurement Manager, at jdoe@xyz.com.”
Finally, set a clear submission deadline and outline any other critical dates, such as when you plan to review proposals or conduct vendor demos. Stating something like, “All proposals must be submitted by [specific date]. We plan to review proposals within four weeks and notify shortlisted vendors for demonstrations,” helps set expectations and keeps the process on track.
Closing the RFP
End your RFP with a note of thanks and encouragement, leaving a positive impression on potential vendors. A friendly closing sets the tone for future interactions and reinforces your organization’s approachability. For example, you might say, “Thank you for considering this opportunity to partner with XYZ Company. We look forward to reviewing your innovative solutions and the potential to collaborate on creating a more efficient and compliant scheduling process.”
This final touch encourages engagement and signals that you are open to forming strong, collaborative partnerships with the right vendor.
Step 3: Review and Evaluate Proposals
Once RFP responses are received from potential vendors, the next steps include reviewing, evaluating, and selecting the right solution. Here’s a high-level look at what happens after the RFPs are submitted:
Form an Internal Review Committee
Form a cross-functional team to evaluate vendor proposals. This committee typically includes representatives from operations, HR, IT, and schedulers who are involved in day-to-day scheduling. Their role is to ensure that the proposed solutions meet the functional and technical needs of each department.
Evaluate Vendor Proposals
The review committee will screen the proposals, conduct reference checks, and invite shortlisted vendors for product demonstrations. This is an opportunity to see how each solution handles your unique scheduling complexities.
Negotiate and Then Select Your Vendor
Once the demonstrations are complete and the vendors are ranked, negotiations begin with the top candidate. Final terms, including pricing, support, and implementation timelines, are refined during this phase to ensure the solution fits within your budget and timeline.
By following this process, you can confidently choose a vendor who meets your requirements and is capable of delivering long-term value to your organization.
Closing Thoughts
A well-structured RFP lays the groundwork for a successful transition to automated scheduling. By investing time upfront to gather input from stakeholders, define clear requirements, and thoroughly evaluate vendors, you can ensure your organization selects the right partner. Remember, the goal isn’t just to find a software solution—it’s to find a partner who understands the intricacies of your workforce and can deliver a system that evolves with your needs.
Additional Tips
- Keep the language simple and clear throughout the document to avoid confusion.
- Include a Q&A section or provide a way for vendors to submit questions during the RFP process.
- Consider offering a proposal template or format to make comparing submissions easier and more efficient.
- Ultimately, your RFP should reflect your organization’s priorities, emphasizing the importance of selecting a vendor who not only offers the right tools but also aligns with your values and long-term goals.
