RM6278 – Managed Staff Banks

The Managed Staff Banks framework from Crown Commercial Service provides managed outsourced staff bank services. While services are aimed at the NHS, they are open to all public sector bodies including central government

The framework allows buyers to outsource the management of staff banks.
    
For reference, a staff bank refers to workers who provide flexible cover and support to permanent staff for planned and unplanned gaps in staffing. A staff bank can be used to help you manage your workforce and maximise shift fill rates.
    
Two service models are available. This first is outsourcing of any or all elements of the staff bank management except for the employment or engagement of the workers and the second is outsourcing of any or all elements of the staff bank management including the employment or engagement of the workers.
    
The services that suppliers can provide as part of a managed staff bank include: internal and external recruitment of bank workers; ensuring workers are compliant with NHS employers employment check standards; pay rolling workers; performance management services; and management of the agency cascade where the bank cannot fill a particular requirement.        

While many of the benefits are NHS-specific, there are many benefits for the public sector as a whole. The framework offers end-to-end services from planning to providing a solution that meets your needs.
    
The framework provides a mix of experienced suppliers and capable new market entrants, along with flexible solutions to meet your needs.
    
The pricing is flexible to suit your organisational needs and management information is available so you can detail report spend and market analysis.
    
The framework is free to use – no membership is required and framework fees are collected from suppliers.
    
Some suppliers have signed up to comply with Procurement Policy Note 06/21: ‘Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts’. If this is the case, you will be able to find their carbon reduction plan on their individual supplier details page. A carbon reduction plan (CRP) is intended to help customers understand the impact to the environment of a supplier’s operations. A CRP sets out an organisation’s emissions across the year, measured against a range of emissions sources and greenhouse gases.
    
There are 10 suppliers on one lot for this framework. Lot 1 is Managed staff banks, and allows you to outsource the management of your staff bank through the two service models mentioned above: outsourcing of any or all elements of the staff bank management except for the employment or engagement of the workers and outsourcing of any or all elements of the staff bank management including the employment or engagement of the workers.

Buying
Through this framework, you can buy using direct award or further competition.
    
In order to direct award, you need to develop a set of requirements and determine whether they can be met by the supplier(s). You should determine that all of the terms of the framework and the call-off terms do not need amending or any supplementary terms and conditions. You can then award the call-off contract to the successful supplier(s).
    
CCS recommends using further competition to achieve best value for money. First you should invite all the suppliers that can meet your requirements to bid. Further competition documents should be sent to all capable suppliers, whilst giving them reasonable time to return their tenders.
    
You can then evaluate the tender, using the fair and transparent criteria in your bid pack and award the supplier offering the best value for money on the basis of the criteria.

Further information can be found on the framework’s webpage.