Employee Wellness Portal

Background

The County of San Mateo believes that supporting the health and wellbeing of its workforce is vital to supporting the health and wellbeing of the community. The County has had a Worksite Wellness Policy since 2011 that establishes a Wellness Committee, Employee Wellness Program including free preventive health services for employees, paid County time to attend Wellness Activities, a Culture of Wellbeing, ongoing assessment of the employee experience, and adherence to best practices. There is shared ownership of creating and maintaining the Culture of Wellbeing across all 37 departments and health divisions, all 90+ County addresses, and all levels of the organization from frontline staff to leadership.

The County's Wellness Program currently has an engagement rate of 88% with their proprietary Health Risk Assessment and current wellness portal. Employees benefit from onsite and virtual holistic wellbeing support ranging from Health Coaching, biometric screenings and immunizations, exercise and nutrition classes, EAP stress management workshops, registered dietician and registered nurse consultations, to Peer Support for high-trauma departments, Art and Music Therapy, therapy dogs, and employee-paid chair massage. Participation is incentivized from February to October by the Wellness Dividend Program and is encouraged by direct Supervisors and key interest holders such as the County Executive, Department Heads, union representatives, and the County's Public Health Officer.

A small dedicated team of the County's Wellness Program Manager and Wellness Coordinator, as well as two onsite Health Coaches provided by the current wellness portal vendor, create all of the programming. The County's Wellness Program Manager works closely with Human Resources leadership, Health Plans, EAP, current wellness portal vendor, benefits broker health and wellness consultants, and data from benchmark surveys, the annual Health Risk Assessment, and the annual Employee Wellness Program Feedback Survey to create strategy and population health goals. For a general overview of the Employee Wellness Program, visit: https://www.smcgov.org/hr/employee-wellness-program

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2026-RFP-00482
• Department: Human Resources Department
• Department Head: Michelle Kuka (Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-05-09T00:00:00.000Z

Meetings & Milestones

Evaluation Criteria

• Organizational Experience (5 pts)
• Platform & Program Capabilities (30 pts)
• Reporting, Data & Integrations (10 pts)
• Account Management, Communications, Compliance (10 pts)
• Health & Wellness Services (10 pts)
• Price (25 pts)
• Preferential Points (10 pts) —

  Where price is not the sole evaluation factor for a solicitation (e.g., in the case of a "best-value" solicitation), five percent (5%) of the total evaluation points awardable will be added to the proposal score for each Local Business or Local Non-Profit score for evaluation purposes. In the event of a tie between a Local Business or Local Non-Profit and another bidder, the Local Business or Non-Profit shall be awarded the Contract, assuming agreement on other contract terms.

  An additional three percent (3%) preference shall be given to a Local Business or Local Non-profit (for a total of eight percent (8%) of total points awardable) if the proposer is a Small Business or Small Non-Profit, or an additional 5 percent preference (for a total of ten percent (10%) of total points awardable) if the proposer is a Micro Business or Micro Non-Profit.

• Onsite Interviews (10 pts)

Submission Requirements

• Minimum Qualifications
• Is your firm registered with System for Award Management (SAM)? Visit SAM.gov (required)
• What is the registered Business Name and Unique Entity ID (UEI) No.? (required) —
  • UEI number can be obtained by registering your business through SAM.GOV
  • Should you be in the process of obtaining your UEI number, please enter the digits ‘123’ temporarily for your response below in order to proceed with proposal. This temporary number should be replaced with the correct registration number for submission of the proposal.
• Does your organization have at least five years of experience providing wellness platform services to large employers (5,000+ employees)? (required)
• Does your organization currently support at least three public sector organizations of similar size and complexity to the County of San Mateo? (required)
• Does your organization provide a comprehensive, stand-alone wellness platform that supports engagement, program administration, and reporting? (required)
• Does your organization own and maintain its wellness platform (not licensed from a third-party)? (required)
• Does your platform include a mobile application? (required)
• Does your platform support segmentation and targeted experiences by department, eligibility group, or health plan? (required)
• Does your platform support multi-level customization, including employer branding and configurable portals? (required)
• Does your platform support incentive program administration, including tracking, validation, and reporting? (required)
• Can your platform support either (a) a fully client-specific proprietary Health Risk Assessment without any modification of content or methodology or (b) the ability to incorporate client-specific questions, scoring logic, and modules within your standard HRA? Please describe any limitations for each option. (required)
• Does your platform support multiple languages (English and Spanish)? (required)
• Does your platform provide real-time reporting capabilities accessible to the client including ability for the client to access without vendor support? (required)
• Does your organization support custom reporting based on client-specific requirements? (required)
• Does your platform support integration with third-party systems such as HRIS (Workday, OKTA, OpenSesame) platforms, health plans (Aetna, Kaiser), wearable devices, or other well-being programs? Please list the third-party systems that are compatible. (required)
• Does your platform support single sign-on (SSO) capabilities? (required)
• Does your organization allow the client to retain ownership of all program and participant data? (required)
• Does your organization provide any of the following support staff/services? (required)
• Does your organization have the ability to deliver and/or coordinate onsite wellness services (e.g., coaching, fitness classes, workshops, screenings)? (required)
• Does your organization provide a dedicated account management team to support implementation and ongoing program operations? (required)
• If you provide a dedicated Account Manager, can you provide their experience and credentials? (required)
• Does your platform and account team support Wellness Champions or department-level engagement models including training, tools, and ongoing engagement support? (required)
• Does your organization provide marketing and communication support, including the ability to develop client-specific materials and campaigns? (required)
• Is your organization compliant with HIPAA and applicable data privacy regulations? (required)
• Technology Security Assessment: Completion of the Technology Security Assessment Form. (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• If you answered no to any of the Minimum Qualifications, please explain how you would meet the needs of County of San Mateo.
• Procurement Preference for Local Businesses and Local Non-Profits
• Is the Proposer a "Local Business"? —

  As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Business” means any for-profit business which has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response. 

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank. 

• Is the Proposer a Non-Profit? (required) —

  A Non-Profit is defined as a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes. 

• Is the Proposer a "Local Non-Profit" —

  As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Non-Profit" means a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes, and has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response. 

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.

• Is the Proposer a Local "Small" or "Micro" Business? —

  As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:

  “Small Business” means any business which holds a Small Business Certification awarded by the California Office of Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services (OSDS).

  “Micro Business” means any Small Business certified by the OSDS which is automatically designated by the OSDS as a Micro Business due to gross annual receipts falling below the OSDS-designated dollar amount.

  If the above designations apply, please provide the OSDS provided Certification ID. 

  If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank. 

• Is the Proposer a Local "Small" or "Micro" Non-Profit? —

  As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:

  “Small Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of $1,000,000 to $2,500,000 according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.

  “Micro Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of less than $1,000,000, according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.

  If the above designations apply, please provide your latest filed IRS form 990. A filing from the last two calendar years is acceptable. 

  If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank. 

• Technical Proposal
• Introduction and Executive Summary (required) —

  Submit a letter of introduction and executive summary of the proposal.  The letter must contain:

  • Name, title and contact information (email, phone, and address) for representative of proposer that is responsible for communication related to this RFP.
  • Name, title, contact information, and signature of person authorized to obligate firm to perform the commitment contained in the proposal.

  Submission of the letter will constitute a representation by proposer that it is willing and able to perform the commitments contained in the proposal and has not violated the terms of this RFP.

• Organizational Experience (required) —

  Describe your organization’s experience supporting similar large, complex employers, including public sector organizations. Include examples of comparable programs and how your organization supports operational complexity at this scale.

• Platform Capabilities (required) —

  Describe your wellness platform, including user experience, engagement strategies, customization capabilities, support for proprietary HRA, mobile experience, language capabilities, and communication capabilities (e.g., email, text, push notifications). Include how your platform supports multiple populations and incentive programs. Include your organization’s approach to product development, innovation, and how new features and enhancements are introduced to clients over time.

• Program Capabilities (required) —

  Describe how your organization would partner with County of San Mateo to enhance and evolve their existing Wellness Program. Provide examples on how you advise clients on best practices and emerging trends. How would you support County of San Mateo in strengthening their organizational Culture of Wellbeing & Curiosity?

• Reporting & Data Analytics (required) —

  Describe your reporting capabilities, including real-time access, custom reporting, dashboards, reporting frequency, and turnaround time for custom reports. Include how your platform integrates with external systems and ensures data accuracy, consistency, accessibility, and client data ownership. Describe how you use reporting to partner with the client on program strategy and changes. 

• Health & Wellness Services (required) —

  Describe your approach to delivering health and wellness services, including health coaching, biometric screenings, and onsite services. Include service delivery models (e.g., onsite, virtual), staffing approach, and ability to provide consistent, assigned onsite staff. Describe your approach to staffing continuity and transition in the event of a vendor change. Include how services are integrated into the platform and coordinated across delivery models, including support for high-risk populations.

• Account Management (required) —

  Describe your account management model, including team structure, support for wellness champions and department-level engagement, and approach to ongoing program strategy. Include your communication strategy, responsiveness, and approach to ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations.

• Proposed schedule (required) —

  Attach proposed implementation schedule to meet County of San Mateo's goal for a 1/1/2027 launch date.

• Performance Measures (required) —

  Describe your performance measures/guarantees.

• References (required) —

  Provide 3 references, including the name, address, and telephone number, of recent clients (preferably other public agencies).

• Fee Proposal (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Agreement term (years) (required) —

  Update below if needed.

• Is there an extension to this agreement? (required) —

  Is there an extension to this agreement?

• Extension (required) —

  Modify the extension information below, if needed

• Will there be a Pre-Proposal Meeting and/or a Site Visit? (required)
• Include the information that will be covered in the site visit. (required)
• Require vendors to provide References? (required)
• References (required) —

  How many references are required by the vendor? (Number)

• Use Electronic Line Item Pricing? (required)
• Allow vendors to submit Confidential Information? (required) —

  In rare circumstances where there is an expectation that proposers will need to submit trade secrets or other confidential information in order to respond to an RFP. 

• Sample Agreement (required)