MOD | R | Call Center Services | 10-Aug-12

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF AUGUST 10, 2012 FBO #3912
MODIFICATION

R -- Call Center Services

Notice Date: 8/8/2012
Notice Type: Modification/Amendment
NAICS: 541611 — Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
Contracting Office: Office of Personnel Management, Boyers Contracting Group, Boyers Contracting Group, 1137 Branchton Road, Boyers, Pennsylvania, 18018, United States
ZIP Code: 18018
Solicitation Number: OPM33-12-R-0001
Archive Date: 8/18/2012
Point of Contact: Walter J. Werner, Phone: 7247947173
E-Mail Address: walter.werner@opm.gov
(walter.werner@opm.gov)
Small Business Set-Aside: N/A
Description: Amendment # 3 The OPM Responses to Call Center Questions received by the closing date of July 12, 2012, are hereby posted below for your information and appropriate action. Questions submitted after the closing date and time of 3:00 EDT on July 12, 2012, were not included in this posting unless the same or a similar question had already been received on time. The questions and responses have been generally grouped into the categories listed below. The questions and responses were not sorted in order of their appearance in the RFI. Question and Answer Categories: General and Contract Management; Staffing, Training and Personnel-Related; Call Volume and Call-Related; Call Center Tasks and Process; Vendor Response to RFI; and Attachment (including Tables 1, 2, and 3). The closing date and time for responses remains 3:00PM EDT on Thursday, August 23, 2012. GENERAL & CONTRACT MANAGEMENT TYPE QUESTIONS: GCM-1. Is there a current contract in place that is providing the same or similar work? If ‘yes', please provide the following information: Contractor, Contract ID#, Contract Value, Expiration date RESPONSE: There is a current contract under which similar work is being performed. Contractor: Active Networks; Contract Number: GS00V08PDD0071; Contract Value: Not to exceed with limit in excess of five million dollars; Contract Expiration Date: five year total with last option ending on 09/30/2013. GCM-2. We are not currently on the GSA Schedule. Will this be a requirement to be selected for the business below? RESPONSE: No, lack of a GSA schedule contract would not be an impediment to receiving an award. GCM-3. What are the name(s) of the contractor(s) that currently operate the call centers in Boyers, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC? Are the 94 CSR's are split between the two call centers (47 CSR's per site) or 94 CSR's for each site? RESPONSE: The two call centers in Boyers and Washington, DC, are staffed by OPM/RO employees. The RFI is designed to provide capability to deal with call volume in excess of that which the in-house staff can deal with. GCM-4. Can OPM please provide the name of the contractor currently providing the main call center services (not the overflow call center)? RESPONSE: Not a contractor operation; services are performed in-house by OPM-RO. GCM-5. Are the two separate call center locations listed-Boyers, PA and Washington, DC-the overflow call centers? RESPONSE: No, they are the locations of the OPM/RO call centers. GCM-6. Are there other call center locations not listed? RESPONSE: Yes, the current contractor's facility. GCM-7. Does OPM operate any of the call centers internally or are all call centers outsourced? RESPONSE: Two OPM/RO sites; one contractor site. GCM-8. The hours of operation are stated as 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (EST). Are hours of operation expanded during Open Enrollment? Weekend coverage? RESPONSE: There is no expansion of hours during Open Enrollment. Currently, there are no plans to expand hours to include weekends. GCM-9. What percentage of calls is Spanish/bilingual? RESPONSE: Between 1 and 2 %, no contractor support would be needed for this. OPM/RO CSRs will handle these calls. GCM-10. Does the Government have a preference as to the location (PA or DC or other location) for the call center? RESPONSE: Paragraph 1.7 of the RFI: the contractor's work facility may be located anywhere in US territory that the contractor chooses so long as the required IT connectivity can be accomplished to enable contractor performance. GCM-11. RFI stated that two separate call centers locations are maintained in Boyers, PA and Washington, DC. Will these centers exist in the new environment? RESPONSE: Yes, these two are OPM/RO internal sites where OPM CSRs are currently stationed. GCM-12. Section 1.5.1.4 appears to be missing. Can you please provide? RESPONSE: The omitted paragraph number was an administrative error by OPM. No information was left out of the RFI document. GCM-13. As a point of clarification for the balance of the questions posed, it is assumed that the CO (Contracting Officer) and the COR (Contracting Officer's Representative) are Government employees and not employees of the Contractor. If this is not correct, please advise. RESPONSE: The reader's assumption concerning the ‘contracting officer (CO)' and contracting officer's representative (COR)' is correct. If this was a formal solicitation such as a request for proposal, both terms would have been defined within the terms and conditions. GCM-14. Under Section 1.9 ‘Project Plan', a ‘Draft Project' is discussed. Will the Government provide the selected Contractor with a set of expectations it wants to see in the Draft, or will this be solely up to the Contractor? RESPONSE: A ‘Draft Project' template will not be provided to the contractor. Arrangement and content would be at the contractor's discretion. a. Does the work done under Section 1.9 fall under the Non-compliance or failure to meet performance of contract goals stated in Table 3, so it could result in a monetary penalty to the contractor? RESPONSE: Yes, these would be the criteria used to determine compliance or non-compliance. b. Does any of the work done by the Contractor, outside the actual performance of handling the overflow calls, fall under the Non-compliance or failure to meet performance of contract goals stated in Table 3, so a monetary penalty could result? RESPONSE: All work allocated to the contractor by OPM will be designated as overflow and thus, tied to this non-compliance text. c. If Yes, what particular activities? RESPONSE: All calls designated to be routed and all work to be performed by the contractor will be defined as overflow. GCM-15. Under Section 1.10 ‘Monthly Project Reports', it states the Project Manager will provide monthly progress reports to the CO and/or the COR and lists items that the report should/could include. The section concludes the report should include any concerns or recommendations for the ‘previous weekly period'. a. Is ‘weekly' a typographical error? RESPONSE: No b. If it is not, what is the rationale for preparing a monthly report that only concentrates on one week of the month? RESPONSE: There should be tabs for both weekly and monthly roll up reporting. GCM-16. Under that same Section 1.10, one of reporting features the Government suggests should be included is any ‘gravel' conducted. To ensure there is no miscommunication, if the word ‘gravel' is a ‘term of art' descriptive of a certain aspect of the call center/ customer service process used by the government, please provide a definition for the same. RESPONSE: Word ‘gravel' should read ‘travel' and refers to contractor travel in support of the contract requirements. This ‘typo' error was not caught prior to posting of the RFI. GCM-17. The RFI discusses the report and response requirements it expects in fairly specific terms. Will the Contractor be provided with templates to ensure that all reporting meets the standards required, and time is not wasted in having to duplicate the same? RESPONSE: The reporting is required to be furnished by the contractor and discussions will occur that will provide a clear picture of what reporting will meet requirements. GCM-18. Is the solicitation a small business opportunity, if so what is the size standard $14M or $7M. RESPONSE: The solicitation is an RFI, not a formal solicitation at this time. No small business size determination has been made concerning a future solicitation. GCM-19. Elsewhere in the RFI it asks for the offeror's GSA Schedule number, what schedule is this referencing? RESPONSE: The current contract was awarded as a GSA contract on GSA's USA Contact program. GCM-20. Is this procurement remaining under the GSA USA Contacts contract? RESPONSE: No decision has been made at this time concerning the method by which a future acquisition of the same or similar services would be processed. Please note that at this time, we are dealing with a Request for Information rather than a formal procurement solicitation. GCM-21. Is OPM looking for one or multiple overflow call centers? RESPONSE: One. GCM-22. What type of contract does the government anticipate (CPFF, T&M) issuing? RESPONSE: No decision has been made at this time concerning a future acquisition of the same or similar services. GCM-23. Several paragraphs in Section 1.3 refer to requirements for contractor personnel who perform on government site, however section 1.7 indicates the place of performance is a contractor facility. Please clarify if these services will be provided on contractor or government site. If on contractor site exclusively, please clarify the applicability of the requirements referencing performance at a government site. RESPONSE: Disregard text describing contractor performance at a government site. No contractor performance will be required at a government site. GCM-24. Section 1.3.2.2; This wording is contained in the referenced section: "The Contractor must be responsible to the government for acts and omissions of his own employees and for any sub-contractors(s) and their employees." What does this sentence mean? Does the government intend to hold the contractor responsible for erroneous answers provided to callers to the call center/hotline and/or any erroneous changes made to the database by contractor staff? If yes, how is the contractor's liability calculated? RESPONSE: The Government does intend to hold the contractor responsible for the actions and behavior of its employees in the performance, under the authority of the Inspection of Services clause and other contract clauses and requirements. The Government's response to a particular incident of contractor non-compliance would be dependent on the circumstances involved. Calculation of liability is in the jurisdiction of the contracting officer and not based on a set schedule. GCM-25. Does OPM anticipate that SCA will apply to this contract? RESPONSE: The current notice is a Request for Information rather than a Request for Proposal. However, any regulatory requirement or law required to be included in a contract based on dollar value would be included in a formal solicitation. The Service Contract Act is applicable to most service contracts in excess of $2,500. GCM-26. Will the award decision be Best Value or lowest cost, technically acceptable solution? RESPONSE: No decisions concerning a future solicitation have been since this RFI has been designed for gathering information. GCM-27. Will the RFP allow the offerers to propose optional additional functions and capabilities not specifically required in the SOW? RESPONSE: We are not making any plans or decisions concerning an RFP until we receive and evaluate the information submitted in response to the RFI. The RFI encourages offerers to propose any and all functions and capabilities that their industry knowledge and experience indicates would increase the efficiency and economical operation of the call center. No decisions have been made concerning any future request for proposal that may be issued. GCM-28. Are there any specific network security requirements? Please specific Disaster Recovery requirements? RESPONSE: Refer to the "Emergency/Redundancy Needs" requirements in Table 3. In addition to these requirements, OPM-Specific Clauses contain additional requirements and these would be included in any solicitations issued. GCM-29. Section 1 - Does the OPM require the vendor to pay Service Control Act (SCA) labor rates for the work performed under this contract? RESPONSE: The Service Contract Act is applicable to most service contracts with a dollar value in excess of $2,500. We anticipate that any future contract award would be covered by the Service Contract Act and Department of Labor wage rates. STAFFING & TRAINING AND PERSONNEL-RELATED QUESTIONS: STP-1. What is the length of the training for the call center agent? RESPONSE: 3 to 4 weeks including mentoring timeframes. STP-2. Will OPM provide the training materials? RESPONSE: Yes. STP-3. It is stated that Contractor must notify the COR of all terminations and/or resignations immediately. Can OPM define immediately? Is this within 24 hours? Does this apply to key personnel or does it also include call center agents? RESPONSE: Yes, the "immediate" notification to OPM/RO must be given within 24 hours. The notice should be provided in written form, i.e., email to the contracting officer or contracting officer's representative along with identification - name and contact information - of the person who will perform those duties on an interim basis along with name, title, and contact information od the individual making the notification. STP-4. What are the required clearance levels for key personnel and call center agents? RESPONSE: National Agency Check and Inquiries (NACI). STP-5. During off hours, when call center agents must work (hours outside the normal business hours - holidays/weekends), will OPM pay for the overtime accrued? RESPONSE: No. Call center hours do not include weekends nor Federal holidays. STP-6. Under Section 1.3.1.2. it states the Project Manager must be available to the COR (Contracting Officer's Representative) between 0800 and 1600 EST, Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays) and under Section 1.8 ‘Hours of Operation' the contractor's employee times are from 7:30AM to 8:00PM EST, Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays). a. Is it a correct assumption that there is generally no weekend requirement of the Contractor? RESPONSE: Yes b. Historically, if just the years 2010 and 2011 are used as reference points, how many times did other than normal hours occur in the year as to nights? As to weekends? RESPONSE: The hours of support for the contractor every day go until 8 PM. There is no weekend shift. There has not been any weekend shift in the last two years. STP-7. Under Section 1.5.1.1 the RFI states the OPM reserves the right to conduct needed background investigations and charge the contractor a ‘specified fee' based upon the type of case. a. What are the types of cases? RESPONSE: National Agency Check & Inquiries (NACI). b. What is the range of fees that would be charged? RESPONSE: NACI is currently priced at $105 (reference Federal Investigation Notice (FIN) 11-05). c. Will the contractor be advised of the OPM's intent to investigate, the type of case, and the expected charge prior to the investigation occurring? RESPONSE: YES. STP-8. Under Section 2.1 ‘Staffing/Training', the RFI states the Government will assist in the training by providing technical assistance, a trainer, and training materials. a. Will the Contractor be charged for any portion of this? RESPONSE: The Contractor will not incur costs for receiving the initial training from OPM. OPM however will not pay for the resources, i.e., contractor employees, on the contractor's end that attend or complete the organized training. b. If there is no charge to the Contractor initially for any of these items, what is the cutoff point, if any, where the Contractor will handle the go-forward training? RESPONSE: Once training is initially completed when all reps are determined to be at full strength. c. What is the average length of training provided to obtain a level of efficiency acceptable to the government? RESPONSE: 3 to 4 weeks. d. Is this full day training? RESPONSE: Yes e. Is specific follow up training provided? If so, how often? RESPONSE: No f. Reference is made to entering information into a ‘custom designed computer based system'. Will the Contractor's employees be working in the actual Government-based systems, or will the systems be migrated to the Contractors internal systems? RESPONSE: The contractor reps will be accessing the government systems. STP-9. How many government employees currently serve in call answering positions in the OPM RIO call center? RESPONSE: 90 including some part time personnel at up to 32 hours per week. STP-10. What is the average number of hours per week that the government OPM RIO call center call answering personnel actively handle calls? RESPONSE: 2500 to 3000 calls per week during the hours of 7:30AM to 5:00 PM. STP-11. Are all personnel currently serving as call answering personnel in the RIO call center permanent employees or is there a mix of temporary hires used as well. Please specify the number of permanent and non-permanent employees. RESPONSE: 78 permanent, 12 non permanent temp. STP-12. At what grade and step (or range of each) on the General Schedule are government call takers hired to serve in the OPM call center? RESPONSE: GS 3 to GS 7. STP-13. Is OPM willing to use contractors' Work- at- Home agents in support of this activity? RESPONSE: No STP-14. What is the duration for the stand-up, from contract award until handling the first call? RESPONSE: Training duration is 3 to 4 weeks. However, processing of contractor employee background checks must be completed prior to employees being able to handle OPM calls. STP-15. Will the government provided trainer conduct a "train the trainer" program for the overflow contact center training team or lead a training program for the entire overflow call center staff? RESPONSE: Yes, OPM trainers will facilitate the initial training and it is advisable that the contractor have resources being trained during this course to understand and master the call types to be able to conduct future training for contractor employees. STP-16. Describe the training curriculum (e.g., how many scheduled hours, per FTE/ what is the passing score to take calls/ is there are certification and re-certification program, etc?) RESPONSE: Training is three weeks plus an additional 1-2 weeks of mentoring/support to be trained on all call types. Right now the scoring process is trainer-dependent. We do not have a re-certification program. STP-17. Is the government looking for a contractor to replace the incumbent and take over all operations of the call center? RESPONSE: No. STP-18. How many shifts does the incumbent have for the current contact center? RESPONSE: Not known as this is a contractor workforce management issue. STP-19. Section 1.2; Is the "approximately 94 Customer Service Specialists/Customer Service Representatives" stated in this section the entire staff on the current help desks/call centers (including supervisory/management staff) or does that number represent only the staff actually on the phones with additional FTEs filling supervisory/management billets? RESPONSE: The 94 CSS/CSRs all answer calls & does not include supervisory or management personnel. STP-20. Section 3.1; Please clarify the term "support the specified number of agents" used throughout this section. Does this term refer to the 94 representatives referenced in section 1.2? If no, what is the government's estimate of the "specified number of agents" for which the contractor will be required to provide equipment? RESPONSE: The term "Specified number of agents" refers to the contractor CSRs. It will be the contractor's decision how many CSRs would be needed to meet contract service requirements. STP-21. Do the 94 agents have "general" skills or are they specialized? How are they grouped? What determines how calls are routed to them and who gets what? RESPONSE: We have splits according to training & skill levels. Grade level determines the type of calls they handle. Lower grade CSRs would be assigned less complex calls. STP-22. Section 2.1 - What are the current average experience level, tenure, and education of the call center agents currently taking calls? Are there skill levels or tiers for the existing agents? If so, what are the tiers and how many agents are in each tier or skill group? RESPONSE: Education varies among our staff & is one of the criteria used to determine assignment of the type of call. For example, a change of address is less complicated & would usually be assigned to a lower grade CSR such as a GS-3. More complicated calls such as health and insurance type calls would be assigned to higher grade agents such as GS-7 who often have college up to and including four-year degrees. We currently have five tiers/splits. STP-23. Section 1.5.1.7 - What is the expected turnaround time for the submission of employee packages until approval to work on the contract? Are employees able to work on the contract prior to completion of the investigation? RESPONSE: Most clearances require approximately six weeks to complete. Some application packages may take longer to process depending on various factors. No, contractor employees would not allowed to work on an OPM call center contract clearances are completed in an approved status. CALL VOLUME AND CALL-RELATED QUESTIONS: CVC-1. In Section 1.2 of the RFI, you indicate that the contractor will be providing overflow call center services. The statistics provided in Attachment 1 provide call totals for the entire service (both OPM's call center and the contractor call center. Can you provide the estimated call volume that will be handled by the contractor's overflow call center? RESPONSE: Between 700,000 and 850,000 calls annually. CVC-2. What criteria are used to determine when to allocate calls to the overflow call center? Is it a percentage each day? RESPONSE: At a specified time during the day,... between 11:30 AM and 5:00 PM is when support needs peak. If so, what is the percentage? Or, is there a threshold whereby a certain number of calls are allocated to the steady state call center and anything over XXX is allocated to the overflow call center? If so, what is the threshold? RESPONSE: The allocation is normally no fewer than 40% of our overall incoming calls increasing to full allocation from 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM. CVC-3. Should the contractor be prepared to staff for up to 900,000 calls annually (100k per month during peak and 50k calls per month during non‐peak)? RESPONSE: Annual total will be closer to 750,000 calls, non-peak may be slightly less than 50K per month. CVC-4. Can OPM please provide an estimate of the number of outbound calls needed? RESPONSE: Less than 10%. CVC-5. Can OPM please provide historical call arrival patterns? RESPONSE: This information is not available for distribution. Peak times are between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM. CVC-6. What is the average handle time during the enrollment period? RESPONSE: 5 minutes CVC-7. What is the cause for current busy signals within the contact center? RESPONSE: 2.0 million retirees; over 15 federal mass mailings yearly; open season for health benefits; and the listing of our 800 telephone number on many thousands of publications circulating throughout every federal agency combined with the ability to handle only a few hundred calls simultaneously. CVC-8. What tactics does the call center use today to reduce long wait times? For example, is there currently a mechanism for FAQs that do not require CSR interaction to be answered through the IVR? Does the hold message inform the caller of the estimated wait time and/or offer the caller a suggested timeframe to call back? RESPONSE: In the 1-800 menu there are options to choose that educate callers on self-service routes like services online. There is also an upfront message regarding long hold times, estimated wait times. Callback timeframes where volume decreases is minimal and very short timeframes in the early morning. The rest of the time it is back-to-back calls. CVC-9. Are you looking for a contractor to respond to all 1.8 million calls or for overflow calls only? RESPONSE: Overflow only. CVC-10. If you are looking for a response for overflow calls only, can you provide the estimated number of calls to be overflowed from your two Call Centers? RESPONSE: Estimated 750,000 calls annually. CVC-11. Are you just looking to supplement calls responses during January-March to address your busy season? RESPONSE: We are looking for support year round including the January to March timeframe that is still excessively busy. CVC-12. In Section 1.2, text states the Contractor will be performing ‘overflow' call center services and distinguishes between peak (Jan., Feb., Mar.) and off peak months. On Table 3, Page 3, ‘Call Volumes' the stated goal for the Contractor is to answer 50,000 calls a month off peak and 100,000 calls during peak months. Comparing these goals to the Historical Monthly Call Volume found in Table 2, Page 1, it would appear the ‘overflow' could account for 50-67% percent of the total call volume for peak months and roughly 35% +/- of the off peak months. Is this a correct interpretation? RESPONSE: Yes. CVC-13. The last paragraph of Section 1.2 states "capabilities of Contractors who would be able to perform OVERFLOW call center services" (emphasis added). If it is the government's intent to procure only "overflow" call center services under this solicitation, how will the number and frequency of calls diverted from the PA and DC centers to the new center be determined? Will it be based on queue wait time or abandonment rates at the PA/DC centers or every X calls, without regard to numbers sent to each center, or some other method? We're trying to understand how, if purely "overflow," the vendor will estimate demand and be able to appropriately staff at all times. RESPONSE: The process and timing has been described elsewhere in this response document. CALL CENTER TASKS AND PROCESSES: CCTP-1. (5) Will OPM provide the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Knowledge Management System (KMS)? RESPONSE: We do not have a formal CRM or Knowledge Management system. These two things exist in the form of a system which includes account information with a note/interaction section and training material as well as reference sites for information. These both will be provided to the vendor for use. CCTP-2. Is call recording required? If so, what percentage of calls is to be recorded? RESPONSE: Yes, internally we capture 100%. Our preference would be the same 100% rate by the vendor. If this was not possible, the minimum required rate would be at least 75% of calls. CCTP-3. Does OPM require a mandatory number of calls be monitored and scored per call center agent? If so, how many? RESPONSE: Yes, that would be negotiable but minimum would be five calls per agent per month. CCTP-4. Is a sample Progress Report available for review? RESPONSE: No CCTP-5. Under Section 1.2 ‘Background', the RFI refers to the use of an IVR system. If a contract is awarded, will the Contractor be using the Government's IVR, or will the Contractor be using its own IVR? RESPONSE: Contractor will be using the government's IVR. CCTP-6. Please describe the Government's telephone answering technology infrastructure. What is the government's ACD in use? What is the current IVR technology in use? RESPONSE: We use a PBX switch by NEC and the IVR is called Que Works. The reporting is done through GNAV Pro and softphones are also used which are an NEC product as well. CCTP-7. How does the government currently measure and enforce "standards of employee competency, conduct, appearance, and integrity of telephones service, except as authorized?" RESPONSE: Qualifications from an education and previous experience play a major role. There are codes of our conduct and OPM values we look to abide by. Our internal Quality system also plays a part which is an application called Ultra by Verint. CCTP-8. What workforce management tool does the currently use to schedule its agents. RESPONSE: Our workforce tools are generated internally by our analysts and there is no external software currently in use. CCTP-9. Does the government schedule both its own workforce and that of its contractor? RESPONSE: No, just that of the OPM internal workforce. CCTP-10. What quality assurance technology does the government use in its internal call centers? RESPONSE: Application called Ultra by Verint. CCTP-11. Does the government provide scripting for internal and external CSRs handling standard or routine calls? RESPONSE: Yes, the scripting is flexible however in order to adapt to the caller. Account verification is a major piece of our Quality scoring process. CCTP-12. Will the metrics that govern the RIO be the same for the overflow contact center? What differences do you envision? RESPONSE: The differences for the external call center will most likely be minimal after call or additional work mode states due to multiple functions our internal group has to manage such as external customer e-mail that the contractor will not be encountering. CCTP-13. Is there an established caller satisfaction program? If so, how is it administered? What is the RIOs current performance to goal? RESPONSE: Currently we do not have a caller satisfaction program. CCTP-14. Is there an established quality assurance program? If so, how is it administered? What is the RIOs current performance to goal? RESPONSE: Yes, it is administered through a Quality application called Verint Ultra. Currently the performance is about 90% to target internally. CCTP-15. What is the predicted overflow call volume? Do you have it broken down by month? RESPONSE: Approximately 750,000 calls annually. Overflow volume is now at 25-30% of the monthly volumes shown in the attachment. CCTP-16. How will overflow be determined? (For example, any call volume over a specified number of calls, anytime the longest call in queue is greater than X seconds and restored after longest call in queue is less than Y seconds, by toll free number, by call type, et. al.) RESPONSE: By an allocation of inbound calls over and above our staffing level usually by a percent of 10 to 25% depending on calls being received. CCTP-17. During the lower volume months as defined in theRFI, when the overflow may be minimal or non-existent, will you expect the vendor to maintain operations? RESPONSE: We have not run into that scenario. If call volume were to dissipate we would reallocate staff to work internally on written/e-mail correspondence and shift a higher percentage of calls to the contractor to ensure call volume is maintained. CCTP-18. Telephony is the only channel mentioned in the RFI material. Is there an expectation to support other channels? If so, which channels: e-mail, web chat, and / or others. RESPONSE: No, there is no plan to source this other work out at this time. We currently handle approximately 700 emails per day from customers and we may explore web chat in the future. CCTP-19. What is the percentage breakdown of calls: serviced in the IVR/terminated and calls that are delivered to a CSR? RESPONSE: Only about ten percent of our calls are serviced in the IVR. These are mostly educational announcements and calls being routed to other sections. Integrated voice capabilities are not being used at this time. CCTP-20. Does the RO call handling approach involve Call Telephone Integration (CTI) which impacts data and voice line capacities? If so, what is the CTI success rate (over the prior 12 months)? RESPONSE: No, we currently have a system that stores customer information but it is not synchronized with screen pop or other customer recognition enhancements typed used with integrated applications. CCTP-21. What are the CSR performance metrics and how are they measured (defined)? RESPONSE: They are measured by quality; calls per hour; call volume handled; transfer rate; a knowledge based category; handle time; and customer facing percentage. CCTP-22. What is the average handle time (AHT) of calls into the RIO, month over month, for the past 36 months? RESPONSE: It has averaged 5:42 over that entire time period internally. We have slightly higher after call due to mailers, emails, and other work. Realistic average would be between four and five minutes per call. CCTP-23. How is enterprise and CSR-level performance data currently: captured, stored, aggregated and delivered? Aside from emailed reports, what mechanisms are provided for call center managers to drive performance? RESPONSE: We use GNAV Pro to run reporting and measure our call performance internally. We also use Verint Ultra for quality and recordings. Another set of data is pulled off our mainframe that ties to rep dispositions and performance that allows managers to measure performance. CCTP-24. Is the IVR currently in use GFE or contractor owned? If the IVR is GFE, would the program office consider/welcome having a contractor owned IVR? RESPONSE: IVR currently in use is Government-owned. Please include in your response your plan and details for a contractor-owned IVR. CCTP-25. Is the program office looking for new technology and tools not currently provided in the existing contract? RESPONSE: If you are experienced in the use of new technology and tools that offer efficiencies and economies in call center services, please include in your response. CCTP-26. Is the program office or the current contractor utilizing email? If so, which entity and in what volumes? RESPONSE: Email is not currently used for inbound call traffic and email use at agent level is very limited. CCTP-27. Are emails and other channels of communication (web portal, live chat, facsimile, etc.) part of the current contract? If so, are they handled by the contractor or the program office? If not, would the program office be open to these channels being handled on a new contract? RESPONSE: These tools are not currently used except for email, which is in limited use as described in another response. Include in your response your proposal for use of these resources to improve efficiency and customer in the call center operation. CCTP-28. Is the program office or the contractor currently using remote agents? If not, would you be open to considering them? RESPONSE: No. No, will not be considered for future. CCTP-29. Does the government expect call volumes to increase over time? If so, by how much? RESPONSE: Yes. Call volume is expected to increase incrementally in coming years at about the same rate as in Historical Information Tables. CCTP-30. What case management/CRM tools does the government currently use? Will this be contractor owned and operated or government owned and operated? RESPONSE: Described elsewhere in responses. CCTP-31. Does the government have an IVR system? Is this government or contractor owned and operated? RESPONSE: Yes; Government-owned. CCTP-32. Section 2.1; Will the "custom designed computer based system" referenced be hosted on the contractor provided PCs or will it be accessed via the VPN? If run on contractor provided equipment, please confirm specifications for the equipment needed to run the application to allow vendors to estimate the cost of the necessary equipment. If accessed via the VPN, has that process been thoroughly tested and what are the requirements for VPN access that will provide system response times sufficient for Customer Service Representatives to navigate within the system and provide responses/answers within the required quality customer service metrics as described in Table 3? In other words to avoid having to say..."my computer is a bit slow responding, hold for a moment while the data loads." RESPONSE: Access to the Government computer system(s) will be by means of VPN. CCTP-33. Will the contact center have requirements for TTY or Fax? If so what are the expected monthly volume distributions and associated processing metrics. If there is a TTY system in place, and requirement for the contractor to perform TTY services, please provide the application used. RESPONSE: We do not presently use TTY or Fax capability in the call centers. CCTP-34. Does OPM require Voice and data in their Quality monitoring requirements? RESPONSE: Yes, along with screen capture. CCTP-35. What is the level of IVR self-service (tier- zero)? What are the vendor's capabilities to influence the flow and the content within the interactive voice response system? RESPONSE: We have only upfront menu options and no integrated voice options. Vendor would have no ability to influence flow or content. CCTP-36. If the contractor is only overflow, who owns the scope for the inbound 800 number and the network routing rules to deliver calls to the contractor's centers? RESPONSE: OPM owns the scope along with the allocator. Turnover of overflow calls to the contractor is based on call volume versus number of CSR open lines & time of day. Turnover is higher during peak hours, 25% or more of calls between 10am & 5pm and 100% of calls between 5pm and 8pm. CCTP-37. Will the overflow calls be only of a certain type/skill set? RESPONSE: OPM's expectation is that the contractor call staff would be able to handle all types of calls. CCTP-38. What is the AHT by call type? What are the top 5-10 call types and their distribution? RESPONSE: AHT currently averages 5 minutes. Call types can be discussed at a later time. CCTP-39. What is the call arrival pattern over the course of a day and over the course of a week? RESPONSE: Call arrival patterns are not analyzed because of the excessive volume over and above capacity. CCTP-40. What percent of calls result in outbound calls to other federal agencies or departments? RESPONSE: Less than seven percent. CCTP-41. What is the average outbound call duration? Are there seasonal fluctuations of those numbers? RESPONSE: Average outbound call duration is less than three minutes (actually 2:50). CCTP-42. Are the Call Volumes in Attachment, table 2 incoming calls only or do they include other types of contacts like email? RESPONSE: Incoming calls only. Email is not currently used for inbound traffic. CCTP-43. Will the vendor handle inbound and outbound calls only? Does overflow include responding to email? What is the number of emails being processed? What are their average handle times versus calls? RESPONSE: Vendor will handle both inbound and outbound when necessary. Email work at agent level is very limited. CCTP-44. How does OPM define abandonment rate as it pertains to the <4% requirement? RESPONSE: Abandonment Rate is defined as' Number of Calls Abandoned/Number of Calls Accepted. CCTP-45. Does the solution require call transfers? RESPONSE: No. CCTP-46. What type of integration is required with the ACD if any? With existing IVR? RESPONSE: Once allocation switched over then contractor supports a number that accepts and mirrors OPM's IVR. CCTP-47. What is the CRM, case management, desk side management solution (RightNow, Siebel, Remedy) to be provided by the government? RESPONSE: It is called ‘Orion' and was built internally. It overlays OPM's mainframe which the contractor will be given access to. VENDOR RESPONSES TO RFI: VR-1. Qualifications/Capabilities Statement package as the cover letter. Please confirm that you would like this as part of the cover letter, a separate document or included in the RFI response body. RESPONSE: Include in the body of your RFI response. VR-2. In the table that provides the call volume, is this the volume that the Contractor can expect OR will OPM maintain the two current centers and offer the overflow to the Contractor? RESPONSE: OPM will maintain the current centers and the overflow will go to the contractor. 25% of this volume has been the approximate percentage that has been going to the contractor but we are planning to increase that number of calls. VR-3. In Section 5.0, Item 5 - Qualifications/Capabilities Statement, it states that "The cover letter must cite the following information at a minimum:" There is no further information given as to what the minimum criteria are in this item. Can you please provide the information that must be included in the cover letter? RESPONSE: The text ‘the following information at a minimum' was intended to mean ‘at least the following information' rather than requiring a certain minimum criteria as the reader seems to have understood. VR-4. Under Section 5 ‘Instructions for Responding to RFI', item 4, pricing is discussed. Because this is an RFI rather than an RFP, will the pricing included here, be the pricing the bidder will be held to if the Government decides to issue an actual RFP? a. In other words, if after review of the RFI responses, the Government decides to award a contract just off of the RFI information, the pricing submitted will be the pricing used to decide the award? RESPONSE: The Government may not make an award solely on the basis of the RFI so any pricing information furnished would be nonbinding on the supplier providing the information. b. Or, will the bidder be allowed to reconsider pricing, if after review of the RFI responses the Government proceeds with a formal RFP, or if the Government makes any changes to the project that could impact how a bidder wishes to price its bid? RESPONSE: See response to previous question above. VR-5. Under Section 5 ‘Instructions for Responding to RFI', item 7, business size and classifications are discussed. Will special consideration be given to, or points awarded for being within a certain classification? If Yes, what types of consideration or points will be awarded? RESPONSE: Supplier responses are informational only. Business size and classification information were provided based on the Government's classification of NAICS code which determines the business size standard. If supplier believes other industry codes should be considered, please provide such information in your response. VR-6. Other than the items designated in item 7 under Section 5, what are the significant factors the Government would be weighing to award a contract for this project? What percentage of weight in the total decision would each of these factors have? RESPONSE: At this time, award factors have not been ranked by importance, weight, or any other criteria. The RFI has been issued for information gathering purposes only. Award factor decisions would be made at the appropriate time for inclusion in a formal solicitation. VR-7. Section 5.0; Please clarify what information the government is requesting in item 1.e that is different from the information requested in items 1.a and 1.b. RESPONSE: Provide all requested information elements only once in your response. VR-8. Section 5.0; Please clarify how item 5 differs from the data requested in item 1. Item 5 doesn't appear to specify any items required in the "Qualifications/Capabilities Statement package as the cover letter." RESPONSE: Duplication of information is not necessary, but your "Qualification/capabilities statement" should be clearly identified and should explain in a short clear, concise manner what your company offers to be able to satisfy the Government's requirements described in the RFI. VR-9. Section 5.0; Item 8 states "Proprietary information should NOT be included in the RFI response" (emphasis added). This is inconsistent with the data required to be provided in sub-items 1-5 of Section 5.0, Item 8 and Section 5.0, Item 4. The vendor's solution and pricing requested in those sections are considered both proprietary and competition sensitive. Without the ability to provided proprietary information with appropriate protective markings, vendors will be unable to answer the critical technical questions asked in the Request for Information. Please delete the prohibition against including proprietary information and explicitly allow vendors to protect information as "source selection information" in accordance with the FAR. RESPONSE: Writer is correct. Vendors should clearly mark information in their responses as "Proprietary Information" or ‘Confidential Information" for appropriate handling and protection. ATTACHMENTS (including Tables 1, 2, and 3): ATCH-1. Does the call volume referenced in Tables 1 and 2 represent the overflow call volume? If not, then what is the anticipated overflow call volume by month? RESPONSE: Between 20 & 25% of that volume was overflow, which is an average of 33,000 calls monthly. ATCH-2. Table 3 references penalties up to 50% of the contract value. Can OPM be more specific on how penalties are calculated and the criteria used to make this calculation? Is OPM open to suggestions? RESPONSE: Yes, these would also be negotiable. However, once an infraction requiring corrective action has been identified to the contractor, OPM/RO would allow a time period for corrective action prior to determining any payment reduction. ATCH-3. Under the monetary penalties in Table 3, deductions of 10-50% can occur. a. What are the most common shortcomings and accompanying financial penalties the Government sees? RESPONSE: Not being able to switch over emergency resources timely or exceeding abandon rates continuously with no explanation & discussion about that performance factor. b. Are the goals absolutes, i.e. goals are made/not made, or are they graduated over a series of percentages of accomplishment with equivalent percentages of deduction? RESPONSE: The goal values are absolute numbers. Determination of a dollar amount of payment reduction for failure to meet contract required standards would be dependent on the circumstances of the incident and at the discretion of the contracting officer. ATCH-4. Tables 1 and 2 appear to provide call volume for ALL calls received by the two existing centers. If the intent of this solicitation is to provide coverage only for "overflow" calls, please provide the volume and types of those calls - in other words, the data provided in Tables 1 and 2 but only for the overflow calls. RESPONSE: Overflow volume has been described elsewhere in this response document as a percentage of the overall volume. ATCH-5. Attachment 1; The average monthly call volume for January 2009 through December 2011 as provided in Table 2 is over 147,000 calls/month. In addition the final sentence in the first paragraph of section 1.2 of the FBO posting states "The number of calls to this toll-free number has increased each year since its inception." However, the anticipated call volumes stated in Table 3 are "50,000 calls monthly during off peak months and 100,000 calls during peak months." Does the government project a 1/3 to 2/3rd reduction of call volume? Please clarify the apparent discrepancy between historic call volumes provided in Tables 1 and 2 and anticipated call volumes to be handled by the call center under this solicitation as described in Table 3. RESPONSE: This topic has been discussed extensively elsewhere in this response document. ATCH-6. Attachment 1; Do the call volume statistics in Tables 1 and 2 include the outbound calls identified in Table 3. If not, what percentage of inbound calls require an associated outbound call. RESPONSE: Outbound call volume is about 10% of inbound volume. ATCH-7. Attachment 1, Table 3, Call types; Does the government anticipate providing training to answer/deal with 1) "inquiries from annuitants or retirees of the federal government ranging from health benefit to all retirement related issues" and 2) "tax, retiree death, and other sensitive types of call types" and teaching contractor staff to "navigate multiple systems including a mainframe to provide status updates on cases filed for processing retirement and a series of survivor processing actions for all retired federal employees?" RESPONSE: The training described elsewhere in this response document is designed to enable contractor staff to answer the vast majority of customer questions. Details would be provided at that time. ATCH-8. Attachment 1, Table 3, Quality Assurance; Please confirm the contractor will only be required to provide the Government with the ability to access recorded or live monitoring of calls at the contractor's call center facilities used for this contract. RESPONSE: The Government is requesting access to contractor recorded calls and the option to do live calibrations sessions where agents are listened to live where both parties, the contractor manager and an OPM manager, are listening to the session. ATCH-9. Attachment 1, Table 3, Abandonment rate; Please clarify the government's definition of an "abandoned" call. Please clarify if this metric is measured on a daily OR weekly OR monthly basis. RESPONSE: The definition is ‘calls abandoned divided by calls answered.' The metric should be provided back on a daily, weekly, and monthly roll up report, to OPM as described in the report requirements. ATCH-10. Attachment 1, Table 3, Handle time; Please provide historical information (similar to Tables 1 and 2) for handle time performance. Specify if times reported include outbound calls and E-mail requirements. RESPONSE: This topic has been covered elsewhere in this response document. ATCH-11. Attachment 1, Table 3, Handle time, Outbound calling, and E-mail; Please confirm that the quoted handle times in Table 3 include both the time required for described Outbound calling and E-mail responses. If no, please provide statistics for additional time required for outbound calling and e-mail. In addition, provide average number of outbound call and E-mail transactions per month. RESPONSE: All quoted handle times include outbound calling and emails. ATCH-12. Attachment 1, Table 3, Emergency/redundancy needs: a. Please identify an estimated number of additional FTEs associated with the requirement "to be able to staff an emergency hotline on a 4 hour notice." RESPONSE: Approximately fifteen resources. Tollfree number should be set furnished at that point by the contractor. b. Please clarify if the requirement to staff the emergency hotline is within 4 hours as identified in the "Goal" column or 2 hours as identified in the "Details" column. RESOURCE: 4 hours. c. Please identify an estimated number of additional FTEs associated with this requirement: "Ramp up should be 30% additional staffing within 2 hours." RESPONSE: Approximately 15 resources. d. Please clarify if FTEs required for staffing emergency response will require the same security clearances/background checks as "regular" staff. If yes, please confirm the government is prepared to process those additional, "on-call" FTEs and ongoing replacements to ensure contractor is able to meet the staffing metric? RESPONSE: Yes, the Government is prepared to process those additional background checks. ATCH-13. Attachment 1, Table 3, Non-compliance or failure to meet performance of contract: Please provide the government draft schedule and conditions for reductions as described in this section as reductions "can range from 10% up to 50% of the contract value." RESPONSE: The Government does not maintain a schedule or matrix as described by the writer. This topic is described elsewhere in this response document.
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