RFP CSCU-1810 CALL CENTER SERVICES PRE-BID QUESTIONS AND ... › files › rfp › RFP_CSCU-1810_CallCenter_Pre-BidQ… · RFP CSCU-1810 – CALL CENTER SERVICES PRE-BID QUESTIONS

RFP CSCU-1810 – CALL CENTER SERVICES PRE-BID QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS These clarifications constitute an addendum to the above referenced RFP and are made a part thereof.

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II.1 BACKGROUND: INSTITUTIONS

Page 2, Section II: Will program participation be mandatory for all schools listed in the RFP? Are all of the institutions listed in the RFP to be served by the Call Center? Page 2, Background, lists 17 colleges in the CSCU system while page 3, Description of Student Services, indicates that only 12 schools will be implemented. Which 12 schools will be included in the project? Which six will be involved in the initial implementation? Are all CSCU schools currently using these services? (8 colleges are currently being served)

The six community colleges that may be may be included in the initial implementation are:

Asnuntuck Community College

Capital Community College

Housatonic Community College

Middlesex Community College

Northwestern Connecticut Community College

Tunxis Community College

The remaining colleges to be implemented at a later date:

Gateway Community College

Manchester Community College

Naugatuck Valley Community College

Norwalk Community College

Quinebaug Valley Community College

Three Rivers Community College The other institutions are listed so as to provide each proposing party with a full context of CSCU.

Please define Referral Services and what types of calls will be received. Please disregard the “Referral Services” requirement.

II.2 BACKGROUND: LEGACY & CURRENT STATE

Regarding call center operations for CSCU, the announcement shown below was made by CSCU on 3/16/18. Is this partnership still in place? Are you expecting CTDLC to respond to this RFP?

“The Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium (CTDLC), a program of Charter Oak State College and CSCU, was contracted by CSCU to provide call center services to the colleges to assist in addressing a high volume of student issues related to enrollment, non-payment, etc. As part of that work, they collected information about the barriers students have faced accessing our colleges, as well as evidence of other obstacles affecting students. Since June 2016, the call center has received over 119,000 inbound calls and made over 50,000 outbound calls. Students experienced difficulties with a wide number of processes, including applying for admission, providing transcripts, registering for classes, providing evidence of immunization, and processing financial aid applications. Inconsistencies in college web sites compounded the problems. Though these students experiences weren’t universal, they point to areas for improvement that will be addressed in the consolidation. (A summary of the students’ challenges is provided in Appendix F.) With mounting evidence that the challenges facing the CCC cannot be overcome within the current structure, we propose to implement substantive changes to improve student retention and graduation, to attract and serve new populations of students, and to ensure a financially sustainable future for the CCC.”

No. CTDLC is being discontinued as a service provider and is not issuing a proposal to this RFP.

Is there an incumbent vendor / vendors that are providing these services currently? Yes. The current provider is a unit of the CSCU system. That unit is being phased out upon the awarding of the contract from this RFP.


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a. If so, how many FTEs are currently handling calls, emails, and chats internally and through the vendor (externally)? The CTDLC call center comprised 57 part time workers

b. How long have the vendor(s) been incumbents? 4 years

Is any work described in the RFP currently being provided by a third party vendor? Yes a. If yes, what is the vendor’s name? CTDLC (call center) and Blackboard (IT help desk) b. If yes, what is the scope of work currently being performed by the vendor?

CTDLC is the current provider handling the call center work. Blackboard is handling IT Technical related calls.

c. If yes, for how long have you been outsourcing this work? CTDLC 4 years; Blackboard 2 years

Has this process been outsourced previously? If no, what is the driving factor to outsource this process? If yes, who has supplied the service previously?

The current Call Center is in-sourced to CTDLC, which is being phased out upon the awarding of the contract from this RFP.

III.2 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

We currently offer Enrollment Management Services only through our Contact Center. We have the capability and capacity to nurture students through their application process; however, we don’t provide Financial Aid; Bursars Office and/or Registrar services. Please let us know if you are interested, and would consider a partial proposal for Enrollment Management Services Only.

Supporting the full portfolio of services to students and applicants, as listed in the RFP, is required of the successful vendor.

Page 2, Scope of Services states that the Student Support Services support … all students from initial application through goal completion, and beyond. Please define what services the Vendor would need to provide for the “and beyond” period.

The call center will be required to assist Community College students pursuing/transitioning toward 4-year degree programs of CSCU college/universities.

III.2.A CALL CENTER SERVICES

The RFP mentions communication through email and chat. Will the selected vendor be using CSCU’s email and chat system or will the vendor need to provide their own?

The vendor will need to provide the email and chat system.

III.2.A.Inbound 1. Tiers 1 & 2

CALL DURATION Average call duration across all school and departments, or better yet, for specific schools and departments.

Call duration is dependent on time of year and nature of call. Some departments, and calls associated to their questions, may take longer than do others. Current average talk time is about 7 minutes, 30 seconds.

CALL VOLUME & HANDLE TIME Please provide call volume data by campus and department to be included in the RFP by month, for at least the last 12 months (calls received and calls answered).


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See attached report Call Volume by Department

Please provide actual inbound call statistics in detail for last 12 months. See the attached reports Weekday and Weekend AHT, 1st Call Resolution and Call Volume

Will there be periodic opportunities to review anticipated proportions of total inquiries for each Tier based on experience?

Yes. There will be opportunities to review total inquiries for each tier.

What is the average handle time for resolved calls within each tier? The average handle time for Tier 1 and Tier 2 calls is about 00:07:50.

What is the average handle time in total for calls that escalate from Tier 1 through to Tier 3? The average handle time for Tier 1 and Tier 2 calls is about 00:07:50. Those calls requiring Tier 3 status may take an extra 2 minutes.

What is the average contact length or handle time for each tier and contact type? See Weekday and Weekend AHT Report

What is the average call length for both inbound and outbound calls?

See attached 3 volume reports. Weekday and Weekend AHT, 1st Call Resolution and Call Volume

Are historical call volume reports available? Could this be posted? See attached 3 volume reports. Weekday and Weekend AHT, 1st Call Resolution and Call Volume

Can CSCU provide detailed call statistics for each school, including: a. Average handle time (AHT), weekend and weekday b. Average speed to answer c. Average wrap time d. Abandonment rate, weekend and weekday e. Percent of first-call resolution f. Peak call times and volume g. Inbound and Outbound Call volume by department, weekend and weekday h. Inbound and Outbound Call volume by month / day / year intervals, weekend and weekday i. Escalation rate for peak, non-peak, and overall j. What is the desired escalation rate for peak, non-peak, and overall

See Weekday and Weekend AHT Report

CHAT VOLUME & HANDLE TIME Current vendor does not offer Chat functionality. Can CSCU provide detailed chat statistics for each school, including:

a. Average handle time (AHT), weekend and weekday b. Abandonment rate, weekend and weekday c. Peak chat times and volume d. Chat volume by department, weekend and weekday e. Chat volume by month / day / interval, weekend and weekday f. Escalation rate for peak, non-peak, and overall g. What is the desired escalation rate for peak, non-peak, and overall


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Page 2, Section I, indicates CSCU is seeking chat support. Is the chat link is available on the school’s existing website, or will the vendor need to host a full student services website with chat link enabled?

The vendor will need to provide a chat link to each college.

TEXT VOLUME & HANDLE TIME Page 3, Call Center Services, Inbound #4. Please describe the text services needed. Will these be outbound text alerts or interactive communication with students?

Text services will be required as an alternative method for outbound outreach. Services generally include contacting students to remind them to take an action (e.g., registration, payment, et al).

WEB SERVICES Page 3, Call Center Services, Inbound #4. Please define web services.

The online form is used for the special projects. This is a web request form that the student or prospective student fills out on an assigned website. The form is then used to populate a ticket in the ticketing system, enabling the agent to call the person back for more information.

III.2.A.Inbound 2. Tier 3 Examples of Tier 3 requests that require SMEs.

Example: If a student received $4K Financial Aid for the prior year, and received only $2K this year, this information would have to be discussed between Student and Financial Aid Office.

Tier 3 calls require a liaison. What is the average level of time and support is required for Tier 3 resolutions?

Currently the agents that are speaking with the students act as the liaison between the students and the escalation point at the college.

Unresolved Tier 3 – How many attempts and what methods (text, email, voice) are required to contact student for resolution?

Tier 3 escalations are handled by the college staff. Can you provide specific traffic reports showing the breakout of Tier 1 through 3?

See Weekday and Weekend AHT Report

III.2.A.Inbound 3. Ticketing (and Transferring)

RFP mentions a ticketing system to be used to aid students with issues and for scheduled call backs. Does CSCU have a current ticketing system for vendors to use or will vendors be required to have their own ticketing system? If CSCU has a system, what is the name of that system?

What is your current ticketing system which you expect vendors to use? What ticketing system is currently used? What platform is used for the CSCU ticketing system? Page 3, section A, item 2: Is there a ticketing system that CSCU prefers or currently uses? Page 4, Call Center Services, Outbound, #4. Does CSCU have their own ticketing system or will the vendor be providing their solution?

Current vendor (CTDLC) is using Kayako. This system goes away after the new contract is awarded. The vendor will be required to provide the ticketing system.


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How is this system structured such that KnowledgeBase could be “housed within this environment”? Current KnowledgeBase is not housed in the ticketing system

How will vendor be provided access to the system or will vendor be expected to provide the system? Current vendor (CTDLC) is using Kayako. Kayako use will demise upon award to new vendor. Vendor will need to provide ticketing system.

If no system in place, does CSCU expect vendor to provide system and handle maintenance and updates? Yes

Are all CSCU schools currently using a ticketing system? If so, is it the same system and platform across all CSCU members? If yes, is the system integrated across all CSCU members? If currently in use, is the system under contract for continued use, how long? If yes, is system FERPA compliant?

No. The colleges receive Tier 3 escalations via email if a live transfer cannot be completed.

Will calls be live transferred or ticketed transfer? They will be for Tier 3 escalation. See below.

What is the expected methodology for transferring calls to Tier 2 or Tier 3? Tier 1 and Tier 2 calls should not have to be transferred. These calls should result in first call resolution. If a call cannot be resolved in Tier 1 or 2, it becomes a Tier 3 call. Tier 3 calls will be live transferred to the college escalation point; if the college escalation point is not available the information must be escalated via the vendor’s ticketing system.

Are all calls ticketed? All calls are ticketed for historical data.

What caller data is currently being captured? Current data captured during phone call includes Student ID, student full name, phone number, semester and department about which student is calling. In a notes section, the following information is captured: subject of the call, and the resolution provided to the caller. For authentication, the current call center captures year of birth and zip code in the Banner system. This will be required of the successful vendor as well.

III.2.A.Inbound 4. Authentication Will Banner be the system used for authentication?

Yes. Banner will be used to authenticate all students.

Do all calls require student authentication or just Tier 2 and Tier 3? All calls require authentication at start of the call due to FERPA compliance requirements. At that point, it is not determined whether call is Tier 2 or Tier 3. Such is determined through conversation with caller.

III.2.A.Inbound 5. Special Projects Special projects – Please define volume, scope, modality, and expectations i.e. Informational sessions.

Special projects may be assigned during seasonal periods (e.g., leading up to registration). Special marketing campaigns may also be conducted from time to time and will require special project work.


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III.2.A.Inbound 6. Read-only Access to Banner Page 3, section A, item 5: will the vendor need to secure or account for any licenses to gain read-only access to systems?

The vendor will not need to acquire licenses for read-only access.

Page 3, Call Center Services, Inbound #5. Does the CSCU system have a shared instance of Banner or 12 separate instances?

The community colleges share a single instance of Banner configured for a multi-institutional system.

Page 3, Call Center Services, Inbound #5. Our process, with other Banner schools we take calls for, is to notate each call in Banner on the RHACOMM or SPACMNT screen based on department. Would CSCU allow the Vendor to have access to do this?

Our practice is for read-only access to Banner. We would have to examine this request and the reasons behind it to determine whether such additional access may be granted.

III.2.A.Inbound 7. Run Book Regarding development of “Run Book for workflow processes”, provide detail on your expectations for content, and to which areas of support it will apply. See attached report Sample Play Book Is the Run Book in lieu of, or in addition to, vendor policy and procedure documentation for how it will support CSCU? This is in addition to any vendor policy or procedure.

Please describe CSCU approach, timeline, and methods to knowledge transfer. CSCU has play books/run books for each campus supported today. This information will be made available to the awarded vendor. If additional information is requested, the vendor and CSCU will facilitate meetings with the colleges and their departments to so provide. It is important to note that, given the distributed nature of the campuses/institutions served, the Run Book and knowledge base should allow for campus-based segmentation and for local campus guidelines and procedures that are customized based on local campus geography and historical culture.

III.2.A.Inbound 8. Escalation Management For unresolved Tier 3 calls, currently what are the next steps in the escalation process?

All tier 3 calls are the responsibility of the college department to which the escalation was directed. The vendor will not be required to resolve these issues.

What percentage of Tier 3 calls are resolved and ticket closed within 2 business days? Colleges normally close Tier 3 resolutions within 2 business days, with the exception of those received during peak periods.

What percentage of escalated calls result in live warm transfer? Currently 15% of the calls result in a warm transfer or a ticket escalation.

III.2.A.Inbound 9. Follow-up with Local Department The second #5 states that Call Center will follow up with students who have had an escalation that is non-responsive after two days. Can you define what your expectation is for this communication?

Call Center will be required to contact students to verify in each case that college has resolved the issue. If not resolved, issue will be re-escalated.


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III.2.A.Inbound 10. Knowledge Base Provide more detail on what you mean by KnowledgeBase being “housed within this environment” Does the internal knowledge base need to be housed within the ticketing system?

No. How the internal knowledge base is stored and managed is a prerogative of the successful vendor.

Knowledge System Management: What is the expectation on the integration between the CSCU platform and the Knowledge Management system housed and managed by the provider?

Vendor will need to build its own knowledge base; integration will not be provided for.

Is there a current script in place to be used in conjunction with the requested support outlined in the RFP? The script current in use will be provided if requested.

III.2.A.Inbound 11. Regular Meetings & Quality Checks Does the chosen vendor need to come to Connecticut for meetings?

Yes. There are account management and customer relations meetings will be required on a schedule to be negotiated by the parties. The successful vendor will provide for an account supervisor or management team, who will be responsible for addressing performance issues as may be raised by the Colleges of the CSCU system within defined time frames.

Will regular meetings and quality checks be conducted across CSCU group or will they be individually with participating schools? Who will schedule?

Regular meetings will also be required to be conducted with college staffs to ensure currency of knowledge base data. Vendor account teams will be responsible for scheduling with campus staffs. The designated representative for CSCU will schedule monthly meetings and audits.

III.2.A.Outbound 1. Outbound Calls Are all outbound attempts required to be by voice or are alternative methods acceptable?

All outbound calls are to be conducted via voice or text.

III.2.A.Outbound 8. Recruitment & Marketing Leads Regarding the request to respond to recruiting leads generated by CSCU enrollment staff: a. How many leads do you generate annually?

Lead generation will approximate 25,000 leads annually. b. What is the frequency and month in which these leads will be delivered to the vendor?

Lead generation will primarily occur in periods before semester Registration (May, November, July), or at other times in support of special curricular programs.

III.2.A. DataCollection Page 4, Data Collection. Please define the online form. What does the “online form” refer to?

The online form is used for special projects. This is a web request form that the student or prospective student fills out on an assigned website. The form will then be used to populate tickets in the ticketing system to enable the agent to call the person back for more information.


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Page 4, Data Collection. The ad-hoc reports indicate that Banner query data will be used to create the outbound call lists. Will the CSCU campuses, create and provide the lists or is the vendor pulling the data from Banner?

CSCU will be providing data for the outbound calls.

III.2.B. SUPPORT SERVICES III.2.B.Tier1Support.1 FAQs Will the vendor have the ability to create websites and IVR services that will reduce call counts? If not, what is the expectation of the process to update the FAQs on the Universities websites?

Each college currently has its own website that informs the internal knowledge base.

III.2.C SERVICE AVAILABILITY Page 5, Section C, Normal Hours of Operation, Item 3 …What do you mean by “Contractor reserves the right to adjust Call Center hours to accommodate the greatest overall customer need”? Are you permitting the vendor to adjust hours or days of support based on call volumes?

The successful vendor is required to operate the Call Center within the dates and times defined in the RFP.

As vendor is responsible for ticket system downtime scheduling, is vendor responsible for managing, providing, hosting, etc. of the system? Yes.

Page 5, section C, items 1 and 2 indicate vendors must provide 7-day coverage for CSCU. a. Is it mandatory that the vendor provide seven-day coverage? Yes. b. Would CSCU be open to dual-pricing, one for 7-day coverage and one for 5-day coverage? No. c. Would CSCU accept voicemail for the weekend hours with call backs to the students within a 24-48 hour window? The hours and days defined in the RFP are mandatory.

Will the participating colleges and universities route ALL calls year round to the vendor for the designated offices or will this be an overflow/rollover call center? If an overflow/rollover call center, please describe the support model desired.

Yes. All participating colleges will route four (4) administrative department calls to the vendor. The vendor will not act as the overflow/rollover call center.

III.2.D KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Does 85% first call resolution refer to just Tier 1 calls?

The 85% figure is for Tier 1 and Tier 2 calls.

What is the Key Performance Indicator specifying 15% or less escalation to campus SME’s for Tier 3 based on?

The KPI is based on the current vendor performance.

Page 5, section D, item 2 indicates a desired 30 seconds or less for a desired inbound calls or chats. Is there a targeted percentage of calls/chats that are answered in under 30 seconds?

The target rate for calls to be answered in under 30 seconds must be greater than or equal to 90%.

III.2.E HISTORICAL CALL VOLUME Of the 165,700 calls received, what percentage are Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3?

85% are Tier 1-2; 15% are Tier 3.


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Of the 165,700 annual inbound calls, how many would be attributed to the initial 6 college campuses to be serviced.

See the attached reports Weekday and Weekend AHT, 1st Call Resolution and Call Volume

How many calls are currently supported on Saturdays and Sundays? Can you provide this call volume data by day of the week?


Are 19,000 outbound calls unique calls or does that number include repeat attempts? Outbound calls are unique calls. The current Call Center attempts to contact student up to 3 times.

Page 5, Historic Call Volume, #1. Is the call volume listed for all 17 colleges across all offices? Is this answered calls or offered calls?


Page 5, Historic Call Volume, #1. Is the 19,000 outbound calls actual volume or projected volume? Is this across all 17 colleges?

The 19,000 figure referenced in the RFP represents actual calls from the last year for 8 of the community colleges.

To date, what is the average number of calls received Monday through Friday from 5PM to 9PM for the related services outlined in the RFP for 2017? To date, what is the average number of calls received during weekends (Saturday 8AM to 5PM and Sunday 10AM to 5PM) for the related services outlined in the RFP services for 2017? What is the typical call volume for the weekday and weekends during CSCU’s non peak months?


EMAIL Can CSCU provide detailed email statistics for each school, including: a. Peak email times and volume b. Email volume by department, weekend and weekday c. Email volume by month / day / interval, weekend and weekday d. Escalation rate for peak, non-peak, and overall e. What is the desired escalation rate for peak, non-peak, and overall

Current vendor is not using email for everyday work. Email will only be required for special projects.

III.2.F TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS Are you expecting the vendor to handle IT Help Desk support calls? This appears to be suggested based on the systems listed under Technical Requirements.

IT help Desk support calls will be handed off Blackboard, the current provider of that function.

Will you consider proposals that do not include IT-related support? Yes.

Page 6, Technical Requirements. Will the vendor need to provide any support for the Blackboard LMS? If so, please define that support. Page 6, Item 2 … What types of calls are being supported by utilizing the Blackboard LMS?


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Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Mobile Learn comprise the Learning Management System of the colleges. The users of the Blackboard environment are supported by the Call Center, rather than Blackboard LMS being utilized by the Call Center as a utility.

Page 6, Item 3 … You mention Microsoft Outlook for faculty and staff as a Technical Requirement – are you expecting Vendors to support this application for those two user populations?

Outlook is the platform on which the colleges are standardized for email, calendar, et al. It is, therefore, a significant context component of the environment in which the end-users supported by the Call Center operate. Technical support to Outlook and O365 is provided by CSCU IT.

Is the CSCU platform expected to be licensed or supported by the provider? Will the Chat application be provided by CSCU or will the provider provide/support it?

The vendor will be responsible to supply the chat application to the CSCU campus webmasters.

Infrastructure: Will CSCU expect to secure access (requiring licenses) to all of the provider’s platforms and systems; i.e.: call recording, reporting applications, Knowledge Management, etc. or will CSCU expect to receive outputs from these tools?

Contractor is expected to furnish and manage these tools. CSCU will require outputs.

What imaging system does each CSCU college use? Presently, there is no one standardized imaging system in operation across the community college system.

Page 4, Support Services Definition. Are there any other related systems used in Tier 2 support that are not listed in Section F. Technical Requirements?

Certain standardizations are in the process of adoption, but are not yet deployed or finalized. Examples include the Twilio SMS system which interfaces to the Ellucian CRM applications, including recruitment and Advising; and Hyland imaging systems.

Other than Banner Student information system, what other systems held by CSCU and will be used by the vendor’ personnel. To be determined, based on need, with the successful vendor.

III.3.A. COMPANY BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE

III.3.A.2 Higher Ed students and/or public sector clients We do not have any experience with colleges and universities; therefore should we not attempt to respond to this RFP because of lack of CT state experience and college/university experience?

All listed criteria are important and presentations will be evaluated on overall strength of proposal. Per Section IV, public sector and higher education experience are part of only one of the criteria, but is considered a key element.

III.3.A.5 Employee Background Checks Background Check: Is the requirement inclusive of a drug test? If so, which type and will it be the provider’s responsibility to pay for the associated costs?

Yes. Background checks are required to be conducted for all of vendor’s employees hired or retained to perform duties as part of this contract. Such background checks are at vendor’s expense. The confidential nature of data and information to which agents may have access necessitates


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background checks which include: Drug Testing, Multi-Jurisdictional Criminal Search (including National Sex Offender Registry), and a County/Statewide/Federal Criminal Search.

III.3.A.6 Employee Training Page 6, section B, item 3: Do the schools of the CSCU have System & Service Training already developed? If so, what is the duration of System & Service Training?

Section III.3.B.3 requires this to be furnished by the Contractor. Any related training materials which may have been developed by a CSCU institution may be made available to Contractor.

Will supplier have access to pre-existing training documentation? Yes. The current vendor will be required to supply the play books/run books for each college supported.

Can you provide what training details and resources will be offered in advance to vendor staff in relation to CSCU requested support? i.e. CSCU will review all applicable systems required accessing for support, FAQ’s and detailed information to provide added support will be provided.

How much time for training has been allotted for CSCU to train the selected vendor on systems and workflows i.e. escalated issues for Tier 3?

Training plan will need to be developed jointly by Contractor and CSCU. Current vendor will supply all play books/run books for the colleges supported.

III.3.B.5,12 ADA, Bilingual Will you need bilingual agents? If so, what languages will be required? What are the primary languages other than English that are typically used during calls? The cost proposal requires vendors to include (if necessary) pricing for ADA / Spanish-speaking services. Does CSCU have an estimate of what percentage of calls require bilingual or ADA support? Are there language requirements other than English that would be associated with this project? Will a language line be required or provided? NO.

Bilingual agents will be required to service our campus populations. English and Spanish are the primary languages and, therefore, required. Our Spanish-speaking and ADA supported students represents currently less than 10% of our total student population.

III.3.B.15 Calibration Page 6, Functional Area Topics to be addressed, #15. Please provide your definition of calibration calls.

Call calibration relates to a conversation between CSCU and the manager of a call center to discuss the specific details and goals of grading calls. It is a time to discuss what is working and what is not working on a scorecard project.

III.3.B.16/17 Recording Calls / Data Storage What are the requirements of call and chat recording; e.g.: 100% of all calls/chats? How long will the data have to be stored; e.g.: 90 days or please provide specifics?

All inbound and outbound calls must be recorded. Chats must be captured through the vendor ticketing system. Calls must be stored for CSCU access for 90 days and then archived for 1 year.

Will CSCU require Recorded Calls? Yes. If yes, what is the preferred format are the recorded calls to conducted in?


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Is there a preferred format for recorded calls to be delivered in? The record format must be in .wav format.

How is call data, i.e call reports and recordings if applicable, to be provided to CSCU for review? Secured email, FTP, SFTP…? Secured email (e.g., encrypted files/communications) or SFTP.

III.3.C.7 Customer Satisfaction Page 7, section C, item 7: Do the CSCU schools currently have a means to capture customer satisfaction (CSAT)? Or are they seeking vendor to provide CSAT services?

CSCU currently does not have a CSAT process. The vendor is required to provide the CSAT. III.3.D. COMPANY BACKGROUND AND FINANCIALS

GEOGRAPHIC VENUE – International or Undefined Venues

May companies from Outside USA can apply for this? (like, from India or Canada) May the Call Center tasks (related to RFP) be performed from outside USA? (e.g., from India or Canada) Locations: Are there limitations to specific countries when offering an offshore option? Are remote agents permitted to provide support?

Call Center and all call handlers (i.e., agents) must be located within jurisdictions of the United States. All activities under the contract are governed by the laws of the State of Connecticut and of the United States of America.

United States Venues

Please confirm for me if the call center service has to operate within Connecticut or if it can be located in any other part of Continental USA. Will being a vendor outside the State of Connecticut have any weight on the decision process? Does CSCU have a preference for CT based service providers?

Call Center and all call handlers (i.e., agents) must be located within jurisdictions of the United States. In-state location is not a requirement of this RFP.

III.3.D.11 References Would it be appropriate to provide three references from the same company but under three different contracts?

No. References must be from three distinctly separate and unrelated entities. For example, if one were to use Central Connecticut State University and Charter Oak College as two separate references, such would be disallowed. A lthough they are separate and distinct institutions, they are governed by a common Board and are, therefore, related.

III.3.D.11 State of Connecticut Statutory Forms Page 8, Item 11 … States, “Complete each of the forms found in Attachment A through G.” However, Attachment B says, in part, “Submit the completed form to the awarding State agency at the time of initial contract execution” and Attachment F says, in part, “Submit to the awarding State agency prior to contract execution.” May we assume that only Attachments A, C, D, E and G are to be submitted with the RFP response?

Though your interpretation is technically true, all of these ethics forms are required for a resultant contract, and forms submitted with the RFP Proposal are considered to be submitted “prior to” and


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“at the time of initial contract execution.” Submission as part of the solicitation response merely avoids having to chase down the paperwork later.

III.3.D.12 PRICING

Is the Outbound pricing model expected to be separate from Inbound? There will not be a separate model for outbound pricing. Please see pricing matrix.

Is the provider eligible for bonuses based on lead generation? Can this be part of the proposal / SOW? No. But we do appreciate your sense of humor.

Forecast: Are there guaranteed minimums? See above.

What is CSCU desired mode of billing? i.e. price per call, price per minute, hourly…

Tiered pricing is required. See pricing grid.

IV.2 EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

Is there a scoring matrix available for this RFP? General evaluation criteria stated in Section IV of the RFP. Committee currently establishing rubric.

What is CSCU’s budget for implementation of this project? The final project budget will be negotiated between CSCU and the awarded vendor.

What length of contract is CSCU expecting to enter into? What is the contract term period for this proposal? Are there any renewal periods?

Initial term of Agreement will be for up to five (5) years, with renewals accommodated by a series of extensions, number of which to be determined in contract negotiation subsequent to award or as initial contract term approaches its expiration.

Outside of cost, what other information within the RFP response will play a significant role in the decision making process?

Ability to perform effectively in accordance with the Scope of Services.

VI.2 CONDITIONS – Insurance Page 10, Section 2 … The insurance coverage required under the RFP includes a reference to ‘aggregate limit per project.’ This language typically relates to construction projects. Will you waive this aspect of the coverage requirement?

This language is germane to construction projects and also to “large” state contracts; “large” being defined by the State as contracts for projects/programs of value in excess of $500,000.

VI.2 CONDITIONS – Executive Orders Page 12, Section L, 2nd bullet. Our location and employees are outside of Connecticut. Does the vendor still need to list out of state employment openings with the Connecticut State Employment Services?

If call centers are located within Connecticut, this is required. If call centers are located outside of Connecticut, this is not required.

Attachment I CONTRACT PROPOSAL (Cover Form) Page 14, Attachment A – Part II: a. Is CSCU open to alternate pricing models, such as per-FTE, per handle minute, etc.?


Page 14 of 14

Costs within categories must be presented, summing to an overall value of the proposal. How such costs are calculated (e.g., FTE, headcount, flat rates, etc.) should be explained.

Attachment I CONTRACT PROVISIONS Are paragraphs 19 and 20 of the “Contract Provisions” applicable to this RFP?

Sections 19 and 20 pertain to projects and programs funded by State and Federal grants. In the RFP scope of services for at the onset of the resultant contract, no program served by the Call Center carries such audit requirement. However, during the lifetime of the project it is possible that such grant-funded program may come to be served within the scope of service of the Call Center. In such occurrences, Sections 19 and 20 become applicable.

Attachment I, #7, Termination (a) & (d). Is the CSCU system open to providing at least 60 days notice prior to termination for convenience due to the type of services requested. The vendor will have invested significant resources in hiring and training employees for the CSCU system and will need time to react to the termination.

The provision for termination for convenience (i.e., when such is determined to be in the best interests of the State), with or without cause, is a requirement of State of Connecticut contracts.

PLEASE BE SURE TO WATCH THIS WEBSITE FOR ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS RELATED TO THIS RFP, SUCH AS MAY

BECOME POSTED FOR BIDDERS’ INFORMATION

FOR EXAMPLE, AT THE TIME OF THE POSTING OF THIS QUESTION & ANSWER ADDENDUM TO THE CONTRACT,

THE PRICING MATRIX IS BEING COMPLETED FOR IMMINENT POSTING.

Documents

RFP CSCU-1810 CALL CENTER SERVICES PRE-BID QUESTIONS AND ... › files › rfp › RFP_CSCU-1810_CallCenter_Pre-BidQ… · RFP CSCU-1810 – CALL CENTER SERVICES PRE-BID QUESTIONS