Human Resources Service Center Ticket Application

Request for Quote Human Resources Service Center Ticket Application ____________________________________________________________ _________________ Wake County, North Carolina Procurement Services 301 S. McDowell Street Raleigh, North Carolina 27602 RFQ #22-075 Responses are due September 1, 2022, before 3:00pm Eastern REQUEST FOR QUOTE #22-075 2 Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 3 1.2 PROJECT SCOPE ............................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 GENERAL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS .............................................................................................. 4 2.1 RESPONSE CONTACT ........................................................................................................................ 5 2.2 RESPONSE SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

........................................................................................... 5 2.3 RESPONDER EXPENSES .................................................................................................................... 6 2.4 INTERPRETATIONS, DISCREPANCIES, AND OMISSIONS ..................................................................... 6 2.5 SCHEDULE ....................................................................................................................................... 6 2.6 NON-DISCLOSURE OF COUNTY INFORMATION ................................................................................. 6 2.7 RETENTION OF RESPONDER MATERIAL ........................................................................................... 6 2.8 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION/PUBLIC RECORDS LAW .................................................................... 7 3.1 RESPONSE FORMAT.......................................................................................................................... 7 3.2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... 8 3.3 COMPANY BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................ 8 3.4 SCOPE OF SERVICES OFFERED ......................................................................................................... 8 REQUEST FOR QUOTE #22-075 3 1.0 Introduction 1.0 Introduction Wake County Government is issuing this Request for Quote to obtain a cloud-based service center ticket application to assist the Human Resources Connect Service Center with automating ticket creation, maintenance, follow up and expand our communication channel offerings to both employees and citizens. Wake County Government is in Raleigh, North Carolina. We serve a population of over 1.1 million. Our Human Resources Department has 45 staff members and serve approximately 5,000 employees and temporary staff with benefits, payroll and time and leave. 1.2 Project Scope Wake County Human Resources Department is seeking to replace an existing inhouse application to leverage more robust functionality of a cloud-based customer service software application. The budget for this application including implementation cost is $15,000 to $18,000. Below is a list of the functionality that the County is seeking to implement, including but not limited to:  Employee Self Service portal with Knowledge Base that dynamically responds to employees based on searches  AI Bot to assist employees with routine questions before escalating to the Service Center for more in- depth assistance with ability to track chats for improvement of knowledge base and service center representative training  Chat capability while on employee self-service portal to assist real time without having to call or email; including hours staff is available for chat  Contact form so that employees can submit questions to Service Center. These will automatically create a ticket that can be tracked and responded to  Capability to establish Service Level Agreements (SLA) based on question/time of year  Self Service should be mobile enabled so that employees can search for information, submit form or chat with a service representative from any device  Integration with Microsoft Outlook to auto create tickets when employees, citizens, etc. email the HR Connect Service Center  Integration with the County’s HRM application (CGI Advantage) so that employee’s information is populated when a ticket, form or chat is submitted/initiated including separated/retired employees  Response template capability for service representatives to respond to questions timely and uniformly  Ability to have side interaction with the Human Resources Divisions Centers of Excellence for inquiries/issues that the Service Representatives cannot immediately answer including ability to retain this history without the customer having to review all the interaction.  Ability for employees to text a question with auto response from AI Bot with answer if available or letting employee know that someone is reviewing and will respond within 24 to 48 business hours  Phone/Call Center component that automatically creates a ticket when someone calls into the Service Center as well as round robin calls through 3 agents  Ability for callers to request a call back  Ability for Service Representatives to set up greeting for calls REQUEST FOR QUOTE #22-075 4  Survey capability to measure success of Service Center  Ability for supervisor to audit calls  Ability for Service Center representative to transfer/escalate calls as needed  Ability to quickly add to knowledge base/response templates based on tickets created and resolutions  Ability to alert Service Representatives on upcoming SLA breaches or outstanding tickets when logged into the application so that the team can establish and maintain a 24-to-48-hour turnaround time on most customer inquiries  Robust Reporting, including but not limited to: o Percentage of SLA’s met/exceeded o Percentage of SLA’s missed o Customer Satisfaction Score o Percentage of inquiries handled by automated system (AI or employee self-service knowledge base) o Average resolution time o Average reply time o Average response time o First Contact Resolution Rate o Percentage of inquires escalated to Service Center o Percentage of inquires escalate to Centers of Excellence o Tickets Open/Close by service center representative o Time to closure by service center representative o Number of tickets by division/topic 1.3 General Response Requirements When responding to this RFQ, please follow all instructions carefully. Please submit responses according to the outline specified and submit responses according to the instructions in Section 2.0. By virtue of submitting a response, interested parties are acknowledging:  Responses will be received by Wake County Government at the time and place so stated in this document. At that point, Wake County will close the receipt of responses and begin the evaluation process. The only information that will be released will be the names of the respondent(s). No other information will be disclosed, except as required by the evaluation process. Wake County, solely at our option, may disclose the name(s) of any firms or companies being considered or elevated during the process. Realizing the nature of a competitive environment and protecting the integrity of the process, respondents are not to contact any staff or elected official in reference to the process. As information becomes available and is relevant for release, that information will be shared with respondents. All information submitted in conjunction with this RFQ, and the evaluation process will not be returned to the respondent. REQUEST FOR QUOTE #22-075 5 2.0 General Submittal Requirements 2.1 Response Contact Responses should be directed to Procurement Services, specifically to the Purchasing Manager, as outlined below. In regard to this RFQ, vendors shall make NO CONTACTS, either written or verbal, with any Wake County employee, staff member or Board of Commissioner members during the period beginning with the issuance of this document through evaluation unless authorized by the response contact. Response Contact: Melissa England Wake County Finance Dept-Procurement Services Melissa.England@wakegov.com 919-856-6327 2.2 Response Submittal Requirements To facilitate the analysis of responses to this RFQ, responders are required to prepare their responses in accordance with the instructions outlined in this part and elsewhere in this RFQ. An electronic copy on USB flash drive (.docx, .xlsx and .pdf versions) must be submitted containing the entire contents of your response to the address shown below. Mailing Address: Melissa England Wake County Finance Dept - Procurement Services Wake County Justice Center, 2nd Floor-Suite 2900 301 S. McDowell Street Raleigh, NC 27601 The County must receive responses BEFORE 3:00 PM September 1, 2022. The responder’s name, RFQ number, and response closing time and date must be marked clearly on the response submission. The time of receipt shall be determined by the time clock in the Wake County Procurement Services office. Late responses will not be accepted. The County will not be held responsible for the failure of any mail or delivery service to deliver a response prior to the stated due date and time. It is solely the responder’s responsibility to: (1) ascertain that they have all required and necessary information, documents, and addenda, prior to submitting a response; (2) ensure that the response is received at the correct location and time. Late responses, regardless of delivery means, will not be reviewed. REQUEST FOR QUOTE #22-075 6 2.3 Responder Expenses The County will not be responsible for any expenses incurred by any responder in the development of a response to this Request for Quote or any other activities associated with this request that are not included in the response. 2.4 Interpretations, Discrepancies, and Omissions The deadline for submitting any questions is August 15, 2022 by 5pm. All questions will be answered to the extent possible in the form of addenda to the specifications and shared with known interested parties by August 22, 2022 All written requests for clarification should be addressed to the attention of Melissa England. Failure to request an interpretation will be considered evidence that the Responder understands the provision of the RFQ. The issuance of a written addendum is the only official method by which interpretation, clarification or additional information will be given by the County. Only questions answered by formal written addenda will be binding. Oral and other interpretations or clarification will be without legal effect. 2.5 Schedule ACTION APPLICABLE DATES RFQ Release August 3, 2022 RFQ Question Deadline by 5pm August 15, 2022 RFQ Addenda Issued - Questions answered (if needed) August 22, 2022 RFQ Responses Due before 3pm September 1, 2022 Product Demonstrations, if applicable September 12 – 16, 2022 2.6 Non-disclosure of County Information All data and information gathered by the responder and its agents, including this RFI and all reports, recommendations, specifications, and data shall be treated by the responder and its agents as confidential. The responder and its agents shall not disclose or communicate the aforesaid matters to a third party or use them in advertising, propaganda, and/or in another job or jobs, unless written consent is obtained from the County. 2.7 Retention of Responder Material The County reserves the right to retain all responses. No responses will be returned to responder. REQUEST FOR QUOTE #22-075 7 2.8 Confidential Information/Public Records Law INFORMATION SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO REQUESTS FOR BIDS, PROPOSALS, AND OTHER PROCUREMENT METHODS SUBJECT TO PUBLIC RECORDS LAW Wake County is subject to North Carolina’s Public Records Act located in Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes. As a result, information submitted to and received by Wake County in response to a Request for Proposal/Request For Bid/Request For Quote/Request for Qualifications, or any other procurement method (collectively “Procurement Process”), is considered public record and may be released for public inspection after the contract award, or as otherwise permitted under NCGS § 143, without further notice to the proposer. The County does not intend to elicit confidential or trade secret information in response to a Procurement Process and assumes no responsibility for the submission of such information. Wake County reserves the right to share any information submitted in response to a Procurement Process with any person(s) or firm(s) involved in the review and evaluation phase of the Procurement Process. CONFIDENTIAL OR TRADE SECRET INFORMATION If a proposer nonetheless submits information in a bid proposal or other response to a Procurement Process and it considers such information to be confidential, then all four requirements of NCGS 132-1.2 “Confidential Information” must be met for the County to consider withholding the information from public inspection in response to a public records request. Among other legal requirements, information deemed to be “confidential” or “trade secret” by proposer must be clearly marked as such on the face of the document(s) at the time of the initial disclosure/submittal of RFI. In addition, although not required by law, Wake County requests that any proposer who submits a proposal or response containing any such designation of confidentiality also submit a second copy of the proposal or response with the respective page(s) or section(s) redacted. The County will not agree to withhold an entire proposal or response from public inspection; thus, proposers should refrain from including blanket restrictions on disclosure or all-encompassing claims of confidentiality. When a public records request is made for information contained in or attached to a proposal or response that has been clearly marked as “trade secret” or “confidential” upon its submission, Wake County may, in its discretion and without further notice, release the redacted copy of the proposal or response to the requester if one has been previously submitted. Otherwise, the proposer will be notified of the request and given an opportunity to provide within a reasonable period a written explanation of the basis for claiming protection under N.C.G.S. 66-152 and N.C.G.S. 132-1 and/or a redacted proposal or response. The County shall make the final determination on release of the information. Should any civil action be brought against the County in an effort to compel or prevent the disclosure of information contained in a proposal or response that is deemed confidential by a proposer, the proposer may participate at its own expense; and by deeming any information in a proposal or response confidential, proposer further agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the County for and against any costs incurred by the County as a result of such litigation, including but not limited to fees or expenses arising out of N.C.G.S. 66-153 and N.C.G.S. 132-9. 3.0 Detailed Submittal Requirements 3.1 Response Format Responders shall prepare their responses in accordance with the instructions outlined in this section. Responses should be prepared as simply as possible and provide a straightforward, concise description of the responder’s capabilities to satisfy or exceed the requirements of the RFQ. Utmost attention should be given to accuracy, completeness, and clarity of content. All parts, pages, figures, and tables should be numbered and clearly labeled. The response should be organized into the following major sections: REQUEST FOR QUOTE #22-075 8 Response SECTION TITLE Title Page Letter of Transmittal Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary 2.0 Company Background 3.0 Scope of Services Offered 4.0 Project Cost and Schedule Instructions relative to each part of the response to this RFQ are defined in the remainder of this section. Response information should be limited to pertinent information only. Marketing and sales type information is not to be included. 3.2 Executive Summary This part of the response to the RFQ should be limited to a brief narrative summarizing the response. The summary should be oriented toward the business personnel who would use the solution or services and should include technical information and language only to the extent required to describe the solution. Please note that the executive summary should identify the primary engagement contact for the responder. Contact information should include a valid e-mail address, fax number, and a toll-free telephone number. 3.3 Company Background Each response must provide the following information about the responder’s company. The County, at its option, may require a responder to provide additional support or clarify requested information. Background information shall include: 1. Brief description of your organizational structure, business background and history. 2. How long has the company been in business? 3. What is your average client retention rate and tenure? 4. What awards and industry accreditations/recognition have you received in recent years? 5. Company locations. 6. How long the company has been selling the solution or service to clients comparable to the County. 7. Listing of at least three (3) clients with successfully completed contracts of similar scope and size to the County’s by name and state. 3.4 Scope of Services Offered This section of the response should include a detailed discussion of the responder’s overall understanding of the project and the solutions and services that can be provided to support Wake County. REQUEST FOR QUOTE #22-075 9 3.5 Project Cost and Schedule This section of the response should include detail of the cost of the system as well as a timeframe for implementation of the system. Using the chart below include information on the cost of implementation, what is included, hours, implementation options available etc. as well as any software subscription or annual cost per licensed user. Project and Cost Schedule Deliverable Timeframe/Duration Initial One-Time Cost Payment Date Recuring Costs Maintenance/License Fees Product/Service Unit Cost # of Users Total Cost