Request for Tenders for the Provision of Help Desk and Customer Support Services

Tender description

Background Consumer calls to the HIA are increasing year on year with 6,000 queries received in 2013, a 25% increase on the 2012 queries. The calls peak in December through to February of each year as 25% of consumers have a renewal date on their health insurance in January. Over 2,000 consumer calls were received in January 2014 and this is expected to continue to increase in line with recent experience. It is also expected that the introduction of lifetime community rating in May 2015 will significantly increase the number of consumer queries received. Additional Resource In order to ensure that the reception and consumer support desk are adequately resourced for the period December 2014 to May 2015 a consumer support services contract will be put in place. The successful tenderer will provide support to the consumer support function of the Authority and as required a reception/call answering service. Nature of Services Required The successful tenderer will be required to provide the following: Time Scale • The tender will be awarded in October 2014. • The successful tenderer will, in conjunction with Authority staff, select and appropriately train staff. It is expected that training will take place over five full days in November. It is intended that this level of training will bring staff to an appropriate level of knowledge. The tenderer must detail in their proposal the technical and experience mix of the staff providing the service. • The service will be required for the period 1 December 2014 to 31 May 2015. This may be extended subject to requirements. • The Authority’s opening hours are 09:00 to 17:00, five days a week with the exception of the bank holidays. • The contract is initially for a six month period however, at the discretion of the Authority, it may be extended for further periods up to a up to a maximum of three years. Tenders must specify how they will resource a