Discovery and design phase for inbound enquiry handling & channel strategy

Tender description

Summary of the work A discovery and design phase is required to re-shape DIT's operating model for handling inbound enquiries to the Department. Expected Contract Length 8-10 weeks with optional short-term extensions available Latest start date Monday 17 February 2020 Budget Range £80k-£100k Why the Work is Being Done The Department has identified a number of problems stemming from the proliferation of contact points across DIT. In order to begin to address these problems (with a view to improving the customer service experience, drive efficiency, and reduce costs), a team is needed to conduct a discovery and design phase with a view to shaping the Department's new operating model for handling inbound enquiries. Problem to Be Solved The proliferation of contact points across DIT presents the Department with a variety of challenges, specifically: • An inconsistent service provision leading to inconsistent experiences for businesses • Duplication of ‘contact centre’ activity and systems across the network • Lack of consistent processes and MI To this end, DIT needs a team to: • map DIT’s existing inbound enquiries ecosystem in detail • develop core principles to inform a Departmental channel strategy • design a viable (and proportionate) service and operating model to manage inbound enquiries, identifying benefits and cost • identify and cost options from a digital, data and technology enabler perspective Who Are the Users Inbound enquiries are predominantly generated by businesses in the UK and overseas, trade associations and other partners. Internally, enquiries are handled by a combination of civil servants, partners and managed service teams. Work Already Done A small amount of work internally to map the current enquiry units has been done. Existing Team The supplier will be working with a number of teams across DIT - a working group with representatives from these teams will steer the project. Current Phase Not started Skills & Experience • Experience of delivering transformative channel strategies in complex, multifaceted organisations. • Extensive experience of conducting user research / business analysis / service design activity with businesses and civil servants to improve system or process effectiveness. • Specific experience in delivering services that comply with legal accessibility standards. • Experience delivering discoveries in line with the Government Service Standard - including the identification of user personas, delivery of user journey mapping and delivery of prioritised user stories. Nice to Haves • Experience of delivering channel strategies in globally dispersed/multi-national organisations • Experience of developing and supporting government systems with businesses as the primary customer. Work Location Windsor House, 50 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0TL Working Arrangments The supplier will need to work between Windsor House and 3 Whitehall Place. Security Clearance BPSS is required before the work can commence. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Describe your approach to conducting this discovery & design phase, detailing key milestones, what your discovery report will look like, and how the outcomes can be used in future stages. • Describe the multidisciplinary agile team that will be conducting this work. • Describe any risks/dependencies your foresee in the delivery of this project, as well as recommended mitigation actions. Cultural Fit Criteria • Demonstrate your ability to deliver in an open, collaborate, agile way according to the principles outlined in the Government Service Design Manual • Demonstrate your ability to work and communicate with non-digital team members • Demonstrate your ability to be able to work collaboratively across several government departments Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Will this include talks around refreshing the technical side of the contact centre for inbound inquiry handling and channel strategy? It's possible that we will be looking to include a refresh of the technologies but this is yet to be decided. 2. Is there an incumbent in place? Many of the enquiry handling services are outsourced to some degree, but there is not an incumbent carrying out this specific discovery and design. 3. What is the scale of the operation (Users, sites, countries)? There are at least 14 entry points in the UK, across at least 13 sites. 4. What existing channels are used? Existing channels consist of phone, email, web and social media. 5. What is the compelling event for transformation? The rapid increase in the number of enquiry points across DIT has brought about a need for this Discovery. 6. What existing technology is used? Several COTS systems are used within DIT to manage different types of enquiries. The full list of technologies is not able to be shared at this time. 7. Do you have an idea of the size of team you would be looking to complete the work? If so, what roles are you looking for? This is something we'd be looking for from supplier proposals at the second stage of evaluation. We do not have a preference of the size of team or roles required as this contract will be charged on a fixed cost model. 8. Are you already working with any suppliers on this or related projects who can deliver this discovery and if so, have they been asked to bid? There are no incumbent suppliers for this work. We have not requested that any suppliers who have previously delivered Discoveries for DIT bid for this work as we fully expect there to be a number of suppliers on DOS who have the skills and experience required to deliver this Discovery. 9. Would suppliers be scored lower if they were not able to deliver technical solutions after the Discovery phase? This is not something we require at this stage. This contract will solely be for the discovery and design. The delivery of a technical solution (if it is required) will be competed separately, therefore suppliers will not be scored lower if they cannot deliver a technical solution. Suppliers will be evaluated only against the criteria listed in the DOS advert. 10. Will a geographically distributed team & remote working be acceptable for specific sub-components of the work – for example, consolidation and user journey mapping? Remote working can be discussed upon the contract being signed, however suppliers should at this stage assume that all personnel working on this requirement will be based in London for the duration. 11. Will a team composed of some employees resident in UK and some employees resident in the EU be acceptable for this project? Remote working can be discussed upon the contract being signed, however suppliers should at this stage assume that all personnel working on this requirement will be based in London for the duration. 12. What is the current number of staff dealing with enquiries (across all channels)? Approximately 150. 13. What multi-lingual capability is required. Is it in-house or outsourced? Our telephone centre only handles calls in English whilst also providing Welsh if requested. If we receive emails in another language we do our best to get it translated in-house. 14. What customer insight is currently gathered? This question is not clear, therefore we are unable to provide a response. 15. What technology is already in place to support on management or business information? Each team has there own management information system, and it is collected in several different formats. 16. Is there a specific/ tailored list of legal accessibility standards that the service must adhere to? We would expect the software /service offering to meet standard accessibility standards as set out by GDS. Suppliers should see the GDS standards assurance for more info. 17. Does DIT currently use any metrics’ such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), Customer Effort Score (CES) or any other KPIs to measure customer satisfaction and engagement? (from queries etc). Unfortunately we are unable to share information regarding this query at this time.