121962 O3 LighthouseWorks Attachment 1.xlsx

Instructions

Minimal Requirements

Required Responses

LHW network maintains a secure architecture and ensures a strong security posture in all events. The following features are used:

Lighthouse operates all existing contracts within the applicable federal and state laws and will do so during the execution of this contract, if awarded.

Our systems and operations are PCI Compliant with comprehensive initial and annual training programs in place. Annual PCI training is conducted in the Q4 using our internal LMS. Data protection training is conducted at the same time.

LW stands as regulatory compliant within the outsourcing industry. The commitment to maintaining the highest standards is evident through our certifications in PCI and SOC2, showing our dedication to data security and privacy practices. These certifications assure our clients that we prioritize the protection of sensitive information and adhere to strict industry standards.

Our commitment to regulatory compliance is an integral part of our mission to deliver excellence in service while safeguarding the confidentiality and integrity of the data entrusted to us.

Lighthouse also maintes a System Security Plan, along with many policy and procedures, including an Incident Reponse Plan. Though the RFP did not specifically ask for them, Lighthouse will gladly share them with NDOL upon request.

See also V.C.3.E.v The IVR shall provide monitoring and reporting capabilities to track the status and workload of agents, enabling management and NDOL to oversee queue performance and analyze key customer service metrics. Describe in detail your Interactive voice response system. Include the total capabilities and any self-service options. The Genesys Call Center management system has IVR capabilities that we take advantage of. Scripts are used to program responses to caller inquiries and system has AI capabilities to interpret caller. It has the following features:

Routing calls to the appropriate agent or department.

Providing self-service options for common inquiries.

Gathering information from callers.

Personalizing the customer experience based on customer data.

We utilize a language translation line to support over 200 other languages, and can use that line to bolster our internal Spanish and Creole resources if necessary. Our reporting can be accessed through a web portal made available to NDOL staff, sFTP, and email, including for IVR capabilities. We are able to schedule reports to be delivered to NDOL staff at any frequency they dictate through our Genesys solution. Lighthouse Works’ telephony system has a robust, flexible reporting system that enables Lighthouse Works to meet the unique reporting needs of each of our customers. During the onboarding process, we work with each of our customers to build out their specific reporting needs. Throughout the campaign, NDOL will have access to both pull their own reports, as well as view a live dashboard of real-time statistics on Lighthouse Works Contact Center, including stats like calls in queue, Average Handle Time, Average Talk Time, Agents Available, Service Level, Abandoned Rate, etc.

Our reporting is incredibly flexible, and can provide real time dashboard view data, and a variety of intervals including 30 and 60 minute, daily, weekly, and monthly. All reports can be fully customized. Our analytics tools allow us to start from standard reports and customize them, or start with a blank canvas and build a report from scratch. We maintain in-house resources to customize these reports, but we are also supported by our telephony vendor who maintains expert level resources to aid us. Due to our quality assurance and validation processes, we have a three-business day lead time for publishing new reports. Minor changes to existing reports, interval changes to existing reports, or time range changes to existing reports can all usually be accommodated in less than the three-business day timeframe.

In addition, for any offline reports required, Lighthouse Works validates all reports before presenting them to customers, by using real data, exporting the raw call data to Excel, and then manually calculating the same statistics being presented on the report. We ensure that the manually calculated numbers match the numbers presented to our customers on their dashboards and reports. LHW supports submitting reports in PDF and tab delimited text if required.

A monthly report will be prepared to provide NDOL with the requested information, specifically; Status of Task Orders, Monthly Accomplishments, Upcoming Planned Activities, Risks, Issues, Positive and Negative events, problems and resolutions, and a summary of scheduled performance status regarding deliverables.

Lighthouse Works utilizes dedicated trainers to act as the point of accountability for training and quality assurance across our campaigns. Currently we have 7 trainers that work closely on each campaign to implement training classes and stringent quality assurance measurables.

Our strategy for any new releases is similar in fashion to new hire training. We will ensure our team leads/trainers are well acquainted with all new skills. Once team leads/trainers are well-equipped, the information will be passed to the agents utilizing our Digital Learning Management System. Lighthouse Works also conducts refresher training utilizing a Digital Learning Management System to host “Agent Knowledge Quizzes”. These quizzes contain questions specific to a campaign’s training content and customer service. Lighthouse Works actively monitors agent performance and implements training as needed and is additionally activated when skill development opportunities are identified internally or by our customers. We are prepared to conduct as much refresher training as needed and in as real time as possible when a need is identified. LHW will incorporate all of NDOL’s tools and areas of service into out training program, only certifying an agent ready for the call center once they have mastered all training objectives, both LHW’s and NDOL’s. Any additional training requirements resulting from a task order will be integrated into our overall training plan.

Prior to launching a new campaign, all agents receive Customer Service Basics and Customer Service Excellence training. The latter is an advanced course that includes product, customer service, quality assurance and telephony systems training. Once agents successfully complete this portion of the training, they begin campaign specific training. In general, campaign specific training programs vary in length and content based on each customer’s requirements. As the trainer nears the end of classroom campaign specific training, agents begin to shadow our most experienced agents on the floor. This can be done in person or virtually through a collaboration platform like Skype for Business. Having new agents shadow experienced agents gives them the opportunity to obtain live, real-world experience, and observe how some of the most skilled agents handle customer interactions. They’re also given the opportunity after each call to ask the agents any questions they have about the interaction. Once shadowing is complete, agents move into mock calls and nesting. Agents will remain in nesting until both the trainer and the agent are confident in the agent’s ability to meet or exceed all the campaign’s requirements.

Lighthouse Works maintains all training resources (staff, systems, and processes) internally. Staffing subcontractors participate in training sessions led by a Lighthouse trainer and are held to the same standards regardless of where they were recruited from or where their paycheck is coming from.

As a part of the onboarding process, the definition of a successful trainee is formulated. This typically includes a final assessment that trainees have to pass before graduating into production. Final assessments typically consist of both a written exam and a practical test live with a training or operational resource. Once the end goal is clear, additional steps are added into the training process (interim quizzes, hands-on practice, etc.) to ensure that trainees are successful and all are aligned. Continual improvement occurs after collecting feedback from each class and analyzing data to help refine future training programs and enhance efficacy.

All of our training classes are 25 people or less. The average class size is less than 15 agents, typically closer to 10. We prefer to keep our training classes small in order to ensure we’re producing high quality agents, ready to graduate onto the phones.

A campaign specific training program based on NDOL’s key knowledge areas and Department/Divisions services will be created based on current NDOL training and include all the features, benefits and common customer inquiries that NDOL has built into their system. This campaign specific training will be integrated into our standard training plan along with any additional training requirements dictated in the Task Order. All agents will successfully master this portion of training prior to onboarding into the NDOL’s CC.

Customer Service Skills

Prior to launching a new campaign, all agents receive Customer Service Basics and Customer Service Excellence training. The latter is an advanced course that includes product, customer service, quality assurance and telephony systems training. Once agents successfully complete this portion of the training, they begin campaign specific training.

Technology Proficiency

Agents are trained on our technology platform in the Customer Service Excellence portion of their training. LHW will integrate all of NDOL’s technology training requirements, such as specific tools and software interfaces, into the campaign specific training package and work with NDOL to ensure there are no gaps in the agents training. No agent will be assigned to the NDOL CC until these skills have been mastered.

Data Security and Privacy Regulations Our systems and operations are PCI Compliant with comprehensive initial and annual training programs in place. Annual PCI training is conducted in the Q4 using our internal LMS. Data protection training is conducted at the same time.

LW stands as regulatory compliant within the outsourcing industry. The commitment to maintaining the highest standards is evident through our certifications in PCI and SOC2, showing our dedication to data security and privacy practices. These certifications assure our clients that we prioritize the protection of sensitive information and adhere to strict industry standards.

Our commitment to regulatory compliance is an integral part of our mission to deliver excellence in service while safeguarding the confidentiality and integrity of the data entrusted to us.

Training Updates and Changes LHW expects that throughout the life of any contract, improvements to the processes and software will occur. This will initiate a training cycle for our agents to gain proficiency in these changes. Training will be created Depending on the scope of the changes. A small scale change may be pushed out to all employees through email for agents to review and confirm reception of the training material, offering them a chance to ask questions and gain complete understanding of the changes. A moderate or large scale change could trigger a new training cycle for the agents to attend and be certified on. LHW will work with the NDOL to ensure all agents are trained, but also integrate the training with the deployment of the new/modified software so that there is no degradation to the services provided during the transition. If required, our training staff will attend any training sessions offered by CoR on new material.

Our reporting is incredibly flexible, and can provide real time dashboard view data, and a variety of intervals including 30 and 60 minute, daily, weekly, and monthly. All reports can be fully customized. Our analytics tools allow us to start from standard reports and customize them, or start with a blank canvas and build a report from scratch. We maintain in-house resources to customize these reports, but we are also supported by our telephony vendor who maintains expert level resources to aid us. Due to our quality assurance and validation processes, we have a three-business day lead time for publishing new reports. Minor changes to existing reports, interval changes to existing reports, or time range changes to existing reports can all usually be accommodated in less than the three-business day timeframe.

In addition, for any offline reports required, Lighthouse Works validates all reports before presenting them to customers, by using real data, exporting the raw call data to Excel, and then manually calculating the same statistics being presented on the report. We ensure that the manually calculated numbers match the numbers presented to our customers on their dashboards and reports. LHW supports submitting reports in PDF and tab delimited text if required.

A monthly report will be prepared to provide NDOL with the requested information, specifically; Status of Task Orders, Monthly Accomplishments, Upcoming Planned Activities, Risks, Issues, Positive and Negative events, problems and resolutions, and a summary of scheduled performance status regarding deliverables.

Lighthouse will monitor queue times for conformance with NDOLs wait time KPI of 3 minutes. In the Genesys system, we can set trigger points on KPIs that if a metric exceeds certain values, we are immediately notified so we can respond to see what may be occurring. While we maintain a dedicated workforce to the NDOL call center, we will also cross train a few of our best individuals to help meet the occasional surge demand. Should the issue continue, Lighthouse will increase our workforce to ensure demand is met.

Note that our overall quality assurance plane is detailed in our narative response and goes beyond the requested data, integrating our workforce with our QM to ensure the highest quality experience for our customers.

The Genesys call system we use possesses a light CRM system they refer to as the customer Journey and embedded into the call answering services that may be able to meet all of NDOL's requirements. We also are integrating Salesforce into our solution for it's greater focus on CRM and additional capabilities. Final determination will be made once a contract is awarded award during Phase 1 as we finalize all requirements and capabilities desired by NDOL.

Data can be exported out of the Genesys and Salesforce systems in the requested formats, but without specifics on the referenced third party systems, Lighthouse cannot guarantee a successful integration. More data would be required to guarantee success, but we are confident that we will overcome any issues that might arise.

The ability to create custom workflows is an inherent features in the Genesys contact center software. We will work with NDOL during Phase I and II of the startup plan to ensure that NDOL management has all the required tools needed to manage callbacks and address escalations.

All the listed capabilities in item 3.B.viii are present in the Genesys and Salesforce systems. As noted above in our Workforce Management Plan, Lighthouse continuously monitors the performance of our employees from both a team and individual perspective.

Monitoring and Measuring Resources Lighthouse goes beyond just using our Genesys call center solution to monitor eployees, though it is used to manage all the features listed in this response. In addition to formalized training during onboarding, weekly coaching events with each agent are conducted, as necessary. The session will be pre-scheduled each week to foster consistent feedback, scheduling, and attendance. During these coaching sessions, we review successes and areas of opportunities for each key performance indicator. The Leadership Team reviews actual calls with the agent, having them listen and watch and in many cases score it themselves as a “self” calibration. In order to ensure consistent, positive coaching, the Training/QA Supervisor will be shadowed and coached as well. The Call Center Manager will observe and evaluate at least two coaching sessions each month and provide feedback. As the coaching sessions are scheduled to work around the needs of the business, NDOL will be aware of coaching sessions and would be welcome to participate. This ensures that the CRM is being used to its fullest extent, and exposes any deficiencies that may lead to improvements in the implementation.

To ensure the highest quality customer service, Lighthouse Works offer customers access to live monitor and/or pull recordings from a dedicated web-based customer portal. Each of our customers has the ability to both listen to live calls in progress, as well as to barge into those calls if they feel necessary. Our customers can also communicate with the agents directly, if they wish to provide real time coaching and support, rather than fully barging in on the call.

Clients have on demand access to call recordings from the past 90 days in the web portal. After 90 days, call recordings are moved to an archive location and can be accessed upon request with one business days’ notice. Lighthouse will honor any reasonable request for a different time period to save the recordings. Clients may also request screen captures for any of our interactions, with three business days’ notice.

We utilize several different technology solutions to monitor for unacceptable behavior on calls, depending on the specific behavior. For instance:

1. Escalated Tone and Negative Sentiments: Monitored in real time through live, AI powered, sentiment analysis. Leadership alerting occurs automatically so appropriate corrective action can be implemented in real-time, before the interaction ends.

2. Poor Quality Handling: Every call recording is analyzed by AI to help grade it against our Quality Assurance scorecard, ahead of a manual review process for flagged areas. Quality feedback is delivered to agents on a regular cadence to aid in continual improvement.

3. Foul Language: AI listens in to every call in real-time for specific words that should never appear during an interaction. Leadership notification occurs in real-time to course correct the interaction before it ends.

4. Call Avoidance: Our Workforce Management team conducts real-time monitoring around the clock to identify agents in incorrect statuses, not in their assigned station, and conducting non-desirable behaviors (short calls, no audio on calls, repetitive calls, etc.). Additional analysis occurs post-call to identify performance patterns outside of the norm. In all cases, coaching occurs near real-time to the behavior being identified.

A callback view will be created that allows NDOL to review and act on all callbacks scheduled. They will be able to send reminders to select specialists that they have a callback scheduled for that day. The view will have all the information relevant to the case so NDOL can verify that the specialist is the correct one to answer the callback, and if not, flag it for error for later review, and assign the correct specialist.

Recruitment and Screening Process Forecasting:

LHW will establish a drumbeat meeting with the Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) to manage the overall contract and ensure emerging staffing requirements are anticipated and responded to efficiently and responsively.

During the drumbeat meetings, we will present 30/60/90 day staffing forecasts prepared for anticipated staffing needs well in advance of the need, helping to ensure our success in meeting customer expectations. Following this timeline, assuming day zero is the agents graduation into production, and day -30 is their hire date, we would likely start sourcing agents approximately 30 days in advance of that, at day -60. Having these plans already in motion allows us to make last minute changes +/- to accommodate changing demands.

Attrition is factored into our 30/60/90 day planning. We will utilize historical attrition rates per client, plus growth needs, then a multiple to “overstaff” which enables us to bring agents on at less than 40 hour schedules and flex up to a 40 hour schedule later. This strategy enables us to ensure consistent staffing levels for our clients in between scheduled training classes and it also allows us to respond to unplanned surges in demand before having to dip into overtime.

Staffing Plan Lighthouse Works is confident it has the right team, capabilities, and capacity to execute this contract in an efficient and cost-effective manner. In anticipation to a Task Order being initiated by NDOL, we will begin executing our staffing plan, starting with an assessment of our workforce to determine any excess capacity we may immediately assign to the TO. If a shortfall in staffing is determined, we will begin the recruiting process. We maintain a dedicated Human Resources and Recruiting team. Lighthouse Works will utilize the following recruitment sources in an effort to support contract requirements:

Candidates will undergo a thorough vetting process to include:

After onboarding, new team members undergo a structured training and onboarding process as well as begin working through certifications, if needed.

Currently, 21% of our agent population is bilingual (English/Spanish & English/Creole). Specific language requirements vary by customer, with some projects having no bilingual requirements and others requiring up to 100% bilingual population. Lighthouse works with each client to tailor the agent profiles to their call volume and has never not been able to meet a customer’s bilingual requirements. We also utilize a language translation line to support over 200 other languages, and can use that line to bolster our internal Spanish and Creole resources if necessary.

Collaboration Lighthouse Works also collaborates with National Industries for the Blind, Source America, and partner agencies from across the Ability One Program to ensure our clients receive a seamless solution of service delivery. Leveraging this network of expertise allows Lighthouse Works access to a labor pool of over 50,000 professionals nationwide, ensuring our clients are able to leverage national expertise and capability in the performance of service under this contract.

LHW also monitors closely loading across all agents and if a program is overstaffed or underutilized, resources will be moved to other programs appropriately.

Onboarding and Integration Lighthouse Works understands the importance of a managing a strong, robust workforce. Our quality assurance program ensures the customer experiences excellent customer service and benefits from first call resolution, while agents adhere to appropriate processes and protocols. Standards are set through policy and procedure and measured through analysis.

We maintain our own, comprehensive Quality Assurance (QA) program that can be used to complement or replace a QA program provided by our customers. In order to ensure consistency, we encourage all our customers to hold our team to the same quality standards as they would for internal team members. We utilize a training/quality supervisor, who will ensure the quality assurance plan is implemented in order to achieve high quality standards. Quality monitoring occurs in a multitude of ways: some of which are visible to the agents and many of which are not. Our Data Analytics team regularly analyzes data, Quality Assurance Specialists evaluate a minimum of one interaction per agent per week, team leads and supervisors listen-in to live calls, IT monitors for irregular patterns of behavior, truly each department at Lighthouse is invested in delivering a quality experience to our customers. With regard to subcontractors, all are held to the same standards as those of our internal agents.

Planning Lighthouse Works utilizes a number of methods to ensure our quality is maintained both on-site and virtually. Both situations are described, however, we understand that NDOL requires onsite only agents. Most Contact Centers struggle to maintain quality with virtual agents, and find it easier to manage the on-site agents. Things like walking through the center to visit with each agent have to translate to a virtual method. The Team Lead(s) assigned to each campaign are primarily responsible with ensuring the quality of our virtual workforce. They do this via frequent communication with each agent, including mystery shopping ourselves, where a member of the team will call the queue, and grade the interaction with the agent live on the phone. Our agents never know when the next call they receive could be from a member of the Lighthouse Works leadership team. We also regularly live monitor calls, and will provide real time coaching to agents if necessary.

To meet Client expectations for quality service delivery, the Supplier will collaborate with the Client to develop a comprehensive Quality Management approach for the Client's Program including a Quality Assurance Scorecard. Completion of the QA scorecard will be within the first 30 days of the contract. During this time, the Supplier will create a process, plan and consequences for non-performing agents, including possible termination of the Supplier agent from the Client campaign. The plan will also establish pass/fail threshold percentages and used to grade agent interactions, ensuring both customer service and process/procedural steps are correctly followed during the interaction. These interactions will include but are not limited to, call monitoring.

Point values will be assigned to each question on the scorecard, with more important questions carrying a higher weight. The total value of the scorecard will add up to 100%. A pass/fail threshold percentage will be established with the Client and added to the KPI dashboard. A performance improvement plan will be established for agents who have a scorecard with a fail percentage on a monthly average. A Supplier Quality Assurance specialist will grade four (4) interactions per agent per month using the scorecard developed above. These interactions will then be given to the Supplier production leadership team to provide feedback to each agent.

Quality Assurance reports will be provided to the Client on a monthly basis and reviewed as needed during the drumbeat meetings.