ADDENDUM_ RFP 24-09_MASS COMMUNICATIONS.V2.11_01_2024FINAL.pdf

RFP Number: 24-09 Mass Communication

Addendum Number: 1 – Questions and Answers from Prospective Proposers

Date: December 20, 2024

NOTICE TO PROPOSERS: THIS ADDENDUM SHALL BECOME PART OF THE RFP, AND PROPOSERS SHALL

ACKNOWLEDGE, IN WRITING, RECEIPT AND INCORPORATION OF ALL ADDENDA AND CLARIFICATIONS IN

THEIR RESPONSE. FAILURE OF THE PROPOSER TO RECEIVE ADDENDA SHALL NOT RELIEVE THE

PROPOSER FROM ANY OBLIGATION UNDER ITS PROPOSAL AS SUBMITTED. THE PROPOSER SHALL

IDENTIFY AND LIST IN ITS PROPOSAL ALL ADDENDA RECEIVED AND INCLUDED IN ITS PROPOSAL;

FAILURE TO DO SO MAY BE ASSERTED BY THE DISTRICT AS A BASIS FOR DETERMINING THE PROPOSAL

NON-RESPONSIVE.

Answers to Questions

Number Questions Response

1 What are the primary goals for implementing this tool?

Please review RFP 24-09, Mass Communication, Section

1.1 Purpose of RFP.

As stated, the selected vendor shall provide a mass messaging service to include the capability for LACCD employees to communicate with stakeholders via voice, text/SMS and email via goal-driven outbound campaigns.

The Platform will provide real time reporting, multiple communication options and grouping.

2 What specific challenges or gaps in your current systems are you aiming to address with this solution?

There is no gap that we are trying to resolve but rather, we are looking to serve our students’ needs while freeing up staff to focus on the most critical needs of the District.

3 What are the key outcomes or success metrics for this implementation? Vendor platform has the capability to communicate with stakeholders via multiple channels, especially email and text/SMS.

4 Does this solution need to integrate with existing CRM systems, student information systems (SIS), or other software platforms? Are you looking for a CRM or

Engagement tool?

Yes, we need to determine what type of integration is required. Integration with our SIS system is optimal.

LACCD uses PeopleSoft Campus Solutions.

5 Can you elaborate on the importance of omni-channel communication? Are you primarily looking for text/SMS, email, and voice communication capabilities, or something broader?

At the minimum, LACCD needs text/SMS, email and voice communication. Omni-channel communication, such as social media is desirable but not mandatory.

6 Who are the primary users of this tool— students, staff, faculty, or all stakeholders?

The primary users of this tool is all stakeholders.

7 Do you need multi-language communication tools?

Yes, multi-language communication is desirable.

8 What systems or tools are currently in place, and why are they being replaced or supplemented?

Our mass communication contract ended in June 2024 and the LACCD is seeking a new vendor.

9 Are you prioritizing ease of use, scalability, reporting capabilities, or other features in your evaluation?

Yes, we are prioritizing ease of use, scalability, reporting capabilities, or other features in our evaluation.

10 What timeline for implementation do you envision, and what kind of vendor support will be necessary during this period?

The timeline for implementation is sometime during

Spring 2025 term.

The vendor needs to be available throughout the implementation process.

11 To what extent does the solution need to be customized to meet LACCD's requirements?

At the minimum, we will need college or district branding, but we would need more specific information to provide a more detailed answer.

12 How does this tool fit within your broader strategic initiatives, such as equity goals, enrollment growth, or student success?

This solution will primarily be used for enrollment growth and announcing activities and events on campus.

13 What is the current communication tool / platform and supporting components that are being used to drive the enrollment of prospective students and retention of existing students?

Currently, the District uses text/SMS and email.

14 Please provide the number of contact center agents, supervisors and employees who are currently using the existing communication system at the District?

(preferably please can these be listed per college as there are 9 colleges listed in the

District’s RFP)

The platform will be limited to the Public Relations office and staff. . . approximately, 10 users per campus and District office, for a total of 100.

15 Does the District prefer named or concurrent licensing?

This is to be determined, but concurrent is preferred.

16 Are the agents working remotely or on-premises?

The agents will work both remotely and on the district premises.

17 Please provide the number of agent’s remote vs on-premises.

The number of agents remote will vary by campus and will also be impacted by the number of remote users.

18 What is the average agent / agent supervisor ratio?

The number of agent/agent supervisors varies by campus, department and group.

19 Can you provide a list of departments using the current communication platform?

This varies by campus; however, the new solution will be primarily used by the Public Relations Office.

20 How many DNISs does the District use today?

Currently, the District uses approximately 10 DNIS, one per college and the district office, for an approximate total of 100.

21 How many contact center groups do you currently have?

The number of contact Center groups varies by college.

22 What is the District’s current ACD platform? The district does not currently have a dedicated ACD –

Automatic Call Distribution platform.

23 What is the currently used voice messaging/voicemail platform?

The District currently does not have a voicemail platform.

24 What is the current outbound dialing/messaging platform?

The dialing message(s) are performed with the college or District business phones. No special platform is used for this purpose.

25 What types of outbound dialing is the

District currently doing today (Agentless, Predictive, Preview, Progressive, Power, etc.)?

This varies by college, but in general the colleges use student workers and staff to call students. There is a bank of phones that they use. Some of our colleges use Freshworks for outgoing calls to prospective and continuing students.

26 How many outbound campaigns are currently running? Please provide channel wise count (email / SMS / Voice)

The number of outbound calls varies by college, currently the District only uses email and SMS/text.

27 Do all the agents require voice, text/SMS, and email?

At a minimum, email and text/SMS is required, while.

voice is desirable but not required.

28 What is the maximum interactions volume during peak levels?

The maximum interaction, if only communicating to all actively enrolled LACCD students is 150,000, but some communications can be larger, up to 350,000 users.

29 Please provide the number of contact flows that the District currently has and as well per college.

Not able to respond to your question as each of the nine campuses vary.

30 Please provide the total number of queues configured?

The total number of queues configured varies by college.

31 On average, how many queues per contact flow?

The average of queues per contact flow varies by college.

32 Please provide the total number of message flows currently being used (email vs text/SMS vs voice)

The total number of message flows currently being used is not available.

33 Does the District use any third-party messaging apps? If yes, please provide the number of messaging flows for third party messaging apps.

No third-party messaging app is currently being used.

Does the District currently or plan to subscribe to 3rd party, DNC (do not call) compliance vendor?

No, we do not plan to contract with a DNC, (do not call) compliance vendor.

35 Does the District have staff trained and certified on Telephone Consumer Protection

Act (TCPA) compliance regulations?

No, the District does not have staff trained and certified on Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) compliance regulations

36 Under System Requirements on Page 33, the District has mentioned Intuitive social media integration is required. What Social Media channels are currently being used for communicating?

The Social Media channels that are currently being used for communicating are Facebook and Instagram.

37 Please provide the number of messaging flows for social media messaging.

The number of messaging flows for social media messaging varies by college.

38 What languages does the District support in-house today?

The languages the District supports in-house today are Spanish, Armenian, Chinese, but additional languages may be needed by the colleges.

39 Does the District subscribe to a 3rd party language line for additional language support?

No, the District does not subscribe to a third-party language line for additional language support.

40 Under System Requirements on Page 33 of the RFP, it is mentioned to provide corresponding mobile app for managing campaigns on multiple devices. Could the

District provide access to review the current mobile application?

The District is not currently using a mobile app for managing campaigns.

41 Please describe how your current communication platform is integrated with the District mobile app or Can the District provide more detail on the required integration needed with Mobile application?

The District is not currently using a mobile app for managing campaigns.

42 Would the District make any required changes to the current mobile application to work with Genesys Open APIs (RESTful

APIs)?

The District is not currently using a mobile app for managing campaigns.

43 Is the District currently using a desktop softphone, physical handset, or both today?

The District is currently using both, a desktop softphone and a physical handset.

44 If applicable, can we get an inventory, by model and manufacture, of any physical handsets used today?

Yes, the District will provide an inventory, by model and manufacture, of any physical handsets used today.

45 If physical handsets are used today with the current communication platform, is it expected they will be compatible with the new omnichannel platform?

Currently no physical handset is being used with our communication platform.

46 Is Workforce Management needed for all agents? If not, what % of agents?

The District is not familiar with Workforce Management.

47 Are dedicated resources assigned to manage Quality Assurance and Quality

Monitoring? If so, how many?

No, the District does not currently have a dedicated resource assigned to manage Quality Assurance and/or

Quality Monitoring.

48 What do you consider to be work objects for workflow management?

The District currently does not manage their workflows.

49 Can the District provide a sample workflow management use case(s) as highlighted under Functional Requirements in Appendix

A: Scope of Work?

Examples of sample workflow management use case(s) as highlighted under Functional Requirements in Appendix A: Scope of Work can be provided as the

District selects providers to interview.

50 Is the District using any Gamification today?

No, the District is not using any Gamification today.

51 How many people are assigned as System Administrators today?

There are a few system administrators who work on specific tasks and areas of specialization.

52 Does the District have any unique or additional disability requirements beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act?

No, the District does not have any unique or additional disability requirements beyond the Americans with

Disabilities Act.

53 Is Salesforce the current and future Customer Relationship Management (CRM) that the District uses?

The District does not use Salesforce nor do we have a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in place.

54 Will the new omnichannel platform have to integrate into more than one CRM platform? If yes, can you provide a sample use case for the same.

The District does not use a Customer Relationship

Management (CRM) at this time.

55 Does the District use multiple collaborative conferencing platforms currently or in the future?

No, the District does not currently use multiple collaborative conferencing platforms

56 Does the District have any specific audio requirements?

All modes of communication need to have an accessibility component available.

57 Is the District using any call recording solution?

No, the District is not currently using any call recording solution

58 Would this be required for all agents or specific groups?

No, providers would not be required to provide call reporting for all agents or specific groups

59 What are the District retention requirements for audio recordings?

The district retention requirements are currently being reviewed and discussed by various groups.

60 Please provide what audio file formats your current ACD system uses for voice prompts.

This varies based on the type of telephony system at the colleges. Freshcaller is currently using MP3 and AAC file formats.

61 Are District’s ACD voice prompts recorded professionally or in-house?

The District’s ACD voice prompts are recorded in-house.

62 If required to be rerecorded, are voice prompt scripts documented?

A transcription of the recorded voice prompts scripts can be made available if needed.

63 How does the current communication platform authenticate agents/users?

The current communication platform used to authenticate agents/users varies. Azure is one of the platforms used.

64 What SSO/SAML solution does the District and colleges use today?

The SSO/SAML solution the District and colleges use today are Azure and ADFS.

65 Will the existing SSO/SAML solution provider be used in the new omnichannel platform?

The District has not had that level of detailed discussion but we generally approve SSO/SAML for District wide approved solutions.

66 Can the District provide a list and details on all custom in-house solutions the new omnichannel platform may need to integrate with?

This is to be determined, based on the requirements the District can provide the list when we get to the discovery phase.

67 Do you currently use RESTful endpoints for integration?

No, the District does not currently use RESTful endpoints for integration.

68 Will the District make any required changes/modifications to custom in-house solutions for integration into the new omnichannel platform?

If needed, the District will assist with any integration into the new platform.

69 Will the District’s staff, once trained, handle all basic tier 1 type support of the new omnichannel platform, or does the District expect the vendor of choice to handle all tiers of support?

The District staff will handle all tier 1 support once trained.

70 What level of support does the District require like 24x7 or 8x5?

While the District does not anticipate the need for support, this will be discussed in the discovery phase.

71 Is the District currently using or considering any external AI Platforms?

No, the District does not currently use an AI platform and we are not considering one for this RFP.

72 Is the District currently using an NLP

Chatbot platform of vendor today?

Currently we have an AI Chatbot through Ocelot on all

9 College websites.

73 Does the District require Speech and Text Analytics for the new omnichannel solution? Should we include pricing for speech and text analytics?

Yes, the District requires Speech and Text Analytics for the new omnichannel solution. This should be included in pricing for speech and text analytics.

74 What BI or Dynamic Dashboards does the

District/Colleges use today?

Currently BI or Dynamic Dashboards are not available for District/Colleges use today.

75 What real-time/customized reports are currently being generated? Can you provide some sample real-time and/or customized reports currently in use?

The District does not have any customized reports available.

76 Does the District require complete systemwide cradle to grave reporting to cover all employees or is it only for contact center?

Complete systemwide cradle to grave reporting to cover all employees is only required for the contact center.

77 How do you handle any emergency/outage notifications to students?

We currently use Blackboard for Emergency notifications.

78 How does the District handle emergency 911 (e911) notifications currently?

We currently use Blackboard for Emergency notifications.

79 Do you want to continue using the existing system for the e911? Or are you interested in utilizing the new omnichannel platforms native e911 capabilities?

The District is unsure of using the current system for e911 or utilizing the new omnichannel platforms native e911 capabilities.

80 What is the District’s WAN configuration today? (MPLS/Ethernet/SD-WAN)

The District’s WAN configuration is Dedicated Ethernet

Circuit – 10 Gig.

81 Do you anticipate using your existing carrier? If so, who is the carrier?

The District’s existing carrier is CENIC – ATT backbone.

82 Do you currently have SIP trunks and an

SBC(s)?

Yes, the District currently has SIP trunks and an

SBC(s).

83 If you have an SBC who is the vendor? The SBC vendors vary by campus location.

84 What is the source of the contacts to upload? File format?

The current source of the contacts to upload are Excel files.

85 For Drip Campaigns, what are the rules and timing for sending out communications?

Drip campaigns are handled by the college. The rules and timing for sending out communications varies by college.

86 If contacts choose to opt out of SMS then is an opt out report required?

The report for contacts who opt out of SMS is desirable but not required.

87 How many contacts does the LACCD envision storing in the CRM?

This varies by college, but can be several million a year across the District.

88 Is de-duplication of contacts required? Yes, de-duplication of contacts is required

89 Are messages to send for campaigns based on segmentation of contacts? Current students versus non-students as an example?

Yes, messages sent for campaigns are based on segmentation of contacts.

90 Will there be voice only campaigns? Email only campaigns? SMS only campaigns?

Email and SMS/text are required communication while voice messaging is optional.

91 Does the CRM need to encrypt the data at rest?

The District currently does not use a CRM platform.

92 For voice campaigns, does the interaction with the contact need to be documented?

Is a Knowledge base require?

Yes, if available

93 For email campaigns, if the contact replies to the email then what is the process for handling the reply?

Assigned staff will respond to the email if the contact replies.

94 For SMS campaigns, if contact replies to the text then what is the process for handling the reply?

Assigned staff will respond to the SMS message if the contact replies.

95 Please provide more details around the use of social media integrations.

Social media integrations are most for the advertising of college campus events.

96 Please provide further details and requirements for the grid and list view calendar interface.

A grid and list view calendar interface is currently unavailable.