Amendment - 36C25625Q1388 Switchboard Operator Services.pdf

Amendment to Previous Combined Solicitation

*= Required Field

SUBJECT* Switchboard Operator Services (VA-25-00046964)

GENERAL INFORMATION

CONTRACTING OFFICE’S ZIP CODE* 77056-5643

SOLICITATION NUMBER* 36C25625Q1388

BASE NOTICE TYPE

RESPONSE DATE/TIME/ZONE 09-04-2025 13:00 CENTRAL TIME, CHICAGO,

USA

ARCHIVE 10 DAYS AFTER THE RESPONSE DATE

RECOVERY ACT FUNDS N

SET-ASIDE SDVOSBC

PRODUCT SERVICE CODE* DD01

NAICS CODE* 561421

CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS Department of Veterans Affairs

Network Contracting Office 16

5075 Westheimer Road, Suite 750

Houston TX 77056-5643

POINT OF CONTACT* Oney Kelly

Oney.kelly@va.gov

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

ADDRESS 2002 Holcombe BLVD

Houston TX 77030

DESCRIPTION

1. PWS/RFQ does not provide any historical call volumes per day/month/year. Can the government add a historical call volume so that offerors can calculate accurate FFP prices. Please update PWS to include annual call volumes and include volumes by day of the week and hour across a year period so that offerors may determine appropriate staffing levels? Approximate calls per month 215,014/per year 2,637,259

2. PWS 1.1 states that contractors must answer calls within 3 rings and complete calls.

Page 34, PRS table it states that the telephone operators shall answer the incoming calls within four (4) rings? Which is correct? Please update PWS to correct this discrepancy in performance metric. The PWS will be changed to say that the calls should be answered within 30 seconds. The requirement to answer the phone with 3-4 rings has been eliminated.

3. Are there any performance metrics required for the switchboard, other than answering calls within 3 rings, e.g.:

a. Speed of Answer <30 seconds

b. Call abandonment rate <7%

4. RFP pg. 85, Evaluation Criteria, item (b) Personnel Experience, Telephone Operators, states as the last sentence, “Contractor shall submit resumes of personnel to demonstrate personnel experience.”

a. Is the offeror required to submit a resume for the Working Supervisor as part of its proposal? Yes, the offeror is only required to submit resume for the Working

Supervisor.

b. Is the offeror required to submit a resume for all proposed Telephone

Operators? No. Requiring submission of the entire proposed workforce of telephone operators is only realistic for incumbent contractor and not usually required for SCLS type employees. We recommend the government update the instructions/evaluation criteria to allow offerors to submit a limited number of telephone operator resumes, e.g., 2-3 telephone operator resumes to demonstrate ability to provide staff.

5. PWS Section 1, Page 13, bullet 4: Requirement states, “VA reserves the right to increase or decrease workload quantities as the need arises at the same prices, terms and conditions based on changes in the mission of VA, or any other changes warranting changes.” Please answer the following: This statement will be removed from the PWS, therefore follow on questions are n/a.

a. Can VA clarify exactly what metrics define workload quantities (e.g., number of operators, call volume, shift coverage)?

b. Can the VA provide historical examples of past increases or decreases in workload at this facility?

c. Currently, as this is stated, the contractor would be responsible for any amount of surge support with increases at any amount, even 50% or more workload increase. As this is a FFP service, a contractor cannot adequately price for an infinite amount of surge support.

i. Would VA consider updating this bullet to state a maximum of 20% increase in workload quantities at the same prices so that offerors can price accordingly?

ii. Would VA consider an optional line item or separate CLIN for surge coverage over the 20% surge in PWS 11.2 if significant increases occur?

6. Can the government confirm that the expected duration (in hours) of initial government provided orientation and training required before an operator may work independently is up to 40 hours (per PWS 2.1)? Please update this PWS section with estimated training hours. The Working Supervisor will determine when the Operator is able to work independently.

7. RFP pg. 10. Item 3.c. What level of background investigation is required for switchboard operator personnel (e.g., NACI, Public Trust)? Please update PWS with required level.

Tier 1