Attachment 1 Draft Performance Work Statement.pdf

Department of Homeland Security

Federal Emergency Management Agency

DRAFT Performance Work Statement (PWS)

Outsourced Contact Center Contract

Temporary Surge Support

Table of Contents

Contents Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

2. PURPOSE

3. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Objective and Outcomes for Contact Center Agents B. Objectives and Outcomes for Management Support C. Work Schedule D. Average Handle E. Customer Service F. Quality Control G. Off-Site Accessibility to H. Real-time Call I. Government On-Site J. Report Requirements K. Non-Public Information L. Call Order Proposal Request(COPR) Activation 1 Competition of Call orders 2 Ordering Methods 4 Closeout of Call orders M. Reports Data Fields Requirements and N. Telecommunications and Information Technology

4. GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Program Representatives B. SDB (Service Delivery Branch) HelpDesk C. Computer Logins / User Accounts

5. TRAINING

6. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT (GFE)

7. RELEASE AND DEACTIVATION OF CONTRACTOR

8. PERFORMANCE METRICS

The Contractor shall perform all requirements outlined in this PWS and achieve the performance standards for each function of the operation as described in the matrix below. These requirements are critical to the mission success. As such, FEMA will assess disincentives for not meeting critical performance standards

Column 1 – Selected Service Performance Area (SSPA) Column 2 – Standard Column 3 – Performance Requirement Column 4 – Method of Surveillance Column 5 – Performance/Calculation

9. INVOICING

Contractor shall use an electronic method to capture the data for all activity, Call Agent Availability, and other data that will be used to reconcile invoicing along with time clock records. If the Contractor does not provide this electronic information/data then FEMA cannot reconcile invoices, therefore the invoices will be rejected

10. FUNDING

11. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

12. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

13. BPA CANCELLATION

14. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

15. QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN

16. ADMINISTRATION

Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) Contracting Officer (CO) Contracting Officer Authority

17. CALL ORDER COMPLETION

18. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS

Low Risk without Information System Access Low Risk with Information System Access Moderate Risk High Risk Background Investigation Process Continued Eligibility and Reinvestigation Exclusion by Contracting Officer

19. FACILITY ACCESS

20. EMPLOYEMENT ELGIBILITY VERFICATION

21. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

Security Management Information Technology Security Clearance Information Technology Security Training and Oversight Security Considerations (Data)

22. DHS SECURITY WAIVER

23. IT SECURITY & PRIVACY TRAINING

24. FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (FOUO) INFORMATION

25. ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS (SECTION 508)

Section 508 Applicable EIT Accessibility Standards Section 508 Applicable Exceptions Section 508 Compliance Requirements

SAFEGUARDING OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION (MAR 2015)

Attachment 2: HSAR Class Deviation 15-01: Information Technology Security and Privacy Training

(MAR 2015)

Attachment 3: DHS CLASS DEVIATION SPECIAL CYBER HYGIENE CLAUSE

CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEE ACCESS (SEP 2012)

Attachment 4: FEDERAL RECORDS ACT COMPLIANCE Attachment 5: ACRONMYMS AND DEFINITIONS

1. INTRODUCTION

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) mission is helping people before, during and after disasters. To successfully accomplish this mission, FEMA is responsible for the accurate and efficient routing and processing of fluctuating call volume. FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program Service Delivery Branch accepts calls and enters information into FEMA’s National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS) and other FEMA-approved databases as required.

When FEMA has exhausted its human resources and facility capabilities, this necessitates the acquisition of an Outsourced Contact Center Contract (OC3) with private sector temporary employees to augment FEMA’s contact center agents.

2. PURPOSE

The purpose of this requirement is to establish multi-award Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA) for Contact Center support of the GSA MAS NAICS 561422). During periods of high disaster activity, there is a need to respond to incoming calls and perform data entry for individuals and businesses in direct support of disaster activity. The government requires the contractor be prepared to handle up to 175,000 production hours per week. The contractor will have the capability to increase, at FEMA’s discretion, the weekly production hours up to a maximum of 210,000 production hours. FEMA staffing requests may be communicated utilizing Full Time Equivalent (FTE: 1 FTE = 8 Hours/Day x 5 Days/Week = 40 Production Hours per Week). A production hour includes time spent taking calls, in a ready state to take calls, after call work, document validation, 30-minute pre-shift, or directly involved in coaching or training. The government will not pay for call agents unavailable to accept calls due to any lawful permitted breaks exceeding 15-minutes, lunch, or other unproductive time. The Contractor shall provide a fully managed contact center and staff; all costs associated with a scalable contact center shall be included in the agent hour rate. The agent hour/minute billable rate shall be fully burdened; the rate shall include overtime and overhead costs.

FEMA is responsible for the accurate and efficient routing and processing of fluctuating customer calls. The Contractor shall ensure call agents are available to take calls and accept applications from individuals and businesses for disaster assistance from the designated geographical area via calls routed from FEMA’s toll-free telephone number. The Contractor shall ensure call agents perform the call center supported registration process, provide applicable referrals, and address follow-up questions from survivors.

The following graph provides historical disaster declarations to help plan and prepare for future disaster seasons in which FEMA may need Contractor support:

https://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/sinDetails.do?scheduleNumber=MAS&specialItemNumber=561422&executeQuery=YES

3. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES

The Contractor shall provide a fully managed and scalable contact center and/or remote contact center workforce solution that merges the quality, privacy, and security of an on-site contact center with flexibility of a work-from-home model. Contractor shall meet the weekly production hour requirement with the ability to scale up/down to meet unexpected surges and forecasted peaks with the capability to ramp down when call volume declines. The Contractor shall apply a sound management, technical approach, and intelligent automation technology consistent with industry standards and market research that will provide the best value in meeting call order objectives. The Contractor shall provide all supervision, personnel, equipment, material, supplies, services, and otherwise do all things necessary to meet daily productivity projections in accordance with the requirements in this Performance Work Statement (PWS). All facilities and remote workforce provided shall conform to the requirements set forth in the BPA and must be located within CONUS and OCONUS locations including Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Island.

The contact center solution shall include a combination of products, equipment, software and/or services, along with traditional labor, to extend the reach of the contact center and to be available for activation at FEMA’s discretion. Additional requirements added to call orders against the BPA may be listed as a Contract Line Item Number (CLIN). These include a wide range of automated and attended managed solutions that assists FEMA to respond to inquiries from the disaster survivors. Automated offerings may include but are not limited to: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Chat Bots, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVA), Voice/Speech Recognition/ Conversational Artificial Intelligence, Text-to- Speech, Voicemail, Callback, Web Callback, Email Delivery, Hosted Online Ordering, Hosted Email Web Form, Hosted FAQ Service, Language Interpretation etc. The Government is looking to utilize automated solutions as a “force multiplier” to augment the services that are required to establish and maintain contact center capabilities required by FEMA. All IT solutions must be authorized by FEMA in accordance with Paragraph 21 – Information Technology Security

Requirements.

Equipment that is not owned or leased by the Federal Government or owned and operated by a contractor on behalf of the Federal Government shall not be connected to DHS equipment or networks. Remote contractor agent's personal electronic devices i.e., laptops, smartphones, tablets, or desktop computers shall not be used for this contract or connected to the DHS network directly or through a Virtual Private Network (VPN). While this PWS identifies the scope of work, general requirements, key personnel, minimum personnel qualifications and proficiency levels, a detailed description of the work and any specialized personnel skill sets and the place of performance will be set forth in call orders.

The Contractor shall provide a fully-managed and scalable contact center and remote contact center workforce solution with a minimum of 25% staff being Spanish/English bilingual proficient. FEMA will provide a daily interval call forecast and the Contractor shall meet interval production requirements with 25% of staff in each interval being Spanish/ English bilingual.

Spanish/English bilingual means the individual is able to fluently speak, read, and write in both languages.

The Contractor shall adjust the following within 48 hours of notification by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR):

- Production Hours by interval

- Hours of operation

Within four (4) hours after award, the Contractor shall submit an encrypted and password protected file via e-mail to a FEMA designated repository and the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) with the information listed below for any call agents who have previously been screened by DHS or one of the Components and are available to support this requirement.

Note: if the Contractor does not have any names to submit for the reciprocity check then this email requirement is not applicable. The Contractor shall continue submitting the information shown below for any potential call agent who has not been previously screened by DHS or one of the Components on a rolling basis starting four (4) hours after award. Personnel who have not been previously screened by any DHS Component/Agency will be required to undergo an abbreviated screening process to determine eligibility for access to disaster survivor sensitive information collected and maintained by the Government. The following information is required to perform reciprocity verifications:

• Full First, middle, and last names – separate columns

• SEX (F/M)

• Full Social security numbers – no hyphens

• DOB – DD/MM/YYYY

• Place of birth (city, state, country) Separate columns and written out, except standard state abbreviations

• Country of citizenship

• Full Email Address

• Personal Phone Number

• Physical Work Location of Agent (city, state, site name)

**Note: the Excel file password must be sent in a separate e-mail.

The Contractor shall provide the required Security documents listed below, with the initial file submission of requested staff after award, to a FEMA designated repository in addition to an email sent to the COR with information noting the time/date the PDF signed documents were sent and the Xcel sheet with the PII identifying the call agent on the PDFs. FEMA, at its discretion, may set a different deadline to meet specific disaster needs. The following forms will be required to perform the abbreviated security screening where reciprocity cannot be applied:

• SF87, “Fingerprint Card” (2 copies) *required if Contractor personnel are not fingerprinted at a FEMA Fingerprint Location

• DHS Form 11000-6, “Non-Disclosure Agreement” (NDA)

• DHS Form 11000-9, “Disclosure and Authorization Pertaining to Consumer Reports

Pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act” (FCRA)

• OPM Optional Form 306 “Declaration for Federal Employment”

If required, FEMA Personnel Security will provide hard copy SF 87 fingerprint cards to contractor applicants if not otherwise available.

If required, the Contractor is responsible for ensuring that each Contractor personnel is scheduled to be fingerprinted at one of the FEMA Fingerprint locations, by visiting a local law enforcement organization, or by the Office of the Chief Security Officer (OCSO) Field Security Division at the Contractor facility. Note: FEMA may, at its own discretion, send fingerprint deployment teams to the Contractor facility to speed up the fingerprinting process. Regardless of the reason, if FEMA does not deploy to the Contractor’s facility to fingerprint Contractor personnel, the Contractor cannot deem that as a Government delay.

Due to unforeseen disaster limitations, local Fingerprinting may not be available in accordance with federal, state, county, local and states orders. If this requirement is deemed “Essential Service1,” the Contractor is responsible for ensuring that each Contractor personnel is scheduled to be fingerprinted at one of the FEMA Fingerprint locations, by visiting a local law enforcement organization, or by the Office of the Chief Security Officer (OCSO) Field Security Division at the Contractor facility. Note: FEMA may, at its own discretion, send fingerprint deployment teams to the Contractor facility to speed up the fingerprinting process.

Regardless of the reason, if FEMA does not deploy to the Contractor’s facility to fingerprint Contractor personnel, the Contractor cannot deem that as a Government delay. The FEMA fingerprint locations and addresses will be provided if sites are open for fingerprinting. When applicable, the minimal in-person interactions will be administered in adherence to CDC guidance, in smaller groups while ensuring required social distancing. FEMA will notify the Contractor if this requirement is designated an essential service1.

The FEMA fingerprint locations and addresses will be provided at the call order level.

Below is an example of a phased adjudication plan that will result in approximately 3150 FTE agents being available for taking calls after accounting for 40% attrition due to background check failures and training dropouts.

1 Essential services – services that are vital to the health and welfare of a population and therefore are essential to maintain even in a disaster. Check federal, state, and local guidelines for specific definitions and protocols for businesses

Days After Contract

Award

Names submitted

Subtotal after 40% attrition

Total Expected Number of

Agents

1 1000 600 600 2 800 480 1080 3 600 360 1440 4 500 300 1740 5 500 300 2040

6 500 300 2340 7 400 240 2580 8 400 240 2820 9 300 180 3000

10 250 150 3150 5250 3150 3150

PRE-SCREENING

FEMA will determine contractor personnel’s eligibility to perform work under this contract. The Contractor shall ensure that contractor personnel the Contractor proposes to perform work under this contract are United States citizens and have a personal background free from issues that may render them ineligible to perform work under this contract. In addition, contractor personnel must be able to pass identity verification tools like Login.gov to have access to FEMA tools and guidance requiring secure logins. The Contractor shall coordinate all required security documents (NDA, FCRA, OF 306) and any other documents that may be required and ensure they are complete and accurate before submitting to the FEMA COR or Field Security Division personnel. The following list identifies some common issues that can potentially render an individual ineligible to perform work under this contract. This list is not intended to be all-inclusive and does not represent the full scope of personal conduct and character evaluated in the personnel screening process. To improve the likelihood that FEMA will determine contractor personnel are eligible to perform work under this contract, the Contractor should screen out candidates whose background contains any of the following issues:

• Lack of U.S. Citizenship (lawful permanent residents are not U.S. citizens),

• Recent or multiple charges for driving under the influence (DUI) or similar charges,

• Conduct issues involving alcohol use,

• Involvement with illegal drugs (as identified by federal law in Title 21 U.S.C., Schedule I (Controlled Substances Act, as amended)

• Pending criminal charge/open dispositions,

• Prior arrests,

• Currently on probation or parole,

• Currently subject to a domestic-violence or other court-ordered protection order,

• Registered sex offender or narcotic offender,

• Any delinquent Federal loans,

• Delinquent Federal or State taxes, including failure to file,

• Delinquent child support payments,

• Excessive or past due/delinquent personal debt,

• History of traffic violations. A background, free of the listed issues, does not guarantee

FEMA will find the contractor personnel eligible to perform work under this contract.

***NOTE: those who do not pass DHS/FEMA’s adjudication process cannot start training and therefore cannot serve as call agents. Billable hours are not accrued by contractor personnel until they start training. Contractor personnel are not paid to complete fingerprinting, background screening documents, e-APP or any other requirements related to background investigations.

Upon completion, the Contractor personnel will return the accurate and complete forms to OCSO)/Field Security Division personnel via the COR or at the location for processing and adjudication. If the contractor personnel are not fingerprinted at a FEMA site, the Contractor personnel shall be required to mail the SF87 fingerprint cards to FEMA Personnel Security using an address provided at the time of vetting.

a. Staffing Adjudication

Contractor personnel shall be adjudicated through FEMA’s OCSO/Personnel Security Division (PSD) and trained/qualified by FEMAs Individual Assistance (IA) Division, Cadre Management and Training Branch to perform the objectives and outcomes as listed below throughout the contract lifecycle. In order to start the adjudication process, the Contractor shall provide, from a Government provided Excel template, an encrypted and password protected file four (4) hours following contract award that contains names and the applicable information according to the table below. The Contractor shall continue submitting the information for any potential call agent who has not been previously screened by DHS or one of the Components on a daily basis starting 24 hours after award. This information and the required forms will be passed to FEMA PSD by the COR. FEMA PSD will provide the COR with lists of personnel who are approved or denied for relay to the Contractor.

If the Contractor remains in service to FEMA for a period of 120 days, then the contractor’s personnel must submit to a full moderate risk background investigation as defined in Section 18. At FEMA’s discretion, the option provision FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months.

Privacy and Security training will commence after the Contractor personnel have a favorable determination from FEMA PSD and a FEMA User Account has been established; reference Section 5 Training. The Contractor shall schedule favorably adjudicated agents with FEMA credentials to start training within five (5) calendar days and is encouraged to start training within two (2) calendar days when possible. The agent shall attend the next scheduled training class to meet the training and staffing requirements of the call order. The Contractor shall maintain the required amount of trained staff to meet production hour requirements and meet acceptable performance levels during the entire period of performance, including the replacement of Contractor personnel due to attrition.

Below is an example of an onboarding timeline from contract award until FEMA training begins. In this example, a remote workforce was authorized and laptops were required to be picked up or mailed to the agent within 48 hours after receiving a favorable adjudication decision.

b. All Contractor and subcontractor personnel who collect or are privy to Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data shall comply with the guidance prescribed in Homeland Security Acquisition Regulations, HSPD-12.

(https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/memoranda/2005/m05- 24.pdf) and fulfill HSPD-12 requirements. This includes but is not limited to persons with the following responsibilities:

a. Personnel who serve as call agent who are a direct telephone point of contact for disaster applicants registering for federal disaster assistance and callers seeking relief program referrals, as well as for callers seeking humanitarian relief assistance.

b. Call agents who enter caller provided information into FEMA’s Windows-compatible computer database while following instructions and conducting a scripted interview.

c. All individuals, including individuals not assigned to this contract in the area where FEMA PII or disaster survivor/humanitarian relief information is located or is being shared, shall also have a background investigation done by FEMA before being allowed access to or be in the vicinity of such PII or disaster survivor information or those requiring humanitarian assistance.

c. To accomplish the tasks outlined in this contract, FEMA will provide the Contractor access to National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS)-IA or comparable database which includes all PII collected in disaster assistance registrations stored in the National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS)-IA as outlined in DHS/FEMA/PIA 049 Individual Assistance (IA) https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/memoranda/2005/m05-24.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/memoranda/2005/m05-24.pdf

Program. The registrations stored in NEMIS-IA contain the following data:

a. Applicant, Co-Applicant, and deceased individual names

b. Applicant’s Citizenship Status

c. Address Where the Deceased Individual Passed Away

d. Applicant’s Current Mailing Address

e. County/Parish/Municipality Where the Deceased Individual Passed Away

f. Applicant’s Current Phone Number

g. Applicant’s Alternate Phone Number

h. Applicant’s Cell Phone Number

i. Birth Date of Applicant, Co-Applicant, and Deceased Individual

j. Social Security Number of the Applicant, Co-Applicant, and Deceased Individual

k. Household Income of Applicant, Co-Applicant, and Adult Occupants (for future reporting purposes. E.g. Percentage of Low-Income Households that Received Assistance)

l. Bank Name

m. Bank Account Type

n. Bank Account Number

o. Applicant’s Email Address

p. Funeral Expenses

q. Funeral/Burial Insurance Information

r. Applicant Disability-related Needs, for example:

s. Cognitive/Developmental Disabilities/Mental Health

t. Hearing or Speech

u. Vision

v. Death Certificate – collected separately for cause of death, but not included on

Registration Intake forms (information varies by state but may include surviving relatives’ names, parents’ names, and certifying official/physician’s name and license information)

d. The systems used in this contract are covered by the following authority:

• Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended (Stafford Act),

• The Homeland Security Act of 2002,

• The Clinger Cohen Act, Section 401 of the Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,

• The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996,

• The Economy Act, Section 4 of the Government Performance and Results Act of 2010,

• Executive Order 12862, “Setting Customer Service Standards”,

• Executive Order 13411, “Improving Assistance for Disaster Victims”, 5 U.S.C. § 301 –

Departmental Regulations, Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1970,

• Executive Order 9397 “Numbering System for Federal Accounts Relating to Individual

Persons,” as amended by Executive Order 13478 “Amendments to Executive Order 9397 Relating to Federal Agency Use of Social Security Numbers.”, 44 U.S.C. § 3534 Federal Agency Responsibilities.

The information sharing outlined in this contract is covered in the following Privacy Impact Assessment(s): DHS/FEMA/PIA 049 Individual Assistance (IA) Program

The information sharing outlined in this contract is authorized by the following System of Records Notice(s) and Routine Use(s): DHS/FEMA-008 Disaster Recovery Assistance (DRA) Files SORN, Routine Use F

The contractor will limit access to the PII provided by FEMA under this contract only to the contractor’s authorized personnel who need to know the information to accomplish the tasks outlined in this contract.

The contractor shall ensure no computer matching, as that term is defined in 5 U.S.C. § 552a(o), will occur for the purpose of establishing or verifying eligibility or compliance as it relates to cash or in-kind assistance or payments under federal benefit programs.

If at any time during the term of this contract any part of FEMA PII, in any form, that the contractor obtains from FEMA ceases to be required by the contractor for the performance of the contract, or upon termination of the contract, whichever occurs first, the contractor shall, within fourteen (14) days thereafter, promptly notify FEMA and securely return PII to FEMA, or, at FEMA’s written request destroy, un-install and/or remove all copies of such PII in the contractor’s possession or control, and certify in writing to FEMA that such tasks have been completed.

*** Never will a contractor or its personnel/employees keep PII or any information for any call taken and or translated, regardless of the reason. Any notes taken during a call, and regardless of information collected, shall be shredded immediately after the call ends.

Additionally, the contractor may be required to enter into a written Information Sharing Access Agreement (ISAA) with FEMA prior to accessing or retrieving any PII from FEMA or callers.

A. Objective and Outcomes for Contact Center Agents

i. Serve as a direct point of contact for individuals registering for federal assistance, asking questions about a prior registration and seeking relief program referrals via the call center.

ii. Conduct all calls with patience, tact, and courtesy to determine needs, and provide instructions and/or referrals.

iii. Enter information into FEMA’s Windows-compatible computer database as required, while following instructions and conducting a scripted interview.

iv. Provide phone numbers and agency referrals as necessary for applicable secondary support organizations and other assistance.

v. Perform additional duties assigned based on FEMA’s level of support to the event.

Examples include but are not limited to: Registration Intake (RI), Helpline (HL), Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA), performing outbound calls, conducting document reviews, and providing referrals to other disaster assistance providers.

vi. Attend all scheduled shift meetings to receive event specific information prior to beginning shift.

vii. Display excellent communication and customer service skills and exhibit a high level of professionalism in all communications, such as reading, writing, and speaking English fluently.

viii. Have knowledge and experience with personal computers in a Microsoft Windows-based environment.

ix. All call agent work; e.g. data entry, shall be done while the disaster survivor is on the phone. A maximum of 10 seconds of “after call” work is allowable should the call drop.

x. Perform services similar to those listed under Department of Labor (DOL) Category 01000 - Administrative Support And Clerical Occupations.

xi. Must be United States Citizens 18 years of age or older. ***Lawful permanent residents are not allowed.***

xii. Comply with the guidance prescribed in Homeland Security Acquisition Regulations (HSAR) 3052.204-71 (http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/opnbiz/cpo-acquisition- regulation-0606.pdf) and Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12 (http://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-presidential-directive-12).

xiii. Never shall the Contractor or its personnel handle a call via a cell phone or in a public environment, e.g. malls, classrooms, restaurants, friends’ homes, automobile, etc., where non-HSPD-12 cleared people are located, regardless if it is believed that no one other than the call agent can hear the call.

xiv. When taking calls, call agents shall be located within the United States of America or one of its territories. All personnel working on this contract shall be U.S. citizens.

xv. Contractor’s work-from-home agents must have high speed internet connection with a minimum of 25Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload.

B. Objectives and Outcomes for Management Support The Contractor shall provide all supervisory services to support the call orders, such as program management, human resources management, performance management, quality assurance, and administrative support tasks. At a minimum, the Contractor shall provide the following to support the call orders:

i. Duty Readiness: The Contractors shall perform all necessary actions to meet the Selected Service Performance Area (SSPA) tasks and requirements. The Contractor must have a plan to recruit and retain the staff necessary to meet the production hour requirements of the call order. The Contractor shall maintain the capability to mobilize upon notification.

ii. Continuity of Support: The Contractor shall ensure that the contractually required level of support for this requirement is always maintained for duty readiness. The Contractor shall ensure that all contract support personnel are present and/or available for work. If for any reason the Contractor staffing levels are not maintained and essential personnel will not be immediately replaced, the http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/opnbiz/cpo-acquisition-regulation-0606.pdf http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/opnbiz/cpo-acquisition-regulation-0606.pdf http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/opnbiz/cpo-acquisition-regulation-0606.pdf http://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-presidential-directive-12

Contractor shall provide e-mail notification to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), explaining the discrepancy and the planned corrective action. This is inclusive of all staff proposed for this contract to include call agents. On a weekly basis the contractor shall provide a staffing vacancy list by position title and date vacancy first occurred. Contractor shall provide position back fill timelines. Contractor shall maintain the capability to conduct testing, planning, call order background investigation requirements, participate in drills/exercises, meetings, and reporting requests. Identify process improvements and innovations to deliver efficiencies resulting in reduced cost to the government.

iii. Program Manager or equivalent: The program manager shall ensure all aspects of the contract are adhered to and shall serve as the main point of contact to FEMA for all contract related issues, including supervisory/management of Contractor personnel, human resource management, performance management, and quality assurance/quality improvement management. On a daily basis, with a minimum of one (1) hour notice, the program manager and/or their representatives shall be available for meetings or conference calls conducted by the COR and/or other representatives to ensure tasks are successfully accomplished. In the event that the program manager is unavailable, an alternate shall be designated.

iv. Lead(s) or equivalent: The Contractor shall perform proper oversight of Contractor personnel and maintain a ratio not greater than one (1) lead to every thirty (30) contact center agents assigned. The lead(s) shall perform supervisory/management activities to ensure that Contractor personnel have necessary skills, information, and tools to perform tasks and that individual performance targets are met.

v. Designate a point of contact to work with the FEMA Scheduling Staff and COR to provide staffing information to FEMA. This is necessary to ensure efficient generation of performance plans for the week and to track resources accurately.

vi. Address all personnel issues as appropriate. The Contractor shall address all personnel and program issues through their staff. Contractor personnel shall not be directed to FEMA management for personnel issues. If coordination is required with FEMA, the Contractor and FEMA management shall coordinate through the COR. Personnel issues affecting customer service and quality shall be reported to FEMA upon discovery by the Contractor. Any agent terminations will be reported to FEMA upon termination.

vii. Coordinate and deliver training for Contractor personnel with the FEMA IA Training Coordinator and the COR to ensure all Contractor personnel are trained before beginning official duties.

viii. Attend meetings and read literature provided by FEMA representatives to acquire up- to-date information on work priorities, procedures, policies, and performance issues.

ix. Conduct pre-shift briefing sessions with supervised call agents at the beginning of each shift for up to 30 minutes. The Contractor shall communicate information regarding work priorities, procedures, policies, and performance issues. In rare instances due to un-expected call volumes, FEMA may request that pre-shift be temporarily canceled and agents should immediately start taking calls at the beginning of their shift.

x. Ensure all Contractor personnel are properly handling and protecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) documentation in their possession. PII and SBU information shall not be left out in the open and PII cover sheets shall be used when required.

xi. Contractor personnel shall not take any electronic or handwritten notes which contain PII and SBU information.

xii. Contractor shall use an electronic method to capture the data for Missed Contacts, Call Agent Availability, and other data that will be used to reconcile invoicing along with time clock records. If the Contractor does not provide this electronic information/data then FEMA cannot reconcile invoices, therefore the invoices will be rejected.

xiii. Contractor shall provide electronic time clocks that track all Contractor personnel time by location. The Contractor shall ensure that all Contractor personnel utilize the electronic time clocks. Contractor personnel not signed in under a Contractor-provided time clock shall not be invoiced.

xiv. Provide electronic time sheet records to FEMA for verification purposes on the following calendar day and at time of invoicing.

xv. Contractor shall not submit handwritten timesheets/records as they will not be accepted. The Contractor shall provide the capability to host and distribute MS Word and PDF documents such as Scripts, Reference Documents, FAQs etc. to all agents.

C. Work Schedule

i. The Contractor shall staff each shift interval with 25% English/Spanish bilingual call agents. The call agents shall have a favorable adjudication and successfully complete training identified in paragraph 5 before they receive their first call.

Contractor shall ensure adequate scheduling of staff to meet the daily projected production hours (i.e. staff shrinkage, days off, sick days, etc.)

ii. The Contractor shall provide resources to work with FEMA’s coordination team on a daily basis to provide updates and resolutions to production hour shortages.

The resource should respond to critical coordination inquiries within one hour, including but not limited to missed service level, agent allocation shortages, and routing changes. The Contractor will also provide an escalation process in the event the resource is unavailable. A weekly schedule will be provided to the FEMA coordination team with designated contacts.

iii. The Contractor shall provide for all equipment, services, or any other requirement necessary in order to meet any reasonable accommodations required under the Americans with Disabilities Act for Contractor personnel. All expenses for reasonable accommodations shall be the sole responsibility of the Contractor.

iv. Call Agents shall take scheduled breaks and lunch breaks during their designated shift schedule in accordance with Department of Labor (DOL) standards.

v. Due to the fluctuating nature of activity, the Contractor shall increase or decrease reasonable staffing levels and shift times within 48-hours of notification in accordance with production hour requirements provided by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR). Work hours will not exceed the ceiling hours set forth in the Pricing Schedule of the BPA or the Call Order unless modified by the Contracting Officer.

vi. Contractor shall have the capacity to rapidly increase production hours in an expedited manner to meet immediate disaster needs up to the amount of hours specified in the Call Order. For both routine and unexpected situations, the Contractor shall be able to provide support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year (inclusive of weekends and holidays).

The Contractor shall meet all call order requirements by providing call agents who meet the personnel qualifications of the PWS.

D. Average Handle Based on historical information, listed below are the average handle times (AHT) to process a call or activity that Contractor personnel may be assigned to complete. The Contractor shall strive to meet these AHTs while maintaining excellent customer service and quality control.

i. Registration Intake (RI) – 18 to 23-minute AHT. Delta calls (successive callers) may take longer.

ii. Helpline (HL) – 10 to 12-minute AHT (escalated calls may take longer).

E. Customer Service The Contractor shall ensure all agents handle all contacts with tact and diplomacy, demonstrate good listening skills, and empathy, while accurately recording information in the Government's computerized database. FEMA may implement a customer service survey process to measure the satisfaction with, and the effectiveness of, the Individual Assistance programs. If implemented, the survey results will be utilized by FEMA to measure the Contractor’s performance as outlined in the Performance Metric Table SSPA 5.

F. Quality Control The Contractor shall ensure the accuracy and quality of all work done by Contractor personnel. FEMA may also perform quality control monitoring and evaluation in accordance with the performance metrics outlined in the Performance Metric Table SSPA 6.

a. Contractor shall live monitor and evaluate all call agents for quality and consistency in delivery of services as trained. This monitoring shall be for the following elements as defined in FEMA’s quality evaluation forms and quality control standards:

i. Communication skills: ability to effectively listen, read, write, and speak fluently in English and Spanish if bilingual; proficiency with a personal computer; experience with data entry, and telephone systems.

ii. Customer service skills: display professionalism and courtesy to include consistently and accurately responding to inquiries/requests, transferring for appropriate secondary assistance, or providing appropriate general information based on training and resources provided.

iii. Professional skills: display of respect and consideration for caller, but not limited too; showing patience, tact, honesty, accountability.

iv. Job Knowledge: competent, understanding of the programs, accurate delivery of service (providing information/instructions), ability to resolve problems/complaints or take appropriate actions, clearly provide detailed documentation of inquiries/requests received.

v. Data Entry: accurately enter and/or view information from the interview/application in FEMA’s computer database.

b. Contractor shall utilize FEMA’s quality control evaluation forms and standards to measure quality. The quality control evaluation forms will be provided after award.

c. FEMA requires the Contractor’s Quality and Program staff who will be completing QC evaluations attend Registration Intake and Helpline training prior to the FEMA quality control evaluation form training.

d. FEMA Quality Control staff will provide a training session to the Contractor on utilizing the quality control evaluation forms after Registration Intake and Helpline training is completed.

e. Contractor shall perform a quality control evaluation of at least 3 calls or cases worked for each active agent per week.

f. Contractor shall provide Quality Control reports for all evaluations completed daily. The report shall be delivered to the COR by 10am CT the following workday, and shall include information by agent, and the quality ratings (Pass/Fail) with errors noted, including evaluator’s comments. The COR will provide the Excel template after the award.

g. Contractor shall provide completed Quality Evaluation Forms for individual agents/calls upon FEMA’s request. FEMA may review and audit Contractor’s evaluation findings for consistency with FEMA’s Quality Control review standards.

h. The Contractor shall provide FEMA the capability to live monitor any/all agent calls during production.

i. Contractor shall provide an agent Portal dashboard that provides QA performance by Agent and summarized at the enterprise level to identify issues and trends that can be used to help additional knowledge articles and training aids to help improve agent performance. The Contractor shall provide a live monitoring training session to FEMA QC staff on the use of the live monitoring software prior to production.

j. FEMA will perform random call /evaluation sampling throughout the activation to determine whether an agent requires more training. Retraining shall occur immediately if required at no cost to the government.

k. FEMA will conduct a Calibration Session with the Contractor after the initial FEMA QC training and at least one adhoc session throughout the activation.

l. Contractor shall provide real-time coaching to the agents based on FEMA’s Quality Control feedback.

G. Off-Site Accessibility to

The Contractor will provide the Government with “read only” access to Contractor’s call management systems to allow real-time evaluation of workload and call agent availability. With a minimum of one (1) hour notice, the Contractor and/or their representatives shall be available for daily meetings or conference calls conducted by the Government’s Contracting Officer Representative and/or other representatives. The Contractor will respond to critical coordination inquiries within one (1) hour of the request. The Contractor shall perform agent allocation changes requested by FEMA coordination staff within thirty (30) minutes of request or provide a progress update at that time.

H. Real-time Call

The Contractor will provide the Government with a Web-based real time monitoring mechanism that select FEMA personnel can use 24 x 7 x 365. It should also include the capability to download a variety of real-time reports into an Excel format through the Contractor’s online secure portal. Note: The variety of real time reports shall include but not be limited to refresh capability every 10 seconds. The Contractor shall immediately report any issues related to systems, staffing, or call center metrics. Below describes key statistics for call routing/monitoring purposes:

Identified by site/location:

• Total call agent statistics (i.e., signed on/ready/available/talk/hold/wrap/idle).

• Total call agents by line of business.

• Call statistics (i.e., number of calls in queue/longest queue time/incompletes/

ASA/Handle time/Abandons/Abandon rate/Deflects/Missed Calls).

• Call routing (Number of trunks per site and their capacity/trunks busy/trunks idle/percent of busy trunks).

• SIPs in 10 digit format for call source identification at FEMA

• Service Level (Percent of calls answered within 20 seconds).

• Abandon profile grouped by wait time before abandon in seconds.

The Contractor shall report any initial issues within 15 minutes via email related to systems, staffing, or call center metrics. Additional updates should be provided in 30-minute intervals until the situation is resolved. Examples below, but not limited to:

• Evacuations of contact centers.

• VPN or connectivity issues.

• Telephony platform issues.

• Interruptions in reporting.

• Unexpected spikes in absenteeism.

• Unscheduled group meetings or trainings.

I. Government On-Site If required by the Call Order the Contractor shall provide workstations for Government on-site representatives with the ability to view real-time contact center performance data and rights to pull agent activity and call traffic related reports.

i. The Contractor shall provide:

• Workspace,

• Telephones, and

• Access to high-speed internet connection for a minimum of five (5) FEMA laptops at each location

ii. The Contractor shall provide one (1) Contractor PC with real-time viewing, reports, and printing.

iii. The Contractor shall provide or make available standard office supplies for Government personnel to assist in the administration of this contract.

iv. The Contractor shall provide an on-site location for sending and receiving faxes, copying, shipping, and receiving for the Government.

J. Report Requirements

i. Daily Performance Report – total staff hours (productions hours) such as a superstate report that does not count breaks lunches or unavailable time. Time available for the hours of operation for the previous day. Report is due to FEMA every six (6) hours during the operational day.

ii. Duty Readiness Progress Reporting – For the continuity of operations and related to the preparedness call order, the Contractor shall provide FEMA a progress report by the fifth day of each month disclosing the background investigation status of staff and management. The report shall include the agent ID number, first name and last name.

iii. Training Schedule – Schedule of adjudicated contractor personnel to complete any scheduled training. Schedule shall be delivered to the COR by 6pm CT the workday prior to the training. The COR will provide the Excel template after award.

iv. Training Daily Attendance List – The contractor shall monitor training attendance and provide an electronic list of adjudicated agents who attend each training course. The training report shall be provided to the COR by 5:00pm CT each training day.

v. Interval Staffing Report – total staffing by FTE available by interval (every half hour) for the hours of operation for the previous day (Actuals), current day (Forecasted) and next day (Forecasted). Report is due to FEMA every four (4) hours during the operational day.

vi. Contract Activation Report – The report shall provide the following information by site: Date, Number of Staff Fingerprinted by Facility, Number of Staff Adjudicated by Facility, Number of Staff in Training by Facility, Number of Staff Working by Job Title, Total Staff Required, and Shortage by Facility. The report shall be delivered to the COR and FEMA Agent Coordination Team (ACT) two (2) times a day at 7am CT and 5pm CT during the activation of the contract. The COR will provide the Excel template after award. Once staffing levels have been met, the COR will advise the Contractor when the report can be stopped.

vii. Operational Reports – Delivery within 48 hours of award and then twice a week to COR or designee. The report shall include: Production and performance update, trends and overall operational update including risk, challenges, successes and failures, problem solving attempts and solutions to overcome failures.

viii. Web-based Real Time Report - The Contractor shall provide a Web-based real time reporting mechanism that select FEMA personnel can use 24 x 7 x 365 to download a variety of real-time reports into an Excel format through the Contractor’s online secure portal. The preferred real time reporting mechanism is via a secure web portal on the open internet. If this web portal is not available, then a minimum of two (2) Contractor-provided laptops shall be provided to FEMA at no additional cost for use in a FEMA facility that are Wi-Fi enabled and can be connected via Contractor VPN to the portal/reporting solution. The laptop shall allow for remote access capabilities. The variety of real time reports shall include but not be limited to those in paragraph K table below as well as:

• Interval reporting on all contact center metrics and staffing updated to the nearest interval completed to minimize report latency.

• Cumulative award-to-date activity, year-to-date activity, month-to-date activity, and daily activity.

• Number of calls to each line of business

• Abandon profile reporting

• Contractor’s control number (for call identification).

• Data shall be real time, downloadable into Excel (time in seconds) and available via an automated e-mail in at least 30-minute intervals, on-line, and hard copy format.

• Trend information related to caller’s language, location, reason for call, and date and time of day.

• Reference Table in Section M.

ix. Ad-hoc Reports – The Contractor shall provide additional reports requested by FEMA within 24 hours of the request.

x. Daily Quality Control reports including the quality scores (Pass/Fail) by agent.

xi. Contractor shall provide completed Quality Evaluation Forms for individual agents/calls upon FEMA’s request.

xii. End of Day Report – The Contractor shall provide reports at the end of day that includes the agent ID, first and last name, location, work hours, and total hours worked per agent.

xiii. Daily Recap Report – The Contractor shall provide an end of day report providing analysis for missed intervals below target service level

xiv. Missed Service Level Report – The Contractor shall provide a report within thirty

xv. (30) minutes to FEMA coordination…