VA Call Center Consolidation RFI.docx

PRE-DECISIONAL

Call Center Consolidation Support – Department of Veterans Affairs - Request for Information (RFI)

1. Purpose The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking industry feedback to inform planning, acquisition strategy, solution design for the consolidation and modernization of its enterprise call centers. This Request for Information (RFI) seeks responses from Vendors capable of supporting a large-scale (60M annual call volume), multi-phase transition toward a unified, Veteran-centric service model, including workforce transformation, operational optimization, technology integration, and industry best thinking on how to successfully accomplish the consolidation.

This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. In accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The purpose of this RFI is to obtain market information on capable sources of supply, industry practices, and input specific to the information provided. The Government is not responsible for any cost incurred by industry in furnishing this information. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future Request for Proposals, if any is issued. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Any proprietary/sensitive information must be clearly marked by the vendor.

2. Background VA call centers are often the first touch point for Veterans, family members, dependents, caregivers, and survivors, and are the first impressions that shape their perceptions of the VA. The VA currently manages over 60 million calls annually through over 280+ decentralized call centers, leading to inconsistent customer experiences, duplicated efforts, redundant technology tools, and high operational costs causing fragmented and inefficient service delivery.

To improve the customer experience, VA’s plan is to consolidate all VA call centers into a unified enterprise level tiered approach. This consolidation will target all VA customer-facing call centers across all administration and staff offices with consistent technologies, communication channels, functions, and staffing. The goal is to implement a single point of entry, leverage shared services architecture, answer caller’s questions, directly schedule appointments with VA services, employ best in class call center practices to deliver the highest one call resolution solution for our Veterans and their families.

3. Performance Objectives Answer call immediately and provide correct answers to their questions

· Build caller journey to get answers before they even need to talk to a person Schedule appointments for the care or services they want/need, while they’re on the phone with the VA Call Center Employee.

· Give caller the ability to schedule their own appointments for care or services directly without speaking to a person Call center must deliver worldclass performance key performance indicators (KPIs); goal is 100% first call resolution.

Complete call center consolidation in 24 months.

· Integrate and streamline tiered customer support across all VA services

· Provide a consistent user experience regardless of inquiry type or channel

· Enable routing based on natural language inputs and caller intent Improved Services for Veterans and other Customers

· Enhanced accuracy and personalization for a broad range of services, such as healthcare and benefits, including cemetery and financial

· Deliver seamless, consistent, multi-channel support

· Empower customers with self-service tools and intelligent routing

· Ensure accessibility, including consideration for multiple languages

· Enhanced support for VAs broad range of customers, including indirect agents such as healthcare provider and attorney/power of attorney Optimize Technology and Infrastructure - Current FedRAMP approved technology in use includes but is not limited to Microsoft Dynamics365 (CRM and chat), Salesforce, Cisco, Avaya, Genesys, eGain, Calabrio, UiPath, CirrusMD, Twilio, Amazon End User Messaging/PinPoint, GovDelivery, Medallia, OpenAI, Microsoft Copilot, and Amazon Web Service and Azure cloud services.

· Deploy proven (reliable and most capable) technology that will optimize the Veteran’s service experience with VA consistent with intuitive, human-centered journeys

· Recommend scalable, secure platforms to consolidate standard call center tools which include Interactive Voice Response, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), knowledge management, workforce management, quality management, call recording, and analytics; Artificial Intelligence, Chat bots, in addition to recommending other automation/innovations to optimize operations to deliver exceptional service.

· Ensure interoperability with VA systems and compliance with federal security/privacy requirements

· Support omnichannel capabilities including voice, secure messaging, chat, text, mobile, and web integration Improve Operational Visibility and Decision-Making

· Provide real-time KPI dashboards and analytics for call volume, resolution time, customer satisfaction, and customer journey path traffic

· Identify opportunities for self-service, automation, and workforce optimization

· Deliver periodic and actionable insights to continuously improve the Veteran experience Support Organizational Change Management

· Assist with communication, training, and adoption planning across business units

· Propose governance and performance models to sustain cross-agency collaboration

· Offer strategies for minimizing service disruption during transition

4. Requested Information Vendors are encouraged to provide the following:

4.1) A brief capability statement, including relevant experience with federal contact center modernization. Please do not include generic marketing materials.

4.2) Recommended approach(es) to achieving the above objectives, including:

4. 2.a) Operational plan to roll out the call center model over 24 months, organizational structure, geographic plan (sites (primary/secondary), remote (Y/N) or hybrid operations).

4. 2.b) Staffing levels / ratios by roles (agent/lead/supervisor) within tiered operations and human-centered journeys, with justification supported by commercial and government call center benchmarks

4. 2.c) Operational KPI dashboard

4. 2.d) What is your standard KPIs and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for this type of work, and what KPIs/SLAs to you recommend to help ensure success?

4.3) Commercial or federal examples of contact center consolidation success 4.4) FedRAMP status and FISMA compliance 4.5) Key risks and mitigations VA should consider 4.6) High-level cost and schedule considerations 4.7) Innovative ideas or technologies VA should explore 4.8) What’s the right Tech/CRM/Data stack for a successful implementation

4. 8.a) Identify whether the solution can be implemented via commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products, or if development would be necessary.

4. 8.b) The Government may seek to be in possession and control of Intellectual Property Rights for all delivered capabilities. What flexibility does your solution offer for Government Intellectual Property Rights?

4.9) Other considerations the VA should consider in making this transition

5. Response Instructions

- Response is due by 12:00PM Eastern Time on June 12, 2025.

- Responses should not exceed 15 pages.

- Submit responses to Andrea Caltabilota at Andrea.Caltabilota@va.gov and Robert Kirzow at Robert.Kirzow@va.gov

- All responses must clearly indicate your company name, point of contact (to include contact information), and CAGE/UEI numbers.

PRE-DECISIONAL