Help Desk Call Center Operation (Smart City Challenge)

The City of Long Beach Department of Financial Management is requesting proposals for help desk call center software to support the Technology and Innovation Department's Smart City Challenge pilot, with proposals due February 10, 2023, questions due January 30, 2023, and an optional pre-proposal meeting on January 26, 2023 via Zoom.

The City operates approximately 1,775 help desk calls per month (ranging 1,600 to 2,400) with up to four agents working simultaneously and ten total users with login capability. The scope requires a proven off-the-shelf help desk solution with minimal customization, call recording for all interactions, basic call routing with daytime direct-to-agent routing and after-hours routing to a 24/7 staffed data center with voicemail capability, and integration with the existing ServiceNow ticketing system (ServiceNow will not be replaced). Integration with ServiceNow is preferred but not required. The City uses Frontier as its carrier with no intention to change. English-language support only is required. Performance metrics include providing first call resolution data reports, identifying knowledge gaps through keyword flagging, creating ten new knowledgebase articles in ServiceNow, achieving 90 percent caller satisfaction, and increasing first call resolution to at least 50 percent by months three through six.

The pilot contract term is six months with no financial compensation to the vendor during the proof-of-concept period for services, subscriptions, support, or telco usage. If the City elects to sustain or scale beyond the pilot, the total contract term shall not exceed five years, with payment issued within thirty calendar days of invoicing. Work may be performed remotely.

Proposals are evaluated on qualifications (15%), impact (15%), data governance (10%), originality (25%), feasibility (25%), and understanding of the challenge (10%). The City received five proposals; three vendors advanced to interviews: Aisera, Inc., CareAR, and Qualtrics. A Notice of Intent to Award was issued March 13, 2023, naming Aisera and Qualtrics as the most qualified and responsive bidders, though work shall not commence until vendors receive signed purchase orders.

Contractors must obtain a Long Beach business license and comply with the Equal Benefits Ordinance if the contract exceeds $100,000. Required insurance includes commercial general liability ($1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate), workers compensation ($1 million), commercial automobile liability ($500,000 combined single limit), professional liability ($1 million), and cyber liability ($1 million). Proposals must be submitted in PDF format via LongBeachBuys.com with narrative responses limited to 200 words each. Proposers must acknowledge receipt of all addenda and certify non-debarment status and authorization to submit.