Temporary Staffing Services for Austin 311 and AE Utility

The City of Austin is requesting proposals for temporary staffing services to support the Austin 311 Contact Center and Austin Energy Utility Contact Center, with proposals due September 1, 2026 and a non-mandatory pre-offer conference on August 12 at 9:30 a.m. Central Time via Microsoft Teams (updated Addendum No. 1, August 7).

The scope requires 130 to 270 temporary contract personnel across two facilities at 4815 Mueller Boulevard: Austin 311 (operating 24/7, handling approximately 73,000 contacts monthly) and Austin Energy Utility Contact Center (7 a.m. to 9 p.m., handling approximately 94,815 contacts monthly). The contractor must provide qualified customer service representatives and support specialists, with a minimum of 50% bilingual Spanish-speaking personnel for customer service representative positions. The contractor is responsible for all recruitment, screening, onboarding, training, background checks, skills assessments, and performance management. On-site management representation is required: a minimum of four total, with at least two dedicated per contact center.

The initial contract term is 24 months with options for up to three additional 12-month extensions at the City's discretion. Staffing is projected to decrease to approximately 130 personnel by year five as positions convert to permanent City staff. Pricing must accommodate 48 labor classifications and approximately 328 employees and 520,080 annual hours in year one. The City reserves the right to adjust quantities during the contract term without specified minimum orders. FY2025 supplemental staffing spend was $16,294,769.16; total contract spend authority of $69,800,000 was authorized by Austin City Council in 2021.

All contract personnel must earn the City of Austin Living Wage Program minimum of $22.05 per hour. Evaluation is weighted across six criteria: Recruiting and Retention Plan (32 points), Offeror Experience and Organization Structure (17 points), Price Proposal (17 points), Concept and Solution (14 points), plus up to 10 points each for Local Business Preference and Small Business Preference. Performance is measured quarterly against a Service Level Agreement scorecard with markups increasing up to 1% for 90+ points or decreasing 1% for fewer than 75 points. Contractors must obtain Performance and Payment Bonds equal to 10% of annual contract amount. Questions are due August 17 at 5 p.m. Central Time.