Contact Center RFP Guide With Foreword - USAN
GUIDESAMPLEContact Center RFP Guidewith Foreword
ForewordYou’ve begun the process of acquiring new or replacing outdated contact centersoftware.After conducting a self-assessment, you havea good idea of your technology and businessneeds. Now you’re ready to create a requestfor proposal (RFP).An RFP is a standard part of any procurementprocess. By soliciting bids from multiple providersbased on the same set of requirements,companies can compare and contrastsolutions. This process is particularly helpful whendetermining a provider’s ability to deliver on yourcontact center technology needs.Contact center software solutions can comprise ofseveral components, including interactive voiceresponse (IVR), automatic call distributor (ACD),outbound campaign management and workforcemanagement. Your needs for each of thesecomponents can be as varied as the solutionsthemselves. This RFP template will help ensure that2GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORDyou consider all of the various aspects of contactcenter technology solutions and the relevantquestions for each component. It will also equipyou with the questions necessary to understandthe implications of moving to a hosted, or cloudbased deployment, as well as the securityrequirements to consider.
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorIVRIVR technology systems automate the process of customer interactionby enabling customers to serve themselves using a combination oftouch tone and speech recognition and voice applications. Today’sIVR apps and systems can facilitate simple or very complex customerrequests efficiently and cost effectively, without ever requiring a live agent’s time.There are many options available with IVRs, but which options are right for you?1.2.Does your IVR support both inbound andoutbound functionality from the same core IVRapplication? Or, does it require two unique IVRapplications? ow does your IVR differ between self-serviceHapplications — calls that are entirely contained —and simple routing applications (e.g. Press 1 for ,Press 2 for )?3. hich payment collections applications does yourWIVR integrate into today?4.How would you integrate with applicationsthat you are not currently integrated with?5. hat are your top three systems that your IVRWintegrates into for host interactions, i.e. SalesForce,Oracle, SQL database, etc.?6. Does this include both read and write capabilities?7. ow does your IVR integrate into legacy (nonHweb services) applications, such as AS400 or other“green screen” applications?8.Please list the languages that you support.9. hat voice formats does your IVR supportWfor prompts?10. P lease describe the process to modify an existingvoice prompt.11. Please describe the process to modify theexit point routing of the IVR to transfer thecall off platform.3GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD12. How quickly do real-time changes take effectin the IVR?13. Does your IVR support press or say (e.g. pressor say 1)?14. Does your IVR support directed speech (e.g.key words)?15. Does your IVR support natural language (e.g.Please tell me why you’re calling )? If so, whatis the language engine — and current version —that is supported?“ The IVR, when done well, is like a greatconcierge for your organization. It canhelp to intelligently guide callers to wherethey need to be, and potentially save a lotof time and money, especially when selfservice applications are appropriate.”
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorAUTOMATIC CALL DISTRIBUTIONQuickly and effectively managing inbound customer requests is aminimum expectation for the modern customer experience. Withoutthis ability, customers will suffer through long hold times and poorcustomer service. And companies will face decreased service levels,customer churn and lost revenue. ACDs are found in almost every professionalcontact center operation, but not every ACD is created equal. Do your homeworkto find the right one for you.1.How many applications do administrators and/orsupervisors need to utilize daily? If more than one,what is the purpose of each?2.How is application security managed? Pleaseprovide a detailed description.3.Is role-based application and/or platform securitypossible? If so, please elaborate.4.What are the maximum values that your ACDplatform supports for:––Number of agents––Number of queues or services––Number of in-queue prompts––Number of skills across the platform––Number of skills per agent5.Please describe how “skills-based routing” works inyour ACD.6.What other types of call routing do you support?7.What does your standard agent desktop look like?Please describe and include screen shots.8.What functionality is available on your standardagent desktop?9.Please describe the top 3 ways that your standardagent desktop can be configured or customizedto support unique client requirements.4GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD10. Does your ACD platform support automation ofcall outcomes/dispositions based on agent activityor other criteria or do the agents need to select adisposition? Please elaborate.11. Which other systems does your ACD platformintegrate with out-of-the-box (e.g. IVR integrationfor screen pops)?12. Is this integration limited to only screen pop datafor the agents, or can this integration be used forrouting purposes as well?13. Does your platform support integrated queue-levelvoicemail? If so, what are the options for voicemailnotification?14. Does your platform support integrated agent-levelvoicemail? If so, what are the options for voicemailnotification?15. Does your platform support agent direct-dialnumbers? If so, please describe.“ ACDs are the workhorse of the contactcenter, providing routing efficiency andproductivity by using sophisticated rulesand logic.”
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorCUSTOM DESKTOP SOLUTIONIn busy contact centers during live interactions, agents should befocused on service, efficiency, issue resolution and converting salesopportunities. But customer interactions occur in many channelsand require access to data contained in systems spread acrossthe enterprise. What do your agents need immediate access to in order to keepcustomers satisfied and productivity at optimal levels?1.Describe your ability to customize the agentdesktop (e.g. custom forms, scripts, data access/integration, logic-based workflows, etc.).2.What platform or language is your custom agentdesktop developed in (e.g. Java/.NET, proprietary,VB, etc.)?3.What knowledge or tools would someone need tomodify the agent desktop once it is developed?5GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD“ Provide the right information at the righttime for the task at hand. The relevantdata to support your process, or yourcustomer situation, may not match theout-of-box application layouts.”
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorOUTBOUND CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENTBeyond the basics of designing and launching outbound campaigns,companies need the ability to modify proactive customer outreachwithout interruptions or down-time (while remaining compliant!). Andassessing the performance of these campaigns, with insight intoevery aspect of communication and customer data, is critical to determiningsuccess or failure.1.Is your platform compliant with TCPA regulations?If so, please provide details.5.Does your platform support “filter-in-place” andreal-time dialing rule changes?2.What is the maximum number of phone numbersper account record that can be loaded anddialed from a single list?6.Does your platform support Preview, Progressiveand Predictive dialing? Please explain eachfeature and provide use cases for each.3.Does your platform support multi-pass dialing of asingle file? If so, please provide details.4.Does your platform support business rulesbased dialing? If so, please describe how this isaccomplished.6GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD“ Simplify the answer to “who are yougoing to call?””
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorAUDIO MONITORING/RECORDINGMonitoring and recording audio from customer interactions hasalways been a critical component in successful customer experiencemanagement. Emerging regulatory mandates levied by the ConsumerFinancial Protection Bureau and the Department of Health and HumanServices, to name a few, have made monitoring and recording of interactionsmission-critical applications. How does your contact center capture, archive andretrieve customer interactions?1.Describe your platform’s ability to provide realtime audio monitoring (e.g. coach, barge, etc.).5.Can calls be exported? If so, please describe howthis is done and in what format the output file is.2.Describe your platform’s ability to provide audiorecording. Include details about how recordingscan be accessed.6.3.Describe your platform’s support for audiorecording rules that can be configured by callqueue, agent group or percentage based?Please be specific about available criteria.Are recorded calls encrypted before they areextracted by downstream applications? Pleasedescribe your encryption key managementprocess.4.Are call details stored with the audio recording forlater retrieval, including call outcome? If so,please list all data captured and maintained.“ Stop thinking of call recordings as simplythe means for you to listen to how youragents are performancing. Start thinkingabout recordings as sources of insight tostrategic business objectives such as saleseffectiveness and customer satisfaction.”7GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorSCREEN MONITORING/CAPTURECapturing a contact center agent’s screen activity has become a vitalcomponent in assessing performance and service levels. But not everysolution offers this capability, so make sure to do your homework!1.Describe your platform’s ability to provide realtime screen monitoring. Include details related toaudio synchronization.2.Does screen capture include the entire agentdesktop?3.Describe your platform’s support for screenrecording rules that can be configured by callqueue, agent group or percentage? Please bespecific about available criteria.4.Is call detail stored with the screen capture forlater retrieval, including call outcome? If so, pleaselist all data captured and maintained.5.Can screen captures be exported? If so, pleasedescribe how this is accomplished, along withsupported file formats.8GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD“ It’s not just a window into agentproductivity, but an opportunity toidentify process inefficiencies. Howmany applications and screens areagents required to navigate? Capture theevidence of what applications and data isrelevant to the processes your agents arerequired to support.”
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorAGENT SCORINGGrading agent activity can help identify training opportunities andindicate performance improvements. But if you have differentstandards, or multiple contact center locations, using agent scoringeffectively can be a real challenge. First, identify your specific needsand then determine how scoring can help you improve agent performance.1.Does your platform include agent score cards?If so, please describe in detail how they areconfigured and how scores are calculated.7.Can the audio — and screen, if available — beplayed back and paused during agent scoring?Please describe this process.2.Does your scorecard support negative valuescores?8.What reports are available that provide visibility to3.Does your scorecard support auto-fail responses?4.Does your system allow for notification andescalation based on scores? If so, please describein detail.5.Describe your process for creating and managingagent scorecards.6.Can agent scorecards be exported and sharedwith agents?9GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORDagent performance?“ If you’re not scoring performance,how does your agent know what theexpectations are? How do you establishconsistent and fair measuresof performance?”
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorCHAT (External)While chat has been around for quite some time, it remains an“emerging” channel in the contact center. Not every center willimplement chat, but for those that do, an awareness of its uniqueabilities and limitations are essential before implementing a solution.1. Describe your platform’s ability to provideintegrated chat functionality.2. Can agents handling chats also handleinbound calls? Outbound calls? Email? If so,please describe how this is managed, includingbest practices.3. Does your platform provide the ability tosupport multi-channel reporting?10GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD“ Given the trends of preferredcommunications channels, when willthe tipping point evolve into majority ofcommunications being conducted viachat end points?”
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorEMAIL (External)A multi-channel contact center should include email into its mix ofcustomer communications options. But what are your requirementsfor email routing? Can agents send or receive emails directly to/ fromcustomers? Identify your specific needs so you can implement the ideal solution inyour contact center.1. Describe your platform’s ability to routeincoming emails to agents for processing.2. What email server(s) are required orsupported?3. Can agents handling email also handleinbound calls? Outbound calls? Chat? If so,please describe how this is managed, includingbest practices.4. Can your platform deliver “contact us”messages from our web page to agents? If so,is the submitted information delivered as anemail? Please describe in detail.11GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD“ Don’t let email be your blindside whereyou have no insight or tracking of whatis being requested and whether allinquiries are receiving appropriate andtimely responses. Email solutions supportconsistent response templates for allyour FAQ’s and standard inquiries, whilealso enabling skills-based routing andresponse tracking.”
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorSMSText is one of the newest emerging channels to enter the contactcenter, and it’s value is becoming evident with improvements in agentproductivity and increases in first contact resolution. But while it seemslike a simple addition to your contact center solution, there are still some questionsyou’ll need to answer to determine the best SMS solution for your center.1.Does your platform support outbound SMS (text)messaging functionality? If so, please describe indetail.2.Does your platform support two-way SMS (text)functionality? If so, please describe in detail.3.Does your IVR platform support SMS (text)interactions? If so, please describe in detail.4.Can agents handling SMS also handle inboundcalls? Outbound calls? Chat? Email? If so, pleasedescribe how this is managed, including bestpractices.12GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD“ How many of your customers don’t havea smartphone, mobile device, capableof SMS / text messaging? Typically yourcustomers will check, and respond tomessages on their mobile device morethan any alternative channel. How canyour contact center and your customersbenefit from SMS capabilities?”
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorWORKFORCE MANAGEMENT (WFM)Staffing a contact center with the right personnel at the right time isessential to service level attainment. But that task can be dauntingwithout the right tools to help you envision varying scenarios andcoordinate staffing plans. Beyond the basics of planning and scheduling, assessyour needs for other possible WFM features like integration with other systems, agentaccess, real-time and historical reporting, and more.1.Please explain the workforce managementcapabilities of your platform?12. Please describe your platform’s workforceutilization analysis and scheduling capabilities.2.Are you providing your own WFM solution, orpartnering with a 3rd party vendor? If a vendor,please list the partner and details about theintegration with your solution.13. What real-time reporting is available in yourplatform for workforce management?3.How does your platform support shift bidding?4.Do the agents have direct input into the biddingmodule, or is this managed by the supervisors?5.How does your platform support shift swapping?6.How does your platform support time off requestwait-listing?7.Describe in the detail the process for an intra-daychange to optimize breaks and lunches based oncurrent call or shrinkage patterns.8.What intra-day capabilities does your platformhave?9.How do agents access your workforcemanagement platform?10. How do supervisors and administrators access yourworkforce management platform?11. Does your platform support email notifications ofshift changes or approved time off?13GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD14. What historical reporting is available in yourplatform for workforce management?15. What are the current ACDs that you areintegrated with for both historical and real-timedata importing?16. How does your platform support real-timeadherence monitoring and reporting?17. Does your WFM platform support gamification?“ WFM allows you to get the whole pictureof staff scheduling requests vs. real-timeadherence. Get creative with what-ifscenarios to optimize your staffing levelsat all times during all situations.”
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorHosted / Cloud-Based ServicesMoving your contact center to the cloud can lead to significantcost savings and business agility as long as you know the facts aboutdeployment options, security and redundancy. The right cloud solutionwill ensure you’re always running on the latest software version with themost current and advanced contact center features.1.Describe your “cloud-based” deployment optionsand the benefits of each: Hosted Private cloud Public cloud / multi-tenant Hybrid2. escribe the contact center applications that areDavailable from your cloud offering?3. hat are your password management / SingleWSign On capabilities? Synced password (Same Sign-On) Federated authentication (Single Sign-On) Separate passwords4.Do you support Microsoft Active Directory foridentity management? If no, describe your identitymanagement process.5. escribe your platform’s ability to scale acrossDtenants.6. o you operate geographically redundant dataDcenters?7. Describe your recovery/ failover model.8. Describe your connectivity options for agents.9. escribe your connectivity options for systemDintegration.10. How would you support on-premises dataresidency / sovereignty requirements?14GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD11. How would you handle shared / asymmetricencryption?“ There are clear advantages to moving toa cloud-based deployment. Moving froma Capex model to an Opex model savestime and money invested in managingand upgrading your contact centerinfrastructure and applications.”
Questions to Ask Your Contact Center VendorSECURITYA mature security program should be committed to protectingcustomer data and will be one of the most important selection criteriawhen deciding on a hosted or cloud-based solution. Ensure yourvendor can support internal security requirements as well as government-mandatedcompliance regulations.1.Is your solution compliant with Payment CardIndustry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS)?2.Does your company perform regular codereviews, vulnerability scans and penetration testson application code as part of ongoing securityevaluations?3.Does your company have a scheduled andpriority-driven patch application/managementprocess?4.Do you have a threat assessment team thatanalyzes the current state of industry threats toyour application?5.Describe the Encryption techniques and keymanagement abilities that you employ to storecustomer confidential information?6.How do you secure communications protocols forcommunication between vendor and Company(SFTP, HTTPS, SCP, SSH)?7.How do you limit and control who can access thesystem for support (include both personnel policiesand actions as well as systems)?8.What user repositories are supported forauthentication (built-in database, LDAP, ActiveDirectory) and do you support federation and/orSAML?9.Describe the granularity of access control toeach major feature. Can you control access andcreate change audit records for each page of theadministration UI separately?.“Hosted contact center solution providers shouldexhibit best practices when it comes to securitystandards. The ability to encrypt data in motion aswell as data at rest is a mission-critical requirementfor any contact center operation.”.15GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD
NOTESAbout USAN3080 Northwoods CircleNorcross, GA 30071www.usan.comoffice 770.729.1449fax 770.729.858916USAN helps companies profitably engage customers and deliver amazingcross-channel experiences with the industry’s best cloud, premise and hybridmulti-channel customer engagement solution. From traditional telephoneinteractions to the web, social media and everything between, USAN’s portfolioof call center products gives users infinite flexibility in the way they engagecustomers across channels. In addition to campaign management, back-officeintegration, and business process automation, USAN’s offerings include HostedIVR, ACD, and Dialers built upon a fifth-generation carrier-grade infrastructurethat delivers “five nines” of availability and proven scalability.GUIDE CONTACT CENTER RFP GUIDE WITH FOREWORD
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