Elections Ontario (or “EO”) is a non-partisan agency of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario working under the direction of the Chief Electoral Officer (“CEO”), an officer of the Legislative Assembly. EO is responsible for conducting general, by-elections and referenda in accordance with the provisions in the Elections Act and the administration of Election Finances Act.
EO is seeking to outsource its Public Contact Centre (“PCC”) activities during the next provincial general election to a contact centre firm with extensive experience and expertise in this area.
Based on the requirements outlined in this document, EO is asking proponents to provide proposals to implement a contact centre solution that meets the objectives as described. While the requirements are specific, EO encourages proponents, as experts in this field, to provide multiple alternate options and/or solutions.
The term of the agreement will be until August 31, 2023.
BACKGROUND
EO is responsible to uphold the integrity and accessibility of the electoral process and to manage elections in an efficient, fair and impartial manner. We believe in administering transparent and non-partisan processes that maintain integrity and the democratic rights of all electors. We recognize that all citizens are entitled to the same level of election service and strive to deliver a consistent experience across the province. The PCC must align with our strategic and operational goals of putting the elector first.
For the upcoming provincial general election, we are seeking turn-key services from a qualified Public Contact Centre to answer public enquiries. The proposed timeline is as follows:
• On-boarding of PCC will begin in October 2017
• Training to begin in February 2018
• PCC to be open to public March 1, 2018
• PCC to remain open to public until July 1, 2018
The PCC will be responsible for offering first contact resolution in English and French and must provide stakeholders with accurate electoral information in a professional, timely and courteous manner. EO will work together with the successful proponent to ensure the PCC has the necessary tools to effectively answer inquiries and provide stakeholders with a seamless customer experience. The PCC must have the ability to warm transfer calls to returning offices and EO headquarters.
EO will work with the successful proponent to produce a staffing model that reflects our anticipated call volume, call duration and required service levels. This model will be reviewed throughout the event on a daily basis for accuracy and will be adjusted as required by EO with the consultation of the successful proponent’s staff. The successful proponent will monitor its own staff attrition rates and supplement its contingent of agents as required to meet EO’s projected demand.
The following timelines will be required to support new legislation, province-wide communications initiatives and election activities:
- Pre-writ activities – 8 weeks: public communications initiatives.
- Historical call volume is not available as these planned activities are new province-wide communications initiatives.
- Writ activities – 4 weeks: election activities (28-day election calendar)
- Historical call volume is available. See pg.12.
- Call volume will be the highest during the writ period
- Call volume fluctuates with writ activities
- Post-writ activities – 4 weeks post-election activities
- Historical call volume is available. See pg.12.
For the 2014 provincial general election, EO procured a PCC (data provided on pg.12); for the 2018 provincial general election, we believe call volumes will increase due to the following:
• The number of electoral districts have increased from 107 to 124.
• Population in Ontario has increased approximately 10% since the last general election (9.5M electors in 2014 and 10.5M electors in 2018)
EO is projecting 2018 call volumes to be between 110,000 – 120,000 during the writ and post-writ periods. This is an estimated 40%-50% increase over the 2014 general election.
SPECIFICATIONS
Scope
The successful proponent must be an organization with an office in Canada, preferably located within Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This requirement is based upon expectations that EO staff will need to meet with the successful proponents’ staff on a regular basis and that EO intends to supply trainers, based in Toronto.
Proponents are asked to provide the following:
• Proof of location
• Proof that all agents are AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act)
certified (or will be certified by a specific date if awarded as the successful proponent)
• Relevant experience and references describing dealings with the province of Ontario, its
ministries, boards, commissions and agencies.(if applicable)
• Relevant experience and references in dealing with similar projects in other jurisdictions
(federal, provincial or municipal) and/or private sector firms. (if applicable)
The documentation required to submit a proposal is available from MERX.
