Health Emergency Assistance Line and Triage Hub (HEALTH) Model

Appendix P. Multi-Channel Contact Center System Concept (continued)

Component Pricing Estimates and Assumptions

RFI Submittal

Based on the information gathered from the existing three call centers and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) HEALTH Grant Core Team a RFI document was created and submitted to six vendors for high-level pricing, specifications and concept design validation. The following is the list of the vendors contacted and those in bold, responded. Their responses can be found as appendixes to this document.

Vendor List

Alpine Access
Steve Rockwood
1536 Cole Blvd., Suite 350
Golden, CO 80401
303-279-0585
E-mail: srockwood@alpineaccess.com

Aspect
Larry Sells
Vice President, Government Sales
571-633-3316
E-mail: larry.sells@aspect.com

Avaya/Expanets
Jerry Tracy
Voice: 720-873-5890
Fax: 720-873-5962
E-mail: jerry.tracy@expanets.com

Ineto Services, Inc.
Web site: http://www.ineto.com/
Tim Moore
2600 Via Fortuna Dr., Suite 320
Austin, TX 78746
Office: 512-651-9792
Fax: 512-330-1694
E-mail: tmoore@ineto.com

Nortel Kevin J. Gates
NextiraOne
Contact Center Account Executive
Cisco IP Telephony Specialist
Nortel Certified Account Specialist
303-267-3104 Voice
303-267-3150 Fax
303-598-3725 Cell
E-mail: KEVIN.GATES@NEXTIRAONE.COM

TeleTech
Web site: http://www.teletech.com
Chris Varrone
Vice President, Health Care Solutions
TeleTech Holdings, Inc.
303-397-8144
Cell: 303-808-8360
E-mail: Chris.Varrone@teletech.com

Avaya/Expanets, Nortel, and Aspect are call center equipment and integration vendors. Ineto Services, Inc. is an application services provider (ASP) that hosts outsource solutions for call center clients. Alpine Access and TeleTech are call center outsource providers that deliver turnkey solutions, including personnel for call centers. Alpine Access and TeleTech chose not to respond due to the size (FTE headcount numbers) of the proposed solution and the non-immediate need for resources. They quoted the challenges of keeping a "trained" workforce standing ready for what would be only temporary surges and required usage. There was no response, or indication to respond, from Aspect.

Pricing Estimates

Proposed Option 1

Development of Multi-channel Contact Center

Avaya/Expanets

Item	Hardware	Software	Professional Services	Maintenance	Other
IVR	Included	Included	$145,000.00		Training included
AIC 6.0		$198,632.00	$264,362.00	1 yr
Remote Agent		NP	NP	NP
Reporting		Included	Included
Totals	$ -	$198,632.00	$409,362.00	$ -	$ -
Grand Total					$607,994.00

AIC, Avaya® Interactive Center; IVR, interactive voice response; NP, not provided.

Nortel/NextiraOne

Item	Hardware	Software	Professional Services	Maintenance	Other
IVR	NP	NP	NP	NP
Genesys MM		$101,452.50	$77,412.97	$20,424.32
Genesys IC		$117,685.00	$116,859.46	$24,622.22
Remote Agent		Included	Included	Included
Reporting		Included	Included	Included
Totals	$ -	$219,137.50	$194,272.43	$45,046.54	$ -
Grand Total					$458,456.47

IC, interaction center; IVR, interactive voice response; MM, multimedia; NP, not provided.

Proposed Option 2

Outsourcing of Multi-channel Contact Center Components

Ineto Services, Inc.

Item	Hardware	Software	Professional Services	Maintenance	Other
E-service 36-50	NA	NA	$30,000.00	$4,380.00	$87,600.00
Usage	NA	NA		$8,394.10	$167,882.09
RightNow	NA	NA	$1,000.00
Web Application	NA	NA	NP	NP
E-reporting	NA	NA	$500.00		$1,200.00
Totals	$ -	$ -	$31,500.00	$12,774.10	$256,682.09
Grand Total					$300,956.19

Note: Pricing (other than professional services) provided is recurring yearly cost

NA, not available; NP, not provided.

Proposed Option 3

Combination Development of Multi-channel Contact Center and Outsourcing

Item	Vendor	Hardware	Software	Professional Services	Other
IVR	Avaya/Expanets	Included	Included	$145,000.00	Training included
Web/E-mail	Ineto			$30,000.00	$175,921.04
Remote Agent	Avaya/Expanets	NP	NP	NP
Reporting	Ineto	Included	Included	$500.00	$1,200.00
Totals	$ -	$ -	$ -	$175,500.00	$177,121.04
Grand Total					$352,621.04

Note: Pricing (other than professional services) provided is recurring yearly cost for Ineto Services, Inc.

IVR, interactive voice response; NP, not provided.

Key Performance Metrics

Best-in-Class Comparisons/Components

Appendix I displays 30 elements with associated best-in-class metrics. This same appendix appears as a summary for each call center we visited. Appendix II contains a glossary defining calculations and the importance of each of the best-in-class elements.

For comparison between call centers, we captured operational statistics from July 2002 to March 2003. This was the period most recently completed prior to the consultant visit. This will remain consistent unless otherwise noted within the specific call center analysis.

Many of the elements will contain an "NA" (not available) listed next to the element. Due to the abbreviated assessment portion of the engagement, some elements marked "NA" might currently be tracked by the organization, but were not provided or observed during the engagement. A further review of each "NA" is in order for the call centers.

Although some of the element targets may vary by industry and most surely by function within various call centers, they serve as a benchmark to review current operational statistics and strategies.

These 30 elements help to structure the following major categories¹:

• Leadership Strategies for Success.
• Information Management and Analysis.
• Planning.
• Human Resource Management.
• Process Management.
• Business Results.
• Customer Focus and Satisfaction.

Chart 4 plots these seven categories based on a macro summary of the processes feeding the three call centers reviewed. This is a somewhat subjective assessment, as some call centers are more strongly aligned with a specific category of performance. This snapshot targets certain areas that RMPDC may choose for further review and investigation.

Chart 4. Plot of Seven Categories Based on Macro Summary of Processes Feeding the Three Call Centers Review

[D] Select for Text Description.

How to read Chart 4:

Wood Associates conducted a subjective assessment based on initial observations by our consultant during the four week information exchange process. We interviewed leadership, management, and observed HCP telephone interaction during various times of the day within the three call centers. Each of the 7 categories contains a mixture of the 30 element matrix as outlined in Appendix I. Assuming that best-in-class metrics for each category would be 100 percent, the top part of the bar shows the level of perceived defect by category—the greater the top bar, the greater the amount of defects. Strengths in the "overall" comparison would point to leadership, planning, and customer focus.

Introduction to Best-in-Class Components

Review of over 400 call centers across major verticals has revealed that successful operations can be identified across 30 consistent elements. These identified elements link strongly to higher customer satisfaction ratings for call centers. The discovery process, unfortunately at too high a level for this engagement, drove at uncovering current practices that may be in alignment with components of best-in-class metrics. For RMPDC as a whole current CMS reports were downloaded, and any performance feedback metrics or current planning documents were reviewed. These reports indicate areas of tracking for the call centers.

Each of the 30 elements represented in the "Best-in-Class Elements" matrix call for an in-depth analytical engagement from a performance management, business consulting, or technology development company. The next steps for the call centers consist of identifying those elements contained within the matrix that are key performance indicators supporting the vision of RMPDC. Those elements directly link with actionable items supporting each call center mission. The glossary within Appendix II will help at uncovering a basic calculation of the metric. What will be beneficial to each call center will be the discovery mission that will take place in realizing the performance behind the metric (the "result" of processes). Such a discovery mission usually uncovers many deficiencies in the supporting processes.

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¹Categories taken from: Putting Customers First; Serving the American Public: Best Practices in Telephone Services. Prepared by the National Performance Review, Federal Consortium, 1995.

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Appendix I: Best-in-Class Categories

Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center (RMPDC)

Category/Element	Best-in-Class Metric	RMPDC	Gap	Directions Yes/No/OS
Average speed of answer (ASA)	15 seconds	37	-	Yes
Queue time	15-20 seconds	NA		OS
Blockage	< 1%	NA		Not provided
Abandon calls	3-4.5%	10%	-	OS
Outbound calls	variable	37%		OS
Transferred calls	< 15%	8%	+	OS
After call	< 65 seconds	27	+	Improperly utilized
IVR call handling	> 40%	NA		Yes
Call forecasting accuracy	> 99%	85% +		Consistent call volume
Future call forecasting	12 month min.	As needed		Client focused
Schedule adherence	> 90%	NA		Not provided
Occupancy	85%	NA		Not provided
Available time	75%	NA		Not provided
Attrition rate	3-7%	Very low	+	Unsure
First call resolution	85-95%	NA		Not measured
Repeat calls	< 16%	NA		Not tracked
Customer satisfaction	> 95%	NA		Infrequent
IS availability	99.99%	99% +	+	Most systems
Performance feedback	Monthly	Yearly		Need frequency
Outcome based pay for performance	Yes	NA		Not provided
Strategic plan	Communicated	Leadership	-	Expand to all levels
Vision/mission	Displayed	Displayed	+	Exhibited
Cost per call (by minute)	< $1.00	NA		Not provided
Training time	> 3 weeks	10 weeks +	-	Needs streamlined
Recognition plans	Yes	NA		Unsure
Customer knowledge data	Yes	NA		Yes
Customer contact automation	Yes	NA		Yes
Attendant prompting	4 options	< 4	+	Yes
IVR prompts	4 layers	NA		Yes
"0" to live attendant	Yes	NA		Yes

IVR, interactive voice response; IS, information systems department; NA, not available, or not provided during WAC consultants' visit; OS, Not in business plan to address or out-of-scope for project(s).

Note: April 2003-June 2003

Appendix II: Best-in-Class Categories Calculations/Descriptions

No.	Metric Heading	Calculation/Description	Importance
1	ASA	Average length of time taken to live answer a call offered to a group	First experience of a customer with a call center, the longer the wait the greater the frustration
2	Queue time	Length of time a call/caller is in queue waiting for a live answer	"Maximum Delay" is sometimes used in tracking the longest amount of time a single caller is held in queue; may indicate problems with call routing strategies, or other interactive application problems
3	Blockage	Percent of calls receiving a forced busy, either from the network or within the PBX	Higher percentages will contribute to customer loss, lower customer satisfaction, or lengthened handling once customer does get a connection
4	Abandon calls	Calls abandoned while in queue divided by total calls offered (answered plus abandoned)	Lost opportunities to service customers-some "natural" abandons will occur; higher numbers indicate poor call routing, inefficient staffing levels, or inappropriate agent occupancy
5	Outbound calls	Calls made to internal extensions (other departments) and "out" to other parties/customers	Inbound centers track the efficiency of processes by lowering the percentage of outbound calls to inbound calls; Inbound efficiency is directly linked to the availability of telephone representatives
6	Transferred calls	Calls handed internally/externally to another group, organization or supplier	Indicates inefficiency of call routing, or inability of telephone representatives to handle call to resolution
7	After call	Time telephone representative spends "after (the) call" performing wrap-up, data entry, or further customer research	Higher after call work times suggest incomplete process issues, inability to perform functions while on calls, or customer record systems not designed to "pace" with the call
8	IVR call handling	Number of completed calls within IVR (successful transactions) divided by total offered calls	Higher successful IVR transactions relate to reduced cost per call (on total), customer satisfaction improvement, and reduced staffing expenses
9	Call forecasting accuracy	Forecast calls divided by actual calls	One of three key elements in a staffing model; the higher the accuracy, the more accurate the staffing model resulting in efficient use of telephone personnel
10	Future call forecasting	Predictability of future call/work volumes for at least 12 mo	Provides ability for staffing/budget preparation and allocation of resources
11	Schedule adherence	Availability of telephone representatives in alignment with scheduled requirements	Staffing availability and accountability during forecast call volume periods
12	Occupancy	Utilization of call center telephone representatives (i.e., talk time plus after call divided by staff time [varies by site/call center software])	Key for inbound call centers, as economies of scale are utilized, insuring uniform usage of telephone representatives while avoiding "burnout" through over-utilization
13	Available time	Percent of staff time waiting for a call	Available time needs to be balanced with occupancy, also coupled with occupancy insuring there is some balancing of load (calls time/talk time)
14	Attrition rate	Percent of total staff "turned over" in budget period (varies by call center site)	Needed metric in understanding training needs/expense, as well as planning for high volume work periods
15	First call resolution	Calls determined by customer as "resolved" divided by total calls answered	Used to barometer success of call center solution process, efficiency rating for customer satisfaction
16	Repeat calls	Calls determined by customer as a "repeat" to resolve same problem/concern/information divided by total calls answered	Repeat calls are indication of incomplete processes, poor service delivery strategies, telephone representative training issues
17	Customer Satisfaction	"Overall" satisfaction rating delivered objectively to sampling agency/process	Prime indicator of business health and key provider of business improvement opportunities
20	Outcome based pay for performance	Pay incentives aligned with performance objectives	Key to getting desired operational results; need to be aligned with key drivers of the business and communicated simply and uniformly to build coach/player relationships
21	Strategic plan	Strategic road-map for success of organization	Used during performance feedback, team development, and celebrations of success; this element uniformly communicated drives the business forward to attain objectives
22	Vision/mission	High level communication of business direction	Uniformly displayed and communicated through the leadership ranks, a key "motivator" driving a uniform success strategy
23	Cost per call (by minute)	Total expenses associated with the call center (hardware, software, telecom, facilities, management, training, system support, etc.) divided by actual answered calls	Indicator of success in call delivery and solution delivery processes; sometimes used as indicator of telephony vendor contracts and telephone representative system/job abuse
24	Training and development	Weeks of training provided (some use "informal" training within the calculation) to telephone representative annually	Helps build qualified workforce, encourages telephone representatives to perform at higher levels, provides "relief" in front-line organizations
25	Recognition plans	Awards, acknowledgments for accomplishments of the telephone representatives	Encourages higher levels of performance, improves personal accountability
26	Customer knowledge data	"Know-me" database, either prompted via call routing, ANI-matches, or IVR prompting	Key to a "customer intimacy" model that suggests a proactive record keeping and accounting for all transactions with a customer
27	Customer contact automation	Automatic system capture of IVR prompting and call transaction data in "knowledge" database	Reduces talk time and set-up by telephone representative allowing swift movement to trouble/contact resolution; greatly improves employee and customer satisfaction
28	Attendant prompting	Choices offered to a customer upon entering call center telephone switch	Simple, few, understandable, and informative prompts allow customers quicker access to desired location for enhanced information and streamlined transactions
29	IVR prompts	Choices offered to a customer to complete transactions "interactively" with online systems	Simple, few, understandable, and informative prompts allow customers quicker access to desired location for enhanced information and streamlined transactions
30	"0" to live attendant	Default to live telephone representative	Streamlines movement for "lost" or frustrated customers to get live agent help

ANI, automatic number identification; ASA, average speed of answer; IVR, interactive voice response; PBX, private branch exchange.

AHRQ Publication No. 05-0040
Current as of January 2005

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Internet Citation:

Health Emergency Assistance Line and Triage Hub (HEALTH) Model. AHRQ Publication No. 05-0040, January 2005. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/health/report.htm

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