Call Center Services

The vendor required to provide call center to customer service support, including the handling and resolution of general and routine inquiries related to personal income tax, received via telephone.
- This engagement requires the contractor to maintain continuous, multi-channel communication capabilities (verbal, electronic, and written) and to respond effectively to both standard and time-sensitive taxpayer inquiries.
- Call volumes
•    Contractor’s call center representatives will perform 5,400,000 projected minutes over the eighteen-month period of performance.
- Inbound call center:
•    Contractor approved staff will (by use of approved and assigned com hardware and credentials and secure connectivity, utilize the com contact center and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms.
•    Perform tier 1 (the initial support level or entry point that a customer will first reach every time they contact the customer support team) call center services for inbound calls to the agency. 
•    Tier 2 (the escalation team in a customer service center in charge of handling more complex calls) and tier 3 requests (those involving the most difficult or advanced problems that require a subject matter expert) will be ticketed by contractor approved staff and escalated to the agency subject matter experts in a manner indicated by the agency.
•    Decrease call wait times and abandonment rates. 
•    Ensure contractor staff follows up with customers who have a ticket escalated to the agency within two (2) business days if the agency has not responded to the ticket confirming that the issue has been resolved.
•    Provide the ability to communicate in other languages (at a minimum, english, Spanish, creole, French, Korean, Russian, Chinese, and Vietnamese).
•    Provide innovative ideas, practices, technologies, and other services aimed at improving customer service.
- Outbound calls:
•    Create and retain documentation and recording of all satisfaction survey calls. 
•    Handle all outbound telephone calls in accordance with the procedures outlined in the taxpayer services division’s operations manual, at an average rate of at least 6 calls per hour, with an accuracy rate of at least 85%. 
•    An average rate per 7.5-hour day is 45 calls.
•    Design and implement a structured escalation and issue management protocol utilizing the agency CRM system. 
•    This process shall include warm transfer capabilities, enabling call center representatives to seamlessly transition complex inquiries to appropriate agency personnel or external agencies when applicable. 
•    All relevant caller information must be conveyed during the transfer to ensure continuity and minimize the need for callers to repeat details. 
•    Provide the ability to communicate in other languages (at a minimum, english, Spanish, creole, French, Korean, Russian, Chinese, and Vietnamese).
•    The contractor shall provide the ability to communicate in other languages (at a minimum, english, Spanish, creole, French, Korean, Russian, Chinese, and Vietnamese).
- State responsibilities
•    Have an 85% or higher, first call resolution rate. 
•    This means that caller’s questions will be answered without having to escalate to agency subject matter experts. 
•    Transferring a call to a higher tier at agency, or transferring a call to a higher tier internally, is not considered a resolution.
•    All incoming telephone calls shall be handled in accordance with the procedures outlined in the taxpayer services division’s operations manual, at an average rate of at least 6 calls per hour, with an accuracy rate of at least 85%. 
•    An average rate per 7.5-hour day is 45.
•    Access and analyze account information and be able to explain any issues that may exist with a taxpayer’s account at a beginning level with an average accuracy rate of at least 85%.
•    Ensure the call center’s monthly abandonment call rate does not exceed 5% (i.e., 95% of all incoming calls are to be answered each month). 
•    Exhibit knowledge of the state tax laws and regulations for the required number of calls without supervisory assistance at least 85% of the time with an accuracy rate of at least 85% over the review period
•    Ensure call queue wait times to be less than 45 seconds during peak times, periods of heavy call volumes, and extended hours. 
•    Ensure call queue wait times for phone to be less than 30 seconds during non-peak times.
•    Ensure a resolution time for customer calls to be less than 10 minutes. 
•    Reduce wait times for calls transferred or referred by internal agency divisions or other state agencies.

- Contract Period/Term: 1.5 years
- Pre-Proposal Conference Date: February 11, 2026
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: February 17, 2026