515-25 ODOT Contact Center

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) aims to streamline and improve our customer service operations through the implementation of ODOT’s first cohesive public contact center.  An integrated solution that includes Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Call Management, and Knowledge Management (KM) will be key technical components of this effort.  ODOT, one of the largest Ohio state agencies, is seeking proposals from qualified vendors who have proven experience with designing, building, integrating, and implementing a CRM, Call Management System (to include Quality Assurance and Workforce Management), and KM system.  In addition, the Vendor will be responsible for producing and executing an Organizational Change Management (OCM) strategy to aid the agency in managing and adopting the changes associated with the new technology, business processes, and people (internal).  ODOT may require the short-listed top scoring Vendors to attend an interview and demonstrate their solution(s) before the final recommendation of the contract award at ODOT Central Office, 1980 West Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43223.  Evaluation criteria for the demonstrations will be provided separately to short-listed Vendors if a decision is made to conduct interviews.  Interview questions will be based on the proposals and/or demonstrations.The project objectives are to:
develop and execute an effective organizational change management strategy for ODOT’s internal audience throughout the project lifecycle, streamline intake, tracking, and closeout of customer service inquiries to ensure a more efficient, reliable, and repeatable customer support model resulting in a more consistent customer experience, improve insight into customer service performance through data collection, reporting, and analytics, reduce operational costs by automating tasks and streamlining processes, and enhance and standardize tools to track, manage, and resolve customer cases.

Project success is defined as follows: OCM plan is implemented on time and within budget. Employee resistance is minimized and engagement remains high throughout the change process. Employees effectively adopt the change and achieve the desired outcomes. CRM, Call Management, and KM are integrated and implemented on time and within budget. Operational costs are reduced through automation and streamlined processes.
Background: The Ohio Department of Transportation does not utilize any single application for tracking or responding to customer inquiries and complaints.  ODOT answers calls from the public through more than 100 separate external phone numbers, receives walk-ins, posts on social media, and emails through hundreds of contact points including an online feedback form (feedback form link).  This customer engagement may include, but is not limited to, inquiries or complaints about construction projects, maintenance of interstate, US, or state routes (e.g., high water, potholes, debris, bridges), snow and ice removal operations, job opportunities, hauling permits, real estate transactions, and rest areas.To provide a consistent customer experience across the state, and ensure better tracking and closeout of customer inquiries, the Agency established the Contact Center with a pilot group beginning in February 2024.  The pilot group has grown and now serves ODOT Central Office, District 1, District 2, District 3, District 4, District 5, District 8, and District 9 (ODOT District map link).  These regions of the state span 52 of the 88 Ohio counties serving both a rural and urban population.  The pilot group is using a modified version of the aforementioned online feedback form, in addition to Cisco Finesse’s call management system paired with Jabber.  While Cisco Finesse may be integrated with a CRM and KM system, ODOT is open to a holistic, replacement solution.  There will be no migration of existing knowledge documents, customer data, or customer inquiry/case data.  ODOT will not be responsible for implementing integrations with other current applications in use at ODOT (whether hosted or on-premise) with the replacement solution.  The Vendor must meet ODOT’s IT Technical Requirements (appended to RFP).  If Cloud-hosted, the awarded Vendor must complete a Cloud Services Agreement (CSA).