Audience Services

Concepts

• customer services
• customer management services
• exceptional service
• audience insights
• audience members
• audiences
• audience loyalty
• increasing audience self-service
• the existing service stack
• the current service scope

Location

London

Description

The BBC is looking to procure customer management services to support a broad range of services including: • Handling editorial and non-editorial complaints • Responding to enquiries • Managing comments & appreciations • Technical support for iPlayer, Sounds, BBC Account • Reception Advice • BBC Action Lines • BBC Charitable Appeals & Donations collections (Lifeline & Radio 4) • Artist mail • Ticketing for BBC shows • Take Part in a show • BBC Switchboard The BBC has a mission to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which continue to inform, educate and entertain. Audience Services supports this by continuing to put our audiences at the heart of our operation, providing them exceptional service, irrespective of channel. We engage them with respect and understanding and work to build audience loyalty to the BBC and the Licence Fee. Our strategic objectives are to: - Manage the front door to the BBC, ensuring that audience members are heard, driving a seamless experience across the customer engagement - Unlock innovation to future proof the service, leveraging technology where it adds value and enables the customer journey - Uphold brand reputation by engaging with audience members in a respectful manner, building trust and demonstrating BBC values - Amplify the value of the service and audience sentiment by cascading insights to help inform editorial and operational decision making Any new solution or technology employed must enhance and improve our ability to handle all contacts in a consistent, timely and appropriate way. This includes issues which are serious, complex or may potentially pose reputational damage. Our approach is to reprocure the current service scope, excluding the hosting of our Customer Relationship Management System (which will be migrated across to the BBC’s Azure tenancy ahead of contract award) but including requirements to manage the BBC’s Switchboard. The new contract will aim to make provision for change, including scope expansion elements (e.g. increased use of social media) that complement the existing service stack, and align ourselves to key BBC objectives, in particular ‘Digital First’.

Total Quantity or Scope

The over-riding objective of the procurement is to enhance the service offering whilst maintaining the high quality of the services enjoyed by audiences today. Potential efficiency opportunities are being assessed for all service lines, in particular how the introduction of new technologies such as AI can augment case handling making our skilled agents even more efficient and effective. We also want to make better use of the rich data we compile to help us drive audience insights across the BBC. Examples of potential use cases already identified include: • Sifting and grouping contacts which relate to the same issue, which can be handled via bulk responses • Drawing from our Knowledge database to draft responses for agents to review • Increasing audience self-service via dynamic FAQ surfaced using Chatbot However, we want to make use of the negotiation phase of this procurement to work with bidders to really develop this thinking and ensure we deliver the best operating model possible for the next generation of Audience Services. The procurement intends to award the contract to a single supplier to provide a seamless end-to-end service to audiences in conjunction with the BBC team.

Renewal Options

The BBC is looking to enter into the contract in March 2025 to allow for a potential 12 month transition period, if necessary, to Service Commencement on 16th April 2026. The service provision will have an initial term of five years, anticipated to commence on 16th April 2026 and ending on 31st March 2031. The Contract may be extended, at the BBC’s discretion, by up to 24 or 36 months (subject to negotiations during the procurement procedure). This would mean that the maximum length of the service provision could be 8 years. The advertised total value includes all maximum, potential extensions to the contract.

CPV Codes

• 79342300 - Customer services
• 22459000 - Tickets
• 64214200 - Telephone switchboard services

Indicators

• Bids should cover the whole contract.
• Options are available.
• Renewals are not available.
• Professional qualifications are sought.
• Award on basis of price and quality.

Other Information

Before you are able to register your interest in this PQQ via the Jaggaer portal, you must please send a signed copy of the NDA to jonathan.palfreeman@bbc.co.uk and elaine.gannuny@bbc.co.uk. This can be found under the 'Opportunity Listing' at https://www.bbc.co.uk/supplying/opportunities and clicking on 'View Current Opportunities'. In the case of technology requirements, the BBC may involve its technology partner (Atos IT Solutions and Services Limited) to assist in the scoping and drafting of invitations to tender and/or the evaluation of tenders. However, the final decision as to which is the most economically advantageous (by reference to the award criteria) will be made by the BBC. The awarding authority reserves the right not to award a contract and to annul the procurement process at any stage. Tenders and all supporting documents must be priced in sterling and all payments will be made in sterling. The contract shall be subject to English law. The awarding authority does not bind itself to accept the lowest, or any tender and reserves the right to accept part of a tender unless the tenderer expressly stipulates otherwise in the tender document.