The Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) seeks software for a new online customer portal, according to a request for tender dated 24 September.
“The FWO customer portal project needs to deliver an online customer engagement and self-service channel, via a commercial off-the-shelf portal software package,” FWO said.
It does not want a custom-developed package. “The customer portal will supplement existing customer channels, providing an alternative channel to advise and assist employers and employees about their rights and responsibilities under the national Workplace Relations system.
“It is intended that the portal will empower FWO customers to self-manage their workplace relations needs by providing them with improved, 24/7 access to information, advice, and educational resources specific to their needs, all behind a secure login.”
The FWO currently engages with customers through a call center, online chat and email correspondence. Per annum, the FWO said it receives 880,000 calls, holds 50,000 chat sessions and writes 40,000 email responses.
FWO hopes the new portal will help free up its call centre and other channels to manage “more complex customer enquiries”. The portal should allow the FWO in the future to move customer complaints and other transactions online, FWO said.
“The FWO is currently investigating hosting options for the portal and is considering both internal as well as external (cloud-based) hosting options”, and the software should support either approach, FWO said.
The software should be scalable, said FWO, predicting an initial base of 10,000 customers to grow to more than 100,000 in three to four years. It should support popular desktop browsers, mobile devices and social media channels, FWO said.
Tenders must be submitted by 22 October.
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