As a result,  agencies have established multichannel contact centers to handle these  inquiries. Four of the six included  a specific metric to measure contractor performance related to providing  accurate information to the public, but only one of the six used all four of  the oversight practices we identified—such as actively monitoring  contacts—to ensure that accurate information is provided to the public. Each agency  emphasized accuracy of information to varying degrees within its  practices. The agencies we reviewed varied  with respect to how they implemented these practices. Table 4 shows the extent to which the six agencies we reviewed employ  each of the accuracy-related oversight practices. CDC plans to implement three types of  postcontact customer satisfaction surveys through a third-party contractor  beginning in June 2006. Although DOL, Education, and  TMA review their contractor reports, they rely upon the reports without  validation. Governmentwide Guidance and Information on Contact Centers Do Not Exist

The federal government does not have comprehensive, centralized  guidance for operating a contact center or for overseeing a contractor- operated center. Furthermore, until recently, no  governmentwide information specific to contact centers has been  collected. Because of the need for governmentwide standards for operating contact  centers, GSA in consultation with OMB, took the initiative to form an  interagency working group to propose guidelines to OMB and other  federal agencies. Table 5 lists the NAICS codes used by the five agencies  reporting data to FPDS. No governmentwide procurement information was reported to FPDS using  the NAICS codes for telephone call centers in fiscal years 2000 through  2004. Although officials from three of the agencies  we reviewed expressed the opinion that the definition for telephone call  centers is too narrow to encompass all the work performed by a contact  center, OMB told us that the telephone call center code is the correct code  to use. While OMB and GSA have taken initial steps to enhance the oversight of  federal contact centers by gathering some information on the universe of  these centers, it is not clear whether the data collected provide enough  information for governmentwide oversight of contact center operations or  whether GSA’s planned data collection efforts will do so either. Recommendations for Executive Action

To facilitate the sharing of sound oversight practices for the operation of  contact centers, to help ensure that providing accurate information to the  public by contact centers is a priority outcome, and to improve the quality  of information gathered about these centers, we recommend that the  Director of the Office of Management and Budget take the following  actions:    Building on efforts begun by the GSA-sponsored interagency  committee, work with agencies to develop a mechanism for sharing  performance metrics and oversight practices for contact centers. Postal Service. DOD states that standards exist in its contract related to the accuracy of  information provided by telephone. This report is available at no charge on GAO’s Web site at  http://www.gao.gov. To describe federal agencies’ efforts to ensure accurate information is  provided to the public by contractor-operated centers, we reviewed the  contract terms and oversight activities for one center at each of six  agencies. The contact centers selected for our review are    Department of Defense TriCare Management Activity (TMA) North  region—Healthnet’s contact center: provides general and personalized  medical benefit and coverage information and processes enrollments  and claims for military families in the North region;    Department of Education (Education)—Federal Student Aid  Information Center: provides general information about applications  and loan issues and personalized information on the status of  applications and loans to the public and academic community;    Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease  Control and Prevention (CDC)—CDC INFO contact center: provides  information about health and safety issues—including prevention,  detection, and outbreak control—to the public and medical  professionals;    Department of Labor (DOL)—National Contact Center: provides  general information and referrals regarding job issues, workplace  safety, and pension and health benefits to the public and employers;    General Services Administration—National Contact Center: provides  general information and referrals related to any agency or government  program; and    U.S. Reliability of Federal Procurement Data, GAO-04-295R.
Why GAO Did This Study

Federal agencies have increasingly relied on contact centers--centers handling inquiries via multiple channels such as telephone, Web page, e-mail, and postal mail--as a key means of communicating with the public. Many of these centers are contractor-operated. Concerns exist about the accuracy of responses provided through contractor-operated centers. This report examines (1) the extent to which the contract terms and oversight practices for contact centers at selected agencies emphasize the importance of providing accurate information to the public, and (2) whether guidance for the operation of contact centers and basic information needed to provide general oversight exist. GAO reviewed one contractor-operated contact center at each of six agencies: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), General Services Administration (GSA), U.S. Postal Service (USPS), and the Departments of Defense, Labor, and Education (DOD, DOL, and Education).

What GAO Found

The contracts and oversight practices for the contact centers of the six agencies reviewed, which handle millions of inquiries annually, varied significantly regarding the emphasis they placed on providing accurate information to the public. Although federal policy for disseminating information to the public specifically emphasizes accuracy, only four of the six agencies include accuracy as a performance metric in their contracts. With respect to oversight, only two of the six agencies used all four of the accuracy-related oversight practices we identified--regular knowledge database reviews, regular contact monitoring, postcontact customer satisfaction surveys, and validation of contractor reports. Although each agency used some form of oversight to assess the accuracy of the information provided by its contact center, each agency differed regarding how it implemented these practices. There is no governmentwide guidance or standards for operating contact centers--including guidance on specifying accuracy as a contract performance metric or as a key focus for oversight. Some agencies indicated that had federal guidance been available, it would have helped them establish performance indicators and develop oversight policies and practices. Recognizing the need for operational standards for contact centers, an interagency working group recently proposed draft guidelines to OMB and other federal agencies, but OMB has no plans to issue these guidelines or any standards for use by agencies. Additionally, until recently the federal government had not collected data on the universe of federal contact centers. OMB and GSA attempted to collect data on the number, types, and costs of federal contact centers in 2004, but the data collected were incomplete. In addition, no governmentwide procurement information was reported to the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) in fiscal years 2000 through 2004 using the reporting code for telephone call centers, which OMB said is the appropriate code for contact centers. The five agencies we reviewed that report data to FPDS used a variety of different codes, some because they believe that the telephone call center code is too narrow to cover the services of their multichannel contact centers.