#outsource labor services

Datacom Lands $76M Deal in ATO Outsourcing Spree

Datacom’s customer experience and contact centre business, Datacom Connect, has won a $76.3 million multi-year outsource labor services deal with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

The contract win, which sees Datacom Connect renew a pre-existing arrangement with the ATO, is just one of a number of new business process outsource (BPO) deals Australia’s tax collector has just dished out to external suppliers.

The ATO has also granted Probe Group a $35.7 million deal for outsource labour services, while Stellar Asia Pacific has been granted a deal worth $49.6 million for the same services.

At the same time, Serco Global Services has been named as the recipient of an outsource labour services agreement worth more than $124 million over three years.

Serco Group reportedly renewed a pre-existing agreement with the ATO in 2012, inking a contract worth $140 million over five years, with two one year extension options.

Indeed, the ATO has used outsource providers to manage workload peaks for a number of years. The outsourcing arrangements provide flexible options to supplement the agency’s workforce.

In 2011, the ATO outsourced a component of its contact centre activities through the creation of contracts with three providers, Datacom, Serco and Stellar.

“In preparation for the expiry of these contracts the ATO undertook an open tendering activity in 2015 to meet the continuing requirements of our outsourced labour services, including contact centre services,”

The result of that tendering activity was the establishment of a supplier panel comprising six providers, including Concentrix, Datacom, Probe, Salmat, Serco and Stellar.

Earlier this year a request for quote (RFQ) was issued for a new period, beginning in November 2017 and extending until February 2020.

The RFQ ultimately resulted in the establishment of contracts with four providers: Datacom; Serco; Stellar; and Probe.

Since at least July 2013, Datacom has provided a large scale, multi-channel outsource contact centre for the ATO, after the company won a $32.5 million contract to deliver a range of contact centre services to the agency.

The four year contract followed Datacom’s earlier September 2012 appointment to the ATO’s Outsource Contact Centre Services (OCCS) panel.

“We are delighted to have been awarded this work after going through a fiercely competitive process to secure a place on the panel last year, and an extensive process to design a support model that met the ATO’S flexibility requirements," Datacom Group CEO, Jonathan Ladd, said at the time.

According to Datacom, the contact centre used to fulfil its contract obligations with the ATO has more than 500 employees, and provides customer service across multiple ATO business lines and skillsets.

The company also draws upon its contact centre capabilities to play a role in the ATO's Outsource Community Improvement Program (OCIP).