Real-Time Monitoring of the Contact Center Helps Correct Today's Problems
April 08, 2014
By Tracey E. Schelmetic
TMCnet Contributor
In the contact center, as well as the broader enterprise, reporting isn’t new. Since the earliest days of commerce, investors and managers demanded accountability, and the preparation of reports has been an important part of that. The problem with traditional reporting however is that it generally tells you what you’ve done wrong (or right) long after the fact, when it’s too late to make changes and salvage any outcomes, turning them from positive to negative.
While this time lag shouldn’t encourage companies to disregard reporting – it helps in refining business processes for the future – today’s solutions offer real-time reporting and should be considered as a way of not only keeping track of results, but allowing companies to make changes on-the-fly – which can benefit operations.
Real-time reporting that can lead to real-time management is increasingly a fixture in modern workforce management solutions. Solutions such as those offered by ISI Telemanagement Solutions (News - Alert) and its Infortel Workforce Management product make it easy to use real-time management features. Because contact centers provide a diverse and dynamic work environment, it is imperative to stay on top of all activity, at all times, according to a recent blog post by the company.
“One benefit of real-time management is the ability to track and report on performance,” according to the blog post. “This allows for intraday adjustments to be made in order to meet targets and ensure efficiency.”
Real-time reporting on performance can help managers “spot train” agents who may be struggling to keep metrics up, eliminating the need for a full classroom training session for remedial skills when it may be only a narrow skill set that needs brushing up on.
To make it easy to monitor throughout the day in real-time, many of today’s solutions also offer a real-time graphical interface. With this interface, managers can adjust breaks and lunch schedules. Coupling this with the ability to report and adjust workforce requirements greatly increases the overall functionality of the contact center, according to ISI’s Justin DiSandro.
“Another feature of real-time management is the ability to compare agents scheduled against required agents,” he wrote. “For instances where one may need to meet service targets, the user can generate a display that automatically compares what staff is on hand against what is needed to operate at an ideal efficiency.”
Discovering what the contact center did wrong in the past is of limited value. An easy way to tell, at a glance, what it’s doing wrong right now allows managers to take a far more proactive approach, engaging in corrective behavior, and learn the contact center in a way that helps them anticipate the center’s needs in the future.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi