Call Center Management Featured Article
With the Right Tools Call Center Management Can Reduce Shrinkage
Shrinkage is an unnecessary cost in the call center when agents fail to follow the posted schedule. Call center management must implement robust solutions to drive real-time adherence.
A recent Monet Software blog highlighted the challenges that exist for call center management today. The failure to motivate agents to maintain real-time adherence drives up unnecessary costs and hurts the bottom line.
To gauge real-time agent adherence, call center management must compare planned agent activity against activities agents participate in throughout the day. It also examines real-time views of actual call volumes against forecasted, handle times and other key performance indicators that can impact performance and the agent’s ability to earn bonuses.
With a robust scheduling and workforce management platform in place, call center management has the ability to compare actual activities against scheduled activities and review a breakdown of each hour or other timeframe according to activity. Exceptions can also be managed, while call center management relies on this platform to see when agents are available for calls, when to take lunches, breaks or schedule training times.
Call center management often place significant emphasis on real-time adherence, but for a reason. Shrinkage is measured by calculating the amont of time agents are paid while doing activities that render them unavailable to take calls. The call center’s ability to meet service levels is dramatically affected by shrinkage and real-time adherence provides the necessary capabilities and tools to manage and even reduce shrinkage.
With the right tools in place with scheduling and workforce management platforms, call center management is better equipped to monitor agent status in real-time, view agent exceptions and approve or deny these exceptions in real-time, receive alerts instantly for agents who are out-of-adherence and reforecast, reschedule and adjust staffing as necessary using data collected from monitoring and analyzing key performance indicators and trends.
Individuals within the call center management realm can also rely on these tools to track and compare forecasted and actual call center statistics to provide a true picture of performance; schedule overtime or needed time off during low or high call volume situations; and evaluate overall adherence and take the necessary action to improve performance.
Call centers play a vital role in the relationship between the company and the customer. At the same time, this division of the company is one of the most expensive. As such, call center management must keep a firm handle on all scheduling and activities to maintain schedule adherence and keep shrinkage to a minimum.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Chris DiMarco