Call Center Management Featured Article
January 29, 2009
Recession Proof Your Call Center with Monet WFM On Demand
In the midst of today’s fallen economy, companies continue to search for new ways to run their operations without breaking the bank and affecting their customer service. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) offers struggling companies an innovative way to capitalize on the Internet, reduce costs and streamline operations.
A recent report by market research firm, IDC noted that although the economy continues to deliver its blow to many markets and industries, the SaaS market should remain unaffected. In fact, IDC (News - Alert) predicts that as business and consumers try to take advantage of the benefits of SaaS, the market will actually increase.
SaaS has helped many consumers thanks to its easy-to-use subscription services which monitor current use, not future capacity. In addition, the service expands to new levels as vendors and partners search for the latest products and recurring revenue streams.
According IDC’s research, 76 percent of U.S. organizations will use at least one SaaS-delivered application for their business in 2009. Moreover, 45 percent of U.S firms will spend at least 25 percent of their IT budgets on SaaS applications this year.
Monet Software, a call center management provider that focuses on workforce management, has a proven track record for delivering quality and value to ensure maximum performance and reduce costs with its Workforce Management (WFM) On Demand SaaS solution.
For many call centers, traditional software implementation is too expensive, time and resource consuming. Call centers are unable to take advantage of management solution that improves agent productivity and enhances overall business operations. Frustrated with these modern day challenges, call centers go back to using a manual spreadsheet.
This challenge within the common call canter becomes apparent when it comes to agent scheduling. Monet’s On Demand (or Software-as-a-Service) model of software delivery addresses these specific problems experienced within small- and medium-sized call centers. On Demand delivers the functionality of an enterprise software solution without the associated risks and costs.
Some of the benefits of Monet’s On Demand solution include:
-- Faster set up - Load your data and users and you are ready to go. No software or hardware installation needed.
-- Lower cost - no large upfront investment, low monthly fee, no hidden costs for upgrade and maintenance.
-- Lower risk - you can turn it off without affecting service.
-- Easier to use - On demand solution are easier to use than traditional software packages, 100 percent Web-based.
-- More scalable - Easily add users and agents.
-- Try before you buy - See yourself how it works before you buy.
-- IT friendly - no installation, no hardware or software to maintain.
Meeting or exceeding service levels while controlling costs is one of the major issues often faced by call center management. With Monet’s On Demand Workforce Management Solution, call centers gain an affordable and flexible way to accurately forecast call volumes, effectively schedule and manage performance of their agents. This results in increased service levels and reduced payroll costs. With Monet WFM On Demand, call center managers can estimate call levels and schedule agents across multiple sites and time zones based on their findings.
Call center management solutions automate the scheduling process management, avoiding under or over staffing and ensuring agents are working when they are needed, while also making the best use of their skills. Call centers can also easily manage multi-skilled agents for handling inbound calls, outbound calls, e-mails, Web chat, and other back office processes.
Many call center managers have shared their satisfaction with Monet On Demand. Managers have not only significantly improved service levels, but they have also drastically reduced operation costs by focusing more on accurate forecasting of call volumes and efficient scheduling of agents.
Michelle Robart is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Michelle's articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Michelle Robart