Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Call Center Scheduling Adherence: Saves Time and Improves Agent Productivity
If you run a small call center, you might think call center schedule adherence isn’t all that important; however, if you take a closer look you’ll see that schedule adherence can save your company a great deal of time and revenue over the course of a year.
Every call center has unique agent activity types, so this flexible approach to agent adherence monitoring gives call centers increased accuracy in managing call center performance. Schedule adherence is not just about whether your agents are showing up for their shifts on time, it’s also about whether they are showing up on time for scheduled events such as training and coaching sessions, and then getting back on the phones when they are supposed to.
A big challenge in monitoring schedule adherence is that agents can have so many different non-call tasks, exceptions and states that it is difficult to plan for and then monitor those states. Call center scheduling adherence allows the creation of custom states and rules to match the unique needs of your call center.
Monet Software’s recent blog post highlights effective call center schedule adherence guidelines including creating strategies for activities such as call wrap-up, special after call work, or outbound preparation. Also, set thresholds for each state, indicating how much time is considered “in adherence” so that time in a particular state can automatically be broken down into acceptable and unacceptable time. Define which states are included or not included in the agent adherence calculation as exceptions will be added by default and will be considered scheduled activities along with available, break and logged out states.
TMCnet recently reported that schedule adherence is important for ensuring smooth transitions between shifts as the period of time during which these agents are not on the phones can result in increased hold times which results in decreased customer satisfaction. Complex call center schedules mean a lot of junctures during a shift where an agent will go out of adherence, and keeping track of schedule adherence using manual systems such as spreadsheets can be incredibly time-consuming and challenging.
In order to reduce any negative response from your agents when implementing a new program to improve schedule adherence, you must educate them. Agents need to understand the relevance of schedule adherence, how just 10 minutes here and there impacts other agents and the entire call center performance. Then you can measure and track adherence using workforce management tools and solutions, tracking adherence in real-time and running reports.
You must finally reward agents that adhere to their schedule through recognition within the team and tie bonuses to good scores. It is also critical that all agents are aware of the consequences for out-of-adherence behavior, as this establishes their responsibility towards the success of the call center.Call center schedule adherence is a basic metric which must be tracked in order to hold down call center operating costs and improve customer service. A small amount of information will go a long way toward preparing your call center agents for this change.
Edited by Carrie Schmelkin