Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Could Call Center Scheduling Be Better Following Zappos' Plan?
Would you sign up to work the most intense shifts at your place of employment? Keep in mind it’s the time of day when customers may be the most frustrated and you’re likely to work the hardest. Does that change your first answer? Would you be incentivized enough if your boss offered to pay you more to work during that time than any other?
For those who are charged with call center scheduling, such a program may be exactly what they need and want to make their jobs just a little bit easier. According to a recent Upstart article, this is exactly what Zappos did with a program they dubbed, Open Market or OM. The idea was born after CEO, Tony Hsieh noticed the antiquated pen and paper posted on the wall method needed a digital replacement.
In this case, the new solution needed to not only rid the individuals of the onerous task of trying to juggle 540 employees’ schedules manually, but also improve customer service. While senior employees had the opportunity to take the choice shifts first, Hsieh wanted to put a program in place that would incentivize these individuals to take the less popular shifts and make them great.
Zappos’ team responds to roughly 10,000 requests by email, phone and Web chat each day. The goal is to answer 80 percent of those inquiries within 20 seconds. Over the holiday season, the company started experimenting with Open Market with full-time employees who handle the phones. Each was offered a 10 percent flex time where they could select any desired shift for four hours.
While Zappos hasn’t yet determined how best to adjust pay in the Open Market system, the idea is interesting enough for exploration. If all things are equal and your most experienced agents select the choice shifts, wouldn’t the customer experience naturally be less than you have the potential to achieve? Yes, you will have a few of your experienced agents who like the rush of the busy time, but the majority are likely to opt to take the easier shift if it’s worth the same amount of money in their pocket. Why not sweeten the deal?
Determining how much to incentivize the agent base shouldn’t be difficult, but management will have to first focus on the more experienced, skilled and qualified agents. If the structure is designed around the customer experience and the happier customer leads to better revenue, the incentives will be a small blip on a higher revenue model. It’s certainly worth experimentation as those responsible for call center scheduling can benefit from agents fighting over the once hard-to-fill shifts.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi