Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Addressing the Most Common WFM-Related Challenges in the Contact Center
While the day-to-day affairs of the average contact center or help desk may vary wildly, in most cases, the goals never change. The point is (and will continue to be) to provide customers with the best possible experience at the lowest possible cost. This calls for maximizing efficiency, organizing agents’ desktops, eliminating the opportunities for errors or redundant work, and ensuring that the right agents with the right skills are in the right place at the right times. How they go about achieving these goals, however, will vary from organization to organization, and may require a bit of a helping hand to start.
Workforce optimization solutions provider Monet Software (News - Alert) recently launched a frequently asked question (FAQ) page on its Web site in an effort to help contact center managers address some of the most pertinent issues facing their contact centers today. Following are some of the best snippets of valuable information pertaining to workforce optimization.
How can workforce management (WFM) increase productivity in my contact center?
Many companies today continue to use manual WFM methods, which is a time-consuming mistake that seldom yields accurate enough information for a well-run customer support operation.
“Accurate forecasts, targeted schedules, greater visibility into agent adherence, and an immediate response to unforeseen changes are all necessary parts of increasing productivity,” according to the company. “WFM software is a vital tool designed to do all these things in less time; freeing up your team to increase your ability to attain the desired proactive planning you need to remain competitive in today’s market.”
How can I move away from scheduling on spreadsheets?
It may sound like a daunting change to move from doing it “the old-fashioned way” to relying on a new software solution, but today’s WFM is designed to be user friendly.
“Moving your business process into WFM software is easily done as long as you have a guiding hand,” according to Monet. “Monet software provides all assistance and training you need to successfully migrate off of spreadsheets. However it also pays to take a close look at your current process to determine if they are truly the best methods for your environment, or simply the best you could do with the tools at your disposal.”
What are the best practices to lower your average handle time?
Of all the metrics that can be improved with automated workforce management, average handle time is one of the most important. It’s critical, however, that you don’t boost AHT at the expense of the customer relationship. The extra time should come from new efficiencies in the contact center processes.
“Start by making certain you have enough agents available to efficiently handle call volume,” wrote Monet. “Then, employ skills-based routing, and train your agents to anticipate frequently asked questions and answer them before they can be asked.”
What are the benefits of real time statistics in a contact center?
Beyond keeping track of average handle time, managers using modern workforce management can keep a careful eye on a number of other quality metrics. The real advantage is that they can do it live, as call center operations are unfolding.
“With real-time statistics, managers can address challenges as they arise, limit the damage and prevent small issues from evolving into major concerns,” wrote the company.
Modern workforce management goes far beyond eliminating spreadsheets. It accomplishes tasks that would simply be impossible to manual processes, which frees managers to engage in tasks that can help improve the customer relationship and the company’s bottom line.