Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
How WFM Addresses Agent Adherence
Agent adherence – that is, the extent to which call center workers stick to the schedule – is a key challenge today. A white paper from Monet Software (News - Alert) explains how call center managers can work to improve agent adherence, and the role workforce management can play in these efforts. And, it notes how call centers can better manage their costs, improve their customer service, and increase their customer satisfaction metrics in the process.
“Being unable to effectively manage agent time leads to fewer orders and increases costs for every agent who is out-of-adherence,” according to Monet Software. “For instance, a 25 agent center can save over $30,000 per year just by improving staffing by 2 percent and reducing shrinkage by 15 minutes per agent per day.”
The best way to get started in improving agent adherence is to determine the current adherence level. The next step is to identify reasons to lack of adherence. That may include agents being tardy for shifts, workers taking extended breaks, people logging out before the end of their shifts, unexpected absences, or rigid schedules leading agents to not being able to make their schedules work. Educating the business about the importance of adherence is also key. So is setting realistic goals for adherence and offering rewards for sticking to the schedule.
“You need to monitor and work with your agents closely to find out which factors are significantly contributing to your call center's out-of-adherence problem,” Monet Software notes. “Regularly monitoring agent adherence is one of the most effective ways to see how your center is performing so you can take the necessary actions to improve performance.”
The company also notes that workforce management solutions can serve to improve agent adherence.
“WFM software allows you to easily track and monitor adherence and then, when needed, adjust forecasts and schedules accordingly-all from a central dashboard and with a few mouse-clicks,” Monet Software says. “Typically, WFM software can be customized to automate reporting capabilities and adherence tracking based on your unique requirements. A customized WFM software solution dramatically improves agent adherence….”
Edited by Mandi Nowitz