Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
WFM Drives Better Call Center Service Levels
Workforce management can help improve call center service levels.
That’s because WFM allows for more accurate forecasting, better scheduling, adherence during the day, monitoring of service levels and other key metrics. And all that enables customer service operations to run more efficiently and provide customer experience that aligns with business goals.
When contact centers can’t accurately gauge call patterns and volume, they don’t schedule enough agents for work. If that happens, service levels tend to fall.
On the other end of the spectrum, faulty forecasting prompt call centers to schedule too many agents. That can needlessly increase the costs of the call center. And it can mean that per-agent productivity is lower than desired.
Speaking of schedules, WFM can also help customer service operations build non-call activities like breaks, call wrap-up activities, lunches, meetings, and training into agent day plans. That way call centers can protect themselves against running into an agent shortage during any given shift.
As noted above, WFM can also help with adherence. And better adherence equals better service levels.
“With WFM, call center forecasts will be much more accurate than spreadsheets,” notes Monet Software (News - Alert) leader Chuck Ciarlo. “By utilizing call history data and running scenarios based on previous volumes and arrival patterns, you’ll have a better idea of what to expect, and can plan accordingly.
“Better forecasts mean better schedules, and with WFM it’s easier to build flexibility into scheduling so start times, end times, break times and training sessions won’t hurt service level expectations,” he adds. “Finally, WFM allows contact center managers to track adherence throughout the day, while monitoring service level alongside other key metrics. By accessing this information in real time, managers can make adjustments and rapidly put things back on track, resulting in more consistent service levels, hour after hour, day after day.”
Edited by Maurice Nagle