The National Bank of Kuwait, the largest retail bank in the Middle East, is reportedly using GMT Corp.’s GMT Planet workforce management solution for branch workforce optimization.

This is a huge customer win for GMT Corp., a leading provider of hosted and on-premises workforce management solutions to the call center and banking industries. The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has a strong presence in the Gulf Region and throughout the world, boasting more than $43 billion in consolidated assets.

The bank will use GMT Corp.’s GMT Planet workforce management solution to improve its operations across all branch locations. Specifically, it will use the solution to schedule bank staff based on demand, to ensure employee time is being used efficiently and to ensure good customer service.

GMT Planet, which is also used for scheduling call center agents, sports powerful analytics capabilities which, through integration with other data systems, can help bank managers arrive at accurate forecasts for bank activity – forecasts which they can in turn use to make wise decisions regarding the scheduling of staff. This way, the bank can have just enough staff on hand at each branch to maintain customer service levels, while at the same time avoiding “over-staffing” scenarios that result in high labor costs. In addition, the WFM system serves as a powerful long-term strategic planning tool to help organizations plan their staffing needs.

“Our vision is to be the premier Arab bank by delivering world-class service and superior products to our customers, and the investments we make in technology and people expressly help us further this vision,” said Abdulla Al-Najran, deputy general manager, Consumer Banking Group of NBK, in a release. “Our customers have come to expect exceptional service whenever they visit any NBK branch, and we believe our investment in GMT will only serve to improve their experience. GMT distinguished themselves as a knowledgeable and reputable partner throughout our evaluation process, and their impeccable references made them the obvious choice for this important initiative.”

Other retail banks using GMT Planet to optimize their branch staffing include BB&T, Bank of the West, Zions Bancorporation (News - Alert) and First Merit.

Earlier this month GMT made news when it announced that it had teamed up with cash automation solutions provider Talaris to integrate, and jointly market, their very different yet completely complementary solutions.

Talaris’ bank solutions include ATMs, kiosks, currency counting machines, cash recyclers, cash dispensers and other pieces of equipment used in the handling of currency at banks, credit unions and other financial organizations.

The two companies say this is a “first of its kind” partnership. “Never before have an enterprise workforce management provider and a cash-handling company collaborated to help financial institutions realize the simultaneous benefits of integrating teller cash automation with workforce optimization technology,” a press release from the two companies states.