Workforce Management Featured Article
Workforce Management is a Must, But Should it Come From the Cloud?
The amount of information available in the market that supports the benefits of the workforce management solution makes it an easy sell for those in the C-suite. The next decision to be made is whether it’s better to implement the in-house solution or turn to one offered in the cloud. When making such a decision, it’s important to consider implementation.
A recent Monet Software blog examined this very topic, following a series of blogs on the right approach to selecting your workforce management solution. As implementation is often overlooked in the evaluation process, Monet thought it important to highlight. There is a clear process that must be followed whether you use the cloud of implement in-house; the decision to be made is whether or not you want to manage the platform or have it managed for you.
The cloud does allow you to get up and running much faster than the in-house solution, but that doesn’t mean it should automatically be the chosen approach. Other benefits may outweigh this one, putting the on-premise option in the winner’s circle. Let’s consider what’s involved in each and then you can easily apply the concepts in your own environment to make the right decision.
In-House Workforce Management
The first step in this implementation process is to define the solution you want to deploy and then establish the configuration requirements through an analysis of documentation and workshops. If the software isn’t designed specifically for the contact center environment, there are a number of details in this stage that must be addressed.
Allow several months for this process as you don’t want to miss any important steps or procedures that affect overall performance or productivity. Once you’ve made the selection and it’s time to implement, you have to add time for site acceptance testing. This ensures that your integrated applications are all responding as expected and that a smoother operation can be assured from the day you turn on the new system.
Cloud-Based Workforce Management
The configuration requirements are generally already completed with a cloud-based solution as it’s designed for the call center world. Customization may be needed, which will require a consultation, but even these changes can be done very quickly. Typical configurations can take a few hours or a couple of days, depending on the amount of customization needed. Acceptance testing isn’t necessary as compatibility was already achieved in design with modern web browsers.
Training is another area to consider as a number of cloud-based providers tout their solutions as designed with the user in mind. The same could be true for the on-premise option, so ask for details. Remember, if users resist, you won’t enjoy the inherent benefits of making the change.
The reality is workforce management is good for the contact center, especially if you want to see improvement. Just decide whether you need a cloud-based or on-premise deployment and plan accordingly.Edited by Stefania Viscusi