Call centers are usually the first, and often the only, personal
contact a customer has with a company. A good first impression is
understood to be so critically important that many companies often spend
millions of dollars each year on the implementation and upgrade of 'cutting-edge'
CRM and CIM solutions. Aside from pricey system upgrades, the issue of
high agent turnover also plagues contact centers. It seems somewhat ironic
that on many levels, the employees who are so highly valued as 'the
company's reflection,' or 'the face of the company' often don't
stick around long enough to celebrate their first anniversary.
The role of call center agents has also been directly affected by new
and converged technologies. Enterprise CRM solutions are often so adept at
'unifying' information for call center agents, the solutions can
notably amend an agent's responsibilities. No longer simply a warm phone
personality, the customer service representative of old has, due to
technological innovations, been transformed into a multitasking,
multimedia business representative with many responsibilities. This has
additionally made the call center's immediate management team, coupled
with the support of upper management, increasingly crucial to the
performance and success of a call center as a team.
Bolstering agent productivity and stimulating a sense of accomplishment
through its goal-orientated, skill-focused structure is the means
necessary to reduce employee turnover and increase profitability,
according to Performix Technologies. The company's Performance Manager
system translates company and business objectives into personnel goals,
which are ultimately tracked to assess performance on all company levels.
This allows agents to monitor and compare their own job performance to
pre-set goals, and provides company CEOs with the ability to track
business objectives or an individual manager's performance. Ultimately,
Performix believes superior customer service is contingent upon the most
important and crucial aspect of any call center -- the agent.
Installation
Though Emvolve Performance Manager is touted as an 'out-of-the-box'
solution, each company's focus and needs vary. It is for this reason
that Performix requires an implementation period of approximately six to
eight weeks. Larger companies with multiple business functions may require
a longer time frame.
Since Emvolve is a Web-based solution, it has some multilevel server
and database requirements: Windows NT Server 4.0 and Microsoft SQL 7.0 or
Oracle 8I allow clients to view the unified GUI via Internet Explorer 4.0,
5.0 or Netscape Navigator 4.0 Web browsers. Client hardware must be
running Windows 95/98 or NT 4.0 operating systems.
Performix says the average resource required from a company is about 20
to 25 person days. Included with that estimate would be the dedicated
company resources necessary to assist in the definition of company goals
and objectives that would ultimately shape the system blueprint. Included
in this time frame is system training for company IT personnel, managers
and other appropriate company officers. After system implementation is
complete, Performix's customer support center handles support issues.
Incidentally, Performix states that all upgrades to the core software are
included in the purchase price. The current Emvolve revision schedule
includes minor upgrades every six months with a new module or market
segment release every 12 months.
Documentation
Since Emvolve is essentially a management tool aimed at gauging
performance of call center agents and their teams as a whole, the agent
does not play a large role with the front-end interface -- that is the
administrator's job. Since there is not much required in the way of the
agent's direct interaction with the GUI, agent training is minimal. The
Agent Training manual consists of the basic principles, instructions and
definitions necessary to understand and operate the system from an agent's
perspective. It also explains the best way for an agent to understand how
to monitor his or her performance and make comparisons to the rest of the
team and other teams. Agent training also identifies and outlines how to
create Personal Objectives, and discusses many of the tools managers use
to enhance an agent's personal development as an employee, including
positive reinforcement such as Recognition and Rewards.
The administrator's GUI and functions are much more complex,
warranting a greater need for detailed documentation. The guide covers
many nuances of the system as well as key building blocks such as formula
construction and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). System configuration
is covered; however, the implementation process will leave a company up
and running, needing the Administrator Training Guide for the purpose it
was intended -- reference. Additionally, the online help provides much of
the same type of content. The standard time frame for onsite training
during the implementation process is five business days. Performix's
Customer Service department is available during business hours as an
ancillary resource, as well.
Features
One of the major functions of Emvolve is bringing the company 'score
card' to each employee's desktop via a Web browser. Its structure
reveals performance on all levels to personnel with the appropriate
access. The configuration tools can be used to define objectives, weights
and KPIs while using data parsed on an individual level, delineating a
user's performance through use of the applicable permissions directly
related to the organization's structure or hierarchy. For example, a
team leader cannot view a vice president's performance information
without appropriate access.
Key features provided on all levels designed to bolster users'
performance include:
- Individual Performance Feedback. Allows users to view performance
results weighed against objectives over defined periods of time.
- Automated Review and Appraisal. Automates the review process and
allows online access to previous appraisals.
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Management. Identifies
critical performance areas of the call center such as service levels
and total calls.
- Training and Development Plans. An action plan designed for each
user to help optimize employee growth and development. Also details
the training and actions required to enhance skill.
- Reward and Incentive Program. Awards points to individuals and teams
for meeting or exceeding target objectives. Points can then be used to
acquire notables from the company's reward scheme.
- Report Manager. Creates customizable reports.
- Exception Reporting. Root-cause analysis allows the identification
of problem area(s) in call center performance
Operational Testing
Performix configured a demo machine for our testing purposes. A
third-party application, Emvolve is designed to be integrated with other
call center utilities such as ACDs or 'switches,' workforce management
solutions and other external systems such as timesheet programs, HR
systems and Lotus Notes. To make testing both practical and possible,
Emvolve engineers populated a database and set up a system on a machine
running NT 4.0. Based on the data populating our demo server, Emvolve was
able to process the information and, built on company-focused objectives
and benchmarks, provide actual performance statistics at the business,
management and call-center agent level.
This information is gathered and implemented by Performix; however, to
better understand the product some background information of the system
configuration information is necessary. Based on the structure of the
company, the hierarchy configuration must be established as one of the
first steps in customizing the Emvolve system for any contact center. All
levels of personnel and management can be included, as Emvolve Performance
Manager is designed to measure not only agents' performance, but overall
performance of branch offices, managers and the company's overall
performance as well. 'Performance' is defined by each company that
implements Emvolve, as it is classified directly by their business and
productivity needs. Clear company objectives are established and
translated into KPIs. Once the KPIs are established, they become the basis
for the much more granular Objectives by which service agents, for
example, are evaluated based on a points system. This system, Performix
says, aligns the overall business goals with individual employee
performance. Drilling down far enough into any KPI will eventually yield a
particular job's individual requirements. Hence the term 'performance'
is directly defined by each customer's collective definition.
All of the aforementioned levels comprising the Emvolve structure are
based on one type of building block, which is the measure of the entire
system: the Data Dictionary. The Data Dictionary is the component of
Emvolve that acts on the information submitted from all external sources,
i.e., ACD and workforce management solutions. Each Data Dictionary entry
is a formula engineered to calculate a specific result. For example,
routine call center calculations can easily be added to the Data
Dictionary to measure call-handling time. Additionally, much more
business-specific formulae can be created to calculate, for example, the
employee turnover rate in the Dallas office or the call handling forecast
variance.
Once all of these and a host of other requirements have been met by the
company and the implementation team, the product is ready for use. Since
Emvolve is a 'Performance Manager,' it is designed to provide the
company and its employees with feedback on previously agreed-upon
objectives. This, in turn, allows efforts to be focused in needed areas
and builds individual skill sets, which may bolster employee confidence
and possibly result in higher pay or a promotion. Success in the workplace
lends itself to stability and lower employee turnover rates. As mentioned
earlier, it's no secret that most call centers tend to suffer from high
rates of attrition. Because of this magazine's space limitations and the
complexity of Emvolve Performance Manager, however, we felt the best way
to provide readers with an overall sense of the product would be to focus
on our interaction with the demo unit and some of the flagship product
features.
Performance
In the Service Agent's GUI, ratings are applied to each Objective.
Performance is rated by Objective, such as AHT (average handling time)
service and average calls per HR service, both of which are categorized in
the Objective Group called 'Productivity.' Agents are able to view
their goal for each objective, called a Target, and what their actual
number is for that Objective, called a Result. Icons are assigned to
specific ranges of performance results, allowing agents to quickly see how
they are progressing. This view can be altered to compile an individual's
results over a specific period of time, such as a month or a year. Manual
ratings and results can also be applied since workforce management systems
and switching equipment are not capable of detecting certain types of
Objectives and, therefore, Emvolve cannot automatically perform a
calculation. Important service skills such as listening and a pleasant
phone presence are examples of these.
Appraisal Manager
The Appraisal Manager is a repository for each agent and team leader to
note and share comments about performance, review goals and communicate in
writing about personal objectives and goals achieved. The Appraisal
Manager, when used effectively, can both motivate and enable communication
with employees. The Appraisal Manager provides a much more 'low-pressure'
environment as it is minus the intimidation factor that often accompanies
a face-to-face, closed-door meeting between an employee and a manager. The
Appraisal Manager additionally seems to furnish a safer, more static
atmosphere in which employees have access to all of their past records.
This greatly differs from a traditional face-to-face biannual review in
which an employee is presented with only the selected materials his or her
manager has brought to the table. In addition to those potential benefits,
it seems to be an effective yet subtle avenue for the provision of steady
and timely feedback to an agent from team leader and to team leader from
an agent, as it is a two-way portal.
Personal Development
Aimed at bolstering employee performance and aiding in the provision of
career direction, the Personal Development tool outlines the skills
required to achieve certain job-related objectives. For example, today
many customer service representatives are responsible for not only
providing comprehensive service, including minor technical support and
even troubleshooting, but cross-selling and upselling products. As part of
a Personal Development plan, a team leader could incorporate this as an
objective for a certain agent who may need to polish this technique to
become more effective. Skills that would then be outlined and displayed in
the agent's GUI may include issues such as 'the timeliness of
introducing related products' and 'probing the customer's needs
through casual conversation,' as examples. The GUI would then list the
action to aid the agent in becoming more proficient at these skills, such
as coaching by a team leader or attending a workshop. A Details and
Comments view is also afforded, capturing feedback and important dates.
Rewards And Recognition
As with many service-related jobs, exceptional performance is often
recognized with different forms of compensation. Compensation is also just
as effective a tool for employees to willingly bolster performance. For
example, an outbound area of a call center may also capitalize on this
feature to be used as place to house a commission structure in association
with sales quotas. However, without speculating further about how certain
call centers would choose to use this feature, it should be mentioned that
the Rewards and Recognition utility is based on a points system. The
utility outlines company perks and compensation for those who exceed the
business standard to 'shop' for rewards of their choice. Depending on
a predetermined structure a company decides to adhere to, the principle is
fundamentally very simple: more points, more prizes.
Room For Improvement
Overall, we did not find much about which to complain. The Windows
Explorer look and feel of the Configuration Manager makes it intuitive.
One feature we found lacking in the administration department was a list
of domain users. As we were creating new agents or team leaders, we found
it somewhat distracting to have to reference the User Manager each time a
new member was added. Instead, we would recommend a simple drop-down box
linked to the User Manager to provide a list of all NT users in the Name
and/or NT Sys Name fields. This would ensure the use of correct user name
and NT Sys Name and would eliminate spelling and typing variances. Not
that it was a hassle for us to add a few users in our product test, but
put in the context of this product's target market -- a 500-agent call
center, and typing in each new user name could become extremely
time-consuming.
Additionally, there was one other administration issue we thought could
have used a little revamping. The Configuration Manager, (the admin. GUI)
requires a software client to run in conjunction with Emvolve. This is not
quite as convenient as the user element, which requires only opening a
compatible Web browser, a user name and a password. Administrators then,
are restricted to computers running the software client when making
changes to the system.
Conclusion
The ubiquitous simulated legal disclaimer is coated with a transparent
layer of friendly, 'Your call may be monitored to provide better quality
assurance' statements that relay the message that someone could be
listening, but then again may not be. The fact is, a team leader or
manager responsible for the monitoring is also responsible for 15 to 20
other calls simultaneously. More than likely the call will be recorded and
if a customer has a problem, the call might be reviewed.
Emvolve brings employee productivity information to their managers'
desktops by providing a repository to note comments and observances, give
feedback, identify skills and offer assistance and praise. Aligning
company objectives with the everyday responsibilities of its employees,
Emvolve Performance Manager provides a unified, single interface for all
users, and a reporting tool for management and company officers.
Emvolve is a scalable enterprise solution designed for implementation
into mid- to large-size call centers. It is said to have the capability to
handle any number of users as Performix has conveyed that stress testing
has been performed with the equivalency of well over 10,000 agents in the
U.S. marketplace. Overall, TMC Labs' thorough testing of Emvolve
Performance Manager yielded some very favorable results. Its simple,
Web-based GUI, logical hierarchal design and innovative integration of
measurable performance statistics, personal development tools and an
appraisal utility are certainly worthy of an Editors' Choice Award.
[ Return
To The November 2001 Table Of Contents ]
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