Call Center Management Exceeds Expectations with Proper Forecasting

Call center management is essential to combating the seasonal peaks and valleys inherent in all businesses. Especially in as personnel-dependant an operation as a call center, knowing who you need ahead of time and who you can do without can help you streamline operations, effectively serve customers and ultimately save money. Unfortunately, without some fashion of technology it’s virtually impossible for a manager to accurately forecast exactly when these peaks will start; they might have a general Idea but call center optimization is an exact science.  This is possible with a proper workforce management suite, one that possesses the tools to optimize and forecast for any customer service scenario.

A WFM’s capacity to forecast peaks and valleys in call volume is based on previously collected information and filtered by how many agents you have at any one given time. The fluctuation of call volume happens on a seasonal basis and can wreak havoc on the delicate balance of your call center. Knowing when it will start and who you will need to combat will give you the ability to come prepared.

Say for example your company ships coolers or parts for coolers; you can generally expect to see the volume of your phone calls ramp up significantly as the summer gets underway with significant spikes just before the Memorial or Independence Day. A workforce management program goes one step further, letting you know exactly when you’ll need more personnel and at least a ballpark of how many calls to anticipate. If you’re unprepared for these spikes, customer requests will go unanswered and they’ll be blaming you for the broken cooler at their BBQ.  

With the right workforce management software you can ensure your customers have all the cold beer they could possible want and you’ll be make the most money possible at the same time. This essential component of call center management lets you optimize for all scenarios and plan accordingly.

Chris DiMarco is a Web Editor for TMCnet. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University. Prior to joining TMC (News - Alert) Chris worked with e-commerce provider Suresource as a contact center representative and development analyst. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves