Call Center Management Featured Article
Cloud-based WFO Solves a Host of Problems for Healthcare Providers
While nearly all companies, from the smallest to the largest, can benefit from automated tools that help manage the workforce, different industries have different needs. As a result, they may have very different requirements when it comes to workforce optimization (WFO) solutions, particularly if they run a contact center.
The next few years should be interesting to witness. A recent Gartner (News - Alert) report predicting that by the end of 2018, 70 percent of organizations with more than 300 contact center agents will be working with an integrated workforce optimization solution, either on-premise or in the cloud.
The healthcare industry is one of the most critical industries when it comes to employee efficiency. Patient care is at stake, but at the same time, healthcare organizations are undergoing a rebirth of digital patient records, telemedicine (long distance patient care over video), file sharing, patient security (governed by stringent HIPAA regulations and cost-cutting. According to Monet Software CEO Chuck Ciarlo, the healthcare industry in particular needs flexible but robust workforce optimization tools.
“When we think WFO for our industry, the definition incorporates specific functionality that helps deliver better patient care, such as call recording, workforce management, quality management and speech analytics,” wrote Ciarlo.
Ciarlo notes that healthcare organizations today run a real risk of falling behind other healthcare providers who are committed to maximizing efficiency and customer service. It’s a big decision that will impact every aspect of a practice, even beyond the confines of the call center itself. Patients are essentially customers, and customers today expect efficiency, speed and privacy from their medical transactions. The days of “one doctor in a small town” are over, and patients do have choices when it comes to whom they trust with their health. Unresponsive practices, or those who make interactions overly complex, will wind up paying a steep price: far higher than the costs of a cloud-based workforce optimization solution.
Many healthcare organizations may be wary of some workforce management solutions, believing them to be overly complex, difficult to install and integrate, or hard to get workers to use. This is no longer the case today, and companies can choose the tools they require, while skipping ones that may not be relevant to them, according to Ciarlo, who recommends that healthcare organizations first evaluate their needs before they begin to choose, as well as their budget.
“When you’re ready, start with a list of priorities and then seek out the solution best suited to meet them,” he wrote. “Also, as so many business processes will be affected, look for a WFO application that can be implemented and integrated in a way that reduces the learning curve, while working toward ROI from day one. Price will also be a likely consideration, so a cloud solution may be the answer to achieving your technology goals at a cost you can afford,” he said.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi