By Susan J. Campbell, Call Center Management Contributing Editor

If a call center manager has to wonder where his or her agents are, chances are he or she isn’t taking a proactive approach to call center management.

Sure, standard practice will call for proper forecasting of call volumes to adequately schedule according to the needs of the center, but managers also need to be able to account for all activities that will take the agent away from his or her station. All of these activities contribute to the number of agents available to handle customer interactions and therefore, impact customer service.


To adequately anticipate those things that will keep agents away from their customer facing tasks, call center managers can employ call center management solutions. Such solutions incorporate the ability to numerically assess the factors that determine the minimum staff needed for a specific time period.

 

Call center management solutions will also determine the number of staff needed to achieve specified customer service levels and response time objectives. Once needs are determined, the solution has the ability to account for training, coaching, vacations, lunch breaks, and more. The solution also has the ability to schedule according to staff availability and requested time off.

The benefits associated with call center management solutions go beyond the productivity and efficiency advantages delivered to the call center itself. Call centers also gain the ability to accurately forecast call volumes and schedule agents based on these findings. Call center scheduling creates a positive and motivating environment for call center agents; a very important, and often overlooked area of the call center.

A call center that is understaffed has a work force that is overworked, overstressed and more likely to leave the company. In such an environment, customer service suffers and the overall morale of the work staff filters into every area of the operation. As the slower economy is putting increased pressure on call centers to perform under budget, scheduling stresses are something that can and should be avoided.

Monet Software focuses specifically on call center scheduling and workforce management and has proven its worth in the call center management segment. Monet understands the elements most critical in the call center and what should be accounted for in proper scheduling of agents to drive customer service, performance standards and satisfaction.

Considering the benefits that proper call center scheduling can deliver – including increased customer satisfaction, optimal performance, increased efficiency and an improvement in employee morale – an investment in such a solution is worth investigation. Working with a proven provider in the industry will make the task an easy one.