Call Center Management Featured Article
March 30, 2009
Workforce Management Software Critical to Call Center Management
Call center management is never easy.
Not only do you have the challenge of recruiting and training agents, delivering good customer service and meeting project goals, there’s also all those “HR-related” problems: worker tardiness, employee disputes, even the occasional lawsuit – not to mention the potential for facilities problems and equipment failure.
Not only do you have the challenge of recruiting and training agents, delivering good customer service and meeting project goals, there’s also all those “HR-related” problems: worker tardiness, employee disputes, even the occasional lawsuit – not to mention the potential for facilities problems and equipment failure.
Indeed, being a call center manger isn’t easy these days. But at least there’s advanced new software and systems on the market to help make call center management a lot more effective. Increasingly, companies are seeing the value of workforce management (WFM) solutions to address their call center management objectives, particularly in regard to schedule adherence and agent productivity.
Today’s WFM solutions, which are increasingly being offered on a hosted or on-demand basis, enable effective call center management through improved schedule adherence. As you probably know, labor is the single biggest expense facing any call center. Every minute of each agent’s time on the clock needs to be used productively. If you have a center with dozens or even hundreds agents, you know that the number of minutes spent on the clock but not on the phones can add up quickly.
If you’re using spreadsheets to manage agent schedules, you’re probably having a difficult time tracking who is arriving late (or perhaps leaving early) on a weekly or monthly basis. Using a WFM solution, you can quickly and accurately track which agents are showing up late – including how often and by how much – and address those issues to improve agent productivity. This is just one example of how today’s WFM systems have become indispensable call center management tools.
If you’re using spreadsheets to manage agent schedules, you’re probably having a difficult time tracking who is arriving late (or perhaps leaving early) on a weekly or monthly basis. Using a WFM solution, you can quickly and accurately track which agents are showing up late – including how often and by how much – and address those issues to improve agent productivity. This is just one example of how today’s WFM systems have become indispensable call center management tools.
Another way a WFM systems improve call center management is through their forecasting capabilities. As most call center managers know, getting the right number of agents in place to answer incoming contacts at any given point in time is critical: If you have too many agents on the clock with no contacts coming in, you’re being inefficient – but if you under-staff, you risk eroding customer service. Today’s WFM systems help with this balancing act by enabling call center managers can react more quickly to changes in call volume. Through integration with the call center ACD, these systems can use call history actually predict when there will be peaks and valleys in call volume, thus greatly improving call center management.
Another advantage of today’s WFM systems is their ability to schedule agents based on their unique skill sets. For example, if you’re call center handles emails, but you only have a certain number of agents who are trained to handle those contacts, then you’ll need to ensure that you have the proper number of those agents on hand to handle the volume. A WFM system can analyze your historical email data and arrive at an accurate forecast to help you staff accordingly.
Many larger organizations with distributed call centers now rely on WFM to manage the agents across all locations centrally. But small to medium sized businesses are discovering the advantages of WFM for effective call center management as well. Some WFM software vendors, such as Monet Software, are now offering their solutions on a hosted or software-as-a-service basis. Because the software is delivered via the Internet as a managed service, that means companies can quickly and affordably implement a WFM solution with minimal up-front investment: Typically all you need is the computers and a high-speed line. Some vendors such as Monet Software are offering their hosted solutions on a trial basis, so you can try the software out for the short term and see if it meets your call center management needs.
Another advantage of today’s WFM systems is their ability to schedule agents based on their unique skill sets. For example, if you’re call center handles emails, but you only have a certain number of agents who are trained to handle those contacts, then you’ll need to ensure that you have the proper number of those agents on hand to handle the volume. A WFM system can analyze your historical email data and arrive at an accurate forecast to help you staff accordingly.
Many larger organizations with distributed call centers now rely on WFM to manage the agents across all locations centrally. But small to medium sized businesses are discovering the advantages of WFM for effective call center management as well. Some WFM software vendors, such as Monet Software, are now offering their solutions on a hosted or software-as-a-service basis. Because the software is delivered via the Internet as a managed service, that means companies can quickly and affordably implement a WFM solution with minimal up-front investment: Typically all you need is the computers and a high-speed line. Some vendors such as Monet Software are offering their hosted solutions on a trial basis, so you can try the software out for the short term and see if it meets your call center management needs.
Should you decide that you need a WFM solution, there are few things you should consider: First, you need to carefully shop for a solution that has the features and capabilities you need for your particular environment. There are a lot of WFM solutions on the market -- including both hosted and on-premise systems -- and it is critical that you find the one that best meets your call center management needs.
For example, you should find out whether the solution offers accurate forecasting; flexible and erratic scheduling that include agent exceptions; intra-day changes to forecasts and scheduling; visibility into agent adherence and management reports. Monet Software’s WFM systems offer these features and more, plus they can be customized to meet your call center management needs.
For example, you should find out whether the solution offers accurate forecasting; flexible and erratic scheduling that include agent exceptions; intra-day changes to forecasts and scheduling; visibility into agent adherence and management reports. Monet Software’s WFM systems offer these features and more, plus they can be customized to meet your call center management needs.
You should also consider how much time it will take to implement the solution. Remember that a substantial delay in meeting your call center management needs will only result in more lost revenue.
Of course, as with any software investment, you should always consider return on investment and total cost of ownership. Find out not only how much the system will cost to set up and integrate with existing systems, but also what the ongoing costs will be. Find out about reliability – and if possible, ask other users what they think of the software. Also, be sure to find out if there are any hidden costs – ask the tough questions!
Finally, make sure the system you select is easy to use. Systems such as those offered by Monet Software feature an intuitive user interface that is simple to navigate. Ease of use is critical not only in terms of user error rates but also user adoption and satisfaction.
Today’s WFM systems have become a critical part of the call center software ecosystem -- and companies of all sizes they are now viewing WFM as critical for achieving effective call center management. For more information, visit www.monetsoftware.com.
Patrick Barnard is a contributing writer for TMCnet. To read more of Patrick’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Patrick Barnard