Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
The Costs of Spreadsheet-Based Scheduling in the Call Center
More small to midsized call centers use spreadsheets to forecast and manage their center’s workforce, as most organizations may think it’s the best tool for the job. However, Monet Software, a provider of call center solutions, in its whitepaper titled ‘The Real Costs of Spreadsheet Based Scheduling‘ has discovered that this is actually not the case. In fact, using spreadsheets makes it more difficult to manage fewer agents because they need to multi-task, and making skilled-based scheduling is actually more complex. It is also more difficult to correct the schedule once it has been affected by unexpected events.
Scheduling and staffing a call center properly is one of the most expensive resources in the entire call center budget (60 - 80 percent), which means that even a 1 percent increase in productivity will significantly impact the bottom line. Take a look at the checklist that Monet designed below to understand how the spreadsheet system stands against its product, WFM Live.
Image courtesy Monet
WFM is designed to solve some of the biggest problems that include meeting service requirements, but they have developed an array of videos on its workforce optimization tools that help users get a clear understanding of how they actually work through visuals. One area that it specifically centers in on is call center scheduling, which has been a consistent topic in the industry for the past few weeks, as Monet highlighted in its spreadsheet vs. Monet WFM Live illustration.
For those who many not be aware, in order for call centers to efficiently function on a day-to-day basis it is imperative that they have an effective, systematic scheduling system in place to assure that each agent creates a call with a customer will receive the utmost customer experience. The spreadsheet feature that Monet has recommended for was just one way that organizations can adapt their scheduling system to reach the utmost levels of importance. To learn more about such resources please visit Monet’s Call Center Scheduling channel for more tips and weekly updates about the industry.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson