Workforce Management Tools Key to Call Center Scheduling

Management is a critical element to the success of businesses in all industries, but in the call center space it’s doubly important. Not only does proper management ensure employees are happy and productive and promote a positive work environment, it ensures customers are receiving the best experience possible. Scheduling is at the heart of call center operations, and one of the most important components of successful management.

There is a delicate balance between scheduling the call center efficiently and overscheduling workers to their dissatisfaction. Some of the most common complaints among call center agents are overscheduling, erratic scheduling and plain old long shifts that leave them feeling tired and unmotivated. Scheduling problems have a direct impact on the quality of customer service as well as the entire operation of the call center. And while temporary workers can be a great asset during busy periods, managers would do well not to rely on them too much and take hours and responsibility away from their permanent workers.

A comprehensive workforce management solution designed specifically to meet the needs of call centers can go a long way toward improving scheduling, forecasting and other critical planning tasks. Monet Software (News - Alert) is one of the leaders in the space, providing a cloud workforce management offering for contact centers. The solution was created to boost service and contact center efficiency by ensuring the proper number of agents, with the appropriate skillsets, are scheduled to meet the demands of customers.

Features include forecasting, which runs simulations to calculate future call volumes, agent requirements and the average handling time required at various times of the day. Monet’s scheduling engine aggregates all call types and activities to create staffing schedules. Schedules are collated to take into account agent availability, holidays, breaks, skills, work rules, budgets and required service levels. The solution also takes exceptions into account, allowing for scheduled time off, training and meetings.

An agent/supervisor portal further helps to optimize scheduling, providing agents with easy access to their shifts and the ability to request time off or switch shifts. Supervisors may process agent requests through the portal, as well as set alerts to ensure agents are up to date on scheduling requirements and changes.

Of course there are many important variables in call center management but scheduling is a key one. Utilizing a workforce management solution geared toward the specific needs of the call center can go a long way toward employee retention and satisfaction, leading to workplace productivity and efficiency and the strongest levels of customer service.

Edited by Maurice Nagle