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WorldSpan Streamlines Operations with IEX TotalView Workforce Management System Georgia-based Worldspan L.P. is a leading provider of technology resources for travel suppliers, agencies, e-commerce sites and corporations worldwide. This dynamic organization relied on the TotalView Workforce Management system from IEX Corporation to streamline processes within its contact center and deliver significant operational results.“We knew we needed a tool that would make forecasting and scheduling more efficient,” said Worldspan Manager of Business Process Re-engineering, Raida Douglas, “TotalView had all the features we needed to not only improve our forecasting and scheduling processes, but overall contact center efficiency as well.” Prior to implementing TotalView, Worldspan went through a painstaking process of generating forecasts and schedules manually. Three times a year, managers spent nearly a week evaluating daily, weekly and monthly historical statistics to forecast activity. Schedules were then developed based on manager recommendations and premium slots were awarded to the most senior agents. TotalView Workforce Management automated this process, producing considerably more accurate forecasts and better schedules while significantly reducing the time and effort required to develop them. Using TotalView, Worldspan now generates forecasts and updates schedules on a monthly basis, and gaining premium schedule slots has become an agent incentive, instead of a seniority entitlement. Forecasting & Scheduling Worldspan now reviews forecasts and staffing schedules regularly to ensure the company remains focused on meeting service level and operational objectives. “With the effectiveness of our current workforce management practices, we can do more with less” Douglas said. “And there hasn’t been an adverse impact on our service levels.” “TotalView enables us to forecast our call volumes based on historical data and then make intelligent decisions about workforce requirements,” Douglas added. Worldspan attributes savings of more than $420,000 in labor expenses to forecasting improvements made possible by the TotalView system. Real-Time Adherence Worldspan also uses the TotalView Real-Time Adherence feature to further enhance its service quality. Real-Time Adherence lets supervisors quickly determine what their staff is doing at any moment during the day. If service levels begin to slip due to an unexpected influx of calls, this feature helps them identify agents to pull off training projects and other activities to assist with handling calls. “With Real-time Adherence, we can see the current status of our entire operation at a glance,” Douglas said. “We believe improvements in adherence rates have a direct effect on productivity and customer service.” With the TotalView Real-Time Adherence feature, Worldspan was able to exceed its goals with an average of 93 percent adherence for all agents. WebStation Worldspan attributes a large share of its adherence improvement to the recent addition of the TotalView WebStation feature. “WebStation helps agents manage their schedules and lets them take ownership of their adherence achievements,” Douglas said. Agents who consistently meet their performance objective now get the first shot at premium shifts. They also have access to a wider range of training opportunities and more importantly, they are recognized for their achievements. Overall Results Worldspan realized significant gains in agent productivity and reductions in labor costs as a result of implementing TotalView Workforce Management. Forecasting and scheduling improvements, coupled with increased attention of agents to their schedules, has also enabled average speed of answer time reductions of 50 percent in their operation. This has not only led to better service delivery for their customers but also lower telecommunications costs due to callers spending less time on hold. |