Workforce management (WFM) software helps organisations, in particular contact centres, with resource planning by automating the process of forecasting and scheduling when and which staff should be working, in order to operate efficiently, cost effectively and within acceptable service levels. This in turn, will help boost the customer experience (CX). Its main purpose is to help calculate the number of agents or staff with the necessary skill sets needed at particular times of the day to manage customer interactions optimally and at least cost. WFM solutions can be deployed on-premise or via the cloud. However, cloud based workforce management systems are known to be more flexible than on-premise systems. Contact centre Workforce Management solutions have 5 core functions: 1. Staff scheduling Staff scheduling is a complex task which calls for numerous, sometimes conflicting objectives to be addressed. The main objective is to create staff schedules that meet all legal and contractual requirements, as well as taking into account employees’ qualifications, personal working time preferences and availability. It’s a fine balancing act which when done correctly should stop organisations understaffing or over-resourcing unnecessarily during workforce planning. 2. WFM Software – Forecasting In order for planning to be successful, you need to be able to predict short and long term workforce planning staffing requirements. WFM technology gives supervisors easy access to historical demand data that can help predict the level of resource required during specific events; for example public holidays, sales, sporting events and so on. By ensuring the correct level of staff is present during specific occasions, managers can ensure that the increase or decrease of calls, emails and other interactions is fully managed and under control, helping them hit service levels at the right cost. This will also ensure customer service is being delivered at an acceptable level. 3. WFM Software – Real- Time scheduling Scheduling and forecasting is extremely important, however interaction volumes can be influenced by factors that cannot always be predicted. WFM software can analyse and identify interaction volumes as they are occurring in order to provide a fast and effective response to meet changing needs. 4. WFM Software – Self- scheduling WFM software can be configured to offer employees the opportunity to select their preferred working hours, time off, breaks and so on. By allowing employees to actively engage and take part in the resource planning scheduling process, organisations are able to motivate them to get more actively involved in the organisation and the way its run and strive to achieve targets in order to gain benefits like working their preferred hours. In several WFM systems, employees can log in their availability or planned absences and they can bid for specific shifts so long as they have the necessary skills for the activities planned for these shifts. 5. Analysis and Monitoring Deviations from set plans are always bound to come up. The faster an organisation can detect these, the faster they can react. Through real-time monitoring you can immediately compare your targets with actual data and determine whether your requirement forecasts were accurate or if amendments need to be made. WFM helps respond quickly to changes and adapt set plans to keep schedules efficient. It also monitors adherence (to agreed working times or legal requirements) and generates reports. This is achieved by analysing historic data and establishing likely demand making sure the right level of staff is present. WFM software also helps contact centres track KPI’s, by providing a good understanding of agent engagement levels. This also helps organisations implement a performance management program, designed in mind with specific goals and objectives to aim for. This can ensure progress is then tracked over time. Examples of possible performance metrics may include quality scores, customer survey scores or percentage of time a customer is on hold. Share this on socials
Advice Hub 15 December, 2021 Top Tips from a Call Recording & WFO Engineer Many organisations implement and manage a call recording or Workforce Optimisation (WFO) solution. These solutions can help improve the customer experience, ensure compliance and reduce operating costs. When the right solution is implemented, organisations then need to ensure it is managed by the right supplier who will understand specific requirements. Related Content [Whitepaper}Top Tips To
Advice Hub 2 September, 2021 A Guide To Microsoft Teams Call Recording Compliance With the emergence and acceptance of homeworking, organisations are now constantly on the lookout for solutions to help them remain compliant. And Microsoft Teams Call Recording is among those solutions. Microsoft Teams as a platform has transformed the way millions of organisations work. It has enabled Team communications, supporting internal and external collaboration. With one
Advice Hub 14 June, 2021 Why it’s Vital to Maintain Data Integrity for Compliance Purposes when Migrating Legacy Voice Recordings As voice recording systems reach end of life, banks must find a way to preserve the recordings and the voice data integrity, so they remain accessible for regulatory retrieval purposes. The typical approach involves migrating the legacy voice recordings into a new voice recording system which can be a bit like putting a square peg
Advice Hub 12 May, 2021 Call Recording Support – What you should be receiving Call Recording Support – What You Should Be Receiving From Your Supplier Many organisations such as Financial Institutions or Contact Centres implement and manage call recording solutions to ensure compliance, improve the customer experience and reduce business costs. For contact centres, for example, call recording plays an important role in their call centre software operations.
Advice Hub 18 March, 2021 IVR – Interactive Voice Response What is IVR Technology? Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is a telephony menu system that allows the customer to interact with a company without the presence of an agent. The IVR will use touchstone buttons on the customer’s telephone where they will press the keypad in accordance with the service they require. The call will then
Advice Hub 3 March, 2021 Workforce Management ROI Calculator Use this simple Workforce Management (WFM) ROI calculator to understand potential savings that could help transform your workforce planning and resource planning contact centre operations.
Advice Hub 24 February, 2021 Wordwatch: A Multivendor Centralised Voice Recording Replay Portal for Financial Compliance A MULTIVENDOR CENTRALISED VOICE RECORDING REPLAY PORTAL The Financial Services Industry As businesses and organisations across Europe were racing to get to grips with the new GDPR data protection and privacy regulations, the financial services industry had another piece of seismic data legislation to contend with. Under EU law, certain areas of the financial industry
Advice Hub 24 February, 2021 Decrypting Mobile Call Recording Business Systems’ Will Davenport gives an expert overview of the Mobile Call Recording technologies available for Financial Institutions With MiFID II stating the need to keep records of all telephone conversations and electronic communications intended to result in a transaction, even if the actual transaction never materialises; mobile call recording is once again under the spotlight. In 2009,