Scheduling training: how to stop last minute requests.
December 31 – How many times have you received a request to send all of your agents through a mandatory training ASAP, in the middle of peak season? Probably more often than you would like to remember. Often last minute requests create an administrative burden on the Workforce Management team and frustration on the […]
Creating a WFM-supportive environment.
December 24 – When you mention “Workforce Management,” “Schedule Adherence,” “Intraday,” or any of the concepts and terms associated with workforce management, does the co-worker that you are talking to get that glazed over look and begin looking for the closest exit? Well, if so, don’t feel like you’re all alone – it’s common for […]
Use leave without pay creatively to manage peaks in overstaffing.
December 17 – Many companies use Leave Without Pay (also known as LWOP, ETIME, Early Out, Reduction of Coverage, etc.) to manage staffing overages on an intraday basis. However, it is also an excellent long-range planning tool. When overstaffing is projected to last for a number of weeks/months, advanced LWOP can be offered to […]
Diverse shift options can benefit both WFM and your agents.
December 10 – Are your shift options limited? If so, you may be missing a great opportunity to make your agents happy and improve your ability to staff to difficult scenarios. Some of the most popular shift options involve working a compressed work week (4 days versus 5). The most common variation of this […]
Three year-end scheduling tips.
December 3 – The end of the year quickly approaches and preparation for 2013 is top-of-mind. Getting a head start on how you can better optimize your contact center operations can help you maximize performance and minimize inefficiencies. In our recent discussions with workforce management professionals, one topic always comes up – scheduling best practices. […]
Don’t forget “Holiday” shrinkage in your forecast.
November 26 – With the holidays upon us, we usually forecast based on historical information and upcoming volume information like marketing plans, weather changes, etc. It’s also important to take into consideration adjustments in “shrinkage” that occurs during these times. We need to adjust our calculations to consider additional call-outs that naturally occur during the […]
Control your social media strategy before social media controls you
November 19 – Social media as a customer service channel isn’t a new idea anymore. Most industry pundits and experts talk about the growth of social media and typically, the punch line is “you better pay attention!” For example, in a recent (September, 2012) article posted to American Express OPEN Forum and now found […]
Make remote agents feel like they are closer than one cubicle away.
November 12 – Some companies, such as Alaska Airlines, have already implemented a successful and productive virtual agent workforce. In fact, statistics show that 80% of contact center have some form of an at-home agent model and the trend is moving upwards. Of course this model doesn’t come without challenges. However, the challenges can be […]
Create a formal action plan for call volume drivers.
November 5 – Have you ever noticed how the more experienced members of a Workforce Planning team seem to know intuitively when certain combinations of events are signals of problems in the contact center? Why not put some structure around those gut feelings and use it to help the entire team? To help identify […]
Don’t forget to investigate attrition in your center.
October 29 – Attrition is a crucial measurement to managers interested in keeping costs down and customer satisfaction high. Customer satisfaction suffers when a steady stream of inexperienced CSRs handle calls, and the cost of replacing an agent can approach 150 percent of the employee’s annual salary. Other costs associated with attrition take the […]
Measure your schedule efficiencies.
October 22 – If your forecasts are completely in line, and AHT is within +/- 10% of the forecast day in and day out, but you are still failing to make your service goals, you may need to check how efficient your scheduling processes are. Many companies use a schedule efficiency measurement for over- […]
Are you part of the solution?
October 15 – Are you part of the solution? As workforce planning professionals, we deal with challenges and problems all the time. Too many calls, not enough agents, people not in their seats when scheduled, it goes on and on. Often we have to point out these problems to management for decisions on how […]