Posted On: 12-10-2013
Position Title: Workforce Planner
Job Location: Appleton, WI
Apply Online: https://jobs-guardianlife.icims.com/jobs/8147/workforce-planning-analyst/job

Position Objective:

The Workforce Planning Strategic Forecast Analyst is responsible for ensuring strategic goals are met through forecast modeling, capacity planning, collaboration and effective communication, while ensuring forecast alignment with strategic goals. This position is responsible for long term and short term contact volume, productivity and capacity forecasts and providing leadership with risk mitigation plans. This position will act as a support tool for the leaders of Customer Service Delivery and other Profit Center Leadership, assisting with and providing guidance on performance impact analysis and operational planning. In addition, budget preparation/input and reporting assignments are an expectation of this position.

Major Opportunities and Decisions:

• Preparing forecasting, capacity planning and staffing models for the annual budget process

• Assisting with the preparation of the annual budget planning process, including managing workflow, as well as analysis and input of data into the Clarity budget system

• Holding monthly meetings with leadership to review budget and tactical volumes, capacity and staffing plans and provides hiring recommendations

• Gathers and analyzes customer base growth and customer to contact volume ratios, incorporating this information into forecast and capacity models to predict contact volume and capacity needs

• Analyzes historical contact volume trends and incorporates trends into forecast projections to determine performance impact

• Provides Customer Service Delivery leaders with analysis and recommendations on contact volumes, productivity rates and the impact on performance and capacity needs

• Conducts complex “what if” scenarios as directed by site leadership and Workforce Planning manager

• Participates in budget process, utilizes workforce planning software/models to perform budget impact analysis

• Works in partnership with site leaders to ensure effective operational planning in support of Customer Service Delivery objectives

• Schedules offline activities during times that work best for the business

• Processes vacation and exception requests

• Manages internal scheduling process/procedures to ensure consistent performance

• Monitors real-time performance, adjusts off-line activities and provides guidance to leadership for daily planning to ensure a consistent customer experience

• Provides Customer Service Delivery leaders with risk mitigation plans for periods that are forecasted to perform below Customer Service Delivery goals/expectations

• Responds timely to all adhoc requests

• Leads Projects as requested

• Strong leadership skills

Given the nature of this position, the employee will have exposure to multiple areas of Customer Service Delivery and other Profit Centers, as well as act as a liaison between the business and Group Financial Management (GFM)

Principal Accountabilities:

Strategic Forecasting and Modeling:

• Models business assumptions such as volume, ratio, productivity, shrinkage impacts, as well as strategic and operational excellence initiatives

• Identify and explain key drivers of business unit results for reporting to Operations Leaders, as well as inclusion in monthly presentation for senior management

• Creating and maintaining Short/Long Term Contact Volume, Capacity Analysis and Staffing Models. Models includes, but is not limited to 3 years of forecasts, capacity and staffing models with appropriate business drivers, contact ratios to include the appropriate assumptions for productive rates, shrinkage and attrition.

• Performs data analysis to determine business cycles and industry trends. Reviews capacity plans with Customer Service Delivery leaders on a regular basis, explains variances and makes recommendations for future capacity

• Leading monthly meetings with Leaders review business driver, volumes, contact ratios, capacity and staffing plans

Budgetary Staff Planning:

• Assist in the preparation, input and reporting of Customer Service Delivery’s’ budget. Partner with Customer Service Delivery managers on developing a valid and defendable staffing plan. Responsible for documenting assumptions applied to models. Assumptions include, but are not limited to appropriate business drivers, forecasts, contact ratios, productive rates, shrinkage and attrition

Project Management:

• Support key department and Customer Service Delivery projects, including gathering, verifying and interpreting data, along with designing and preparing necessary reports to support the project and track results. Make recommendations, when appropriate, based on findings. Devise efficiencies to streamline processes

 

Ad Hoc Requests / Misc. Monthly Reports – Respond to miscellaneous requests on a timely basis, which may include, but are not limited to:

• Design, prepare and maintain monthly reports specific to the needs of a Group Operations Business Unit. This includes gathering, verifying and interpreting data

• Provide requested Business Unit metrics (e.g., volumes, service results, etc.) to Customer Service Delivery Leadership

• Performs scenarios as requested by the business for adjustments to volume, productivity or changes being made to business processes

Forecasting:

• Responsible for creating and maintaining short/long term contact volume; productivity and capacity forecasts

• Ensures forecast parameters (i.e Productivity, contact volume/patterns/shrinkage etc) are keep up-to-date and accurate within the workforce planning software/models

• Ensures data links with ACD systems are correct and mapped according within the workforce planning software

• Responsible for maintaining forecasts campaign sets and associate profiles and skills associated with forecast campaign sets

• Responsible for maintaining tactical and strategic forecast models

• Reviews capacity plans with Customer Service Delivery leaders on a regular basis, explains variances and makes recommendations for future capacity

• Maintains forecast contact/volume and capacity models with the appropriate assumptions

• Gathers and maintains historical contact volume patterns and trends used for forecasting

• Analyze volumes, performance and patterns to provide forecasting and optimized schedules to ensure target and capacity goals are met

• Provides proactive analysis of staff utilization to increase efficiencies and effectiveness

• Responsible for producing forecasts that perform within the expectations of interval, daily, weekly and monthly forecast goals

• Communicates forecasts performance at the interval, daily, weekly and month levels for volume, productivity and measurable assumptions

Scheduling:

• Responsible for the creation of schedules at a site and tier level for all lines of business

• Assists in the creation and implementation of scheduling process and procedures for Customer Service Delivery

• Ensures that leaders and associates are adhering to the established scheduling processes

• Monitors performance and recommends adjustments to ensure Customer Service Delivery performance objectives are consistently met

• Processes scheduling requests within established guidelines while ensuring minimal impact to performance and the customer experience

• Maintains workforce software/models with capacity and contact center criteria necessary for the successful planning of operations

• Instructs leaders and employees on the appropriate use of the workforce planning systems/models

• Ensures work rules/patterns and allotments are up-to-date and accurate for the processing of schedule requests and forecasts

• Processes scheduling request scenarios and provides leadership with impact analysis and recommendations for minimizing performance impacts

• Works collaboratively with leaders and training department to ensure associate development and off-line activities are planned in advance while minimizing impact to performance

• Provides leadership with ad-hoc reports regarding scheduling performance

• Coordinates weekly meetings with Team Leaders/Managers to review capacity/staffing plans and forecasts to ensure proper capacity, efficiency, and productivity levels

 

Intra-Day Monitoring:

• Monitors contact traffic across all queues and initiates capacity adjustments as necessary

• Alerts site leadership to intra-day trends that negatively impact performance

• Provides recommendations to correct intra-day performance issues

Skills and Knowledge:

 

Competencies/Skills:

• Ability to effectively communicate complex issues across all levels of the organization

• Strong leadership skills

o Strong written and oral communication skills for both internal and external parties

o Demonstrated ability to make decisions using sound judgment

o Solid spreadsheet skills are warranted, including report/spreadsheet design and maintenance, as well as an aptitude for mainframe based applications

o Ability to relate to all levels of the organization are essential

• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills

o Ability to identify inefficiencies/ineffective processes and develop recommendations for improvement

o Ability to manage multiple projects with multiple deliverables simultaneously

o Ability to adapt to, and support changing business priorities and environments

o Ability to work effectively with associates and leaders from across the Customer Service Delivery and other Profit Centers

o Ability to work effectively with others with varying degrees of skill levels

o Ability to think critically, analyze, prioritize, take initiative, and problem-solve

• Advanced mathematical and analytical skills

o Established capability in working independently and successfully adhering to deadlines

Knowledge:

• Data Modeling and statistical Analysis with emphasis in Time Series Analysis, Regression Analysis, and Correlations

• Advanced understanding of scheduling and forecasting methodology

• Advanced Microsoft Excel, MS Access, PowerPoint and Word

Education and Experience:

Education:

• BA/BS degree or equivalent and a minimum of 5 years related experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience

Experience:

• 3+ years workforce planning experience in a multi-site, multi-skilled environment, preferably in the Insurance Industry

o 3 + years inventory management (back office) experience, preferably in the Insurance Industry

o Forecasting/Modeling experience with transaction based volumes and multi-media, multi site contact volumes

Other Requirements:

• Additional hours will be required on an as needed basis.

• Limited travel