Conquering the Contact Center Challenge: How to Achieve Real-Time Adherence Excellence with ProHanceCX

By Khiv Singh, ProHance

In today’s hyper-competitive business landscape, delivering exceptional customer service is no longer a differentiator; it’s a fundamental requirement. Customers expect prompt, efficient, and personalized interactions across all touchpoints. Achieving this level of service consistency can be challenging, especially when it comes to managing real-time adherence (RTA) in your contact center.

What is Real-Time Adherence (RTA)?

RTA refers to how closely agents adhere to their scheduled activities throughout their shifts. It encompasses factors like breaks, meetings, and after-call work (ACW), and significantly impacts your contact center’s efficiency and performance.

The High Cost of Low RTA

Poor adherence can lead to a domino effect of negative consequences such as:

  • Failed Service Levels: Poor adherence often leads to missed Average Speed of Answer (ASA) targets and failed service levels, both at interval and intraday levels. This failure can trigger a chain reaction, where initial delays lead to subsequent call regenerations, compounding the problem and further degrading service quality.
  • Agent Burnout: Mismanaged in-office shrinkage, excessive overtime, or idle time due to over/understaffing can lead to significant agent burnout. This can result in high attrition rates, as agents become dissatisfied with their work environment and lack of proper coaching and upskilling opportunities.
  • Client Dissatisfaction: Consistently failing to meet service level agreements (SLAs) erodes client trust, leading to reduced call volumes and potential downsizing. This dissatisfaction also spreads internally, causing stakeholder frustration and diminishing morale.

Financial Impacts of Poor RTA Management

  • Missed Call Revenue: If your billing is per call, missed calls due to poor adherence directly translate to lost revenue.
  • Missed Productive Time Revenue: For businesses billing by productive hours or minutes, idle times from overstaffing and lost productive time from understaffing significantly impact revenues.
  • Penalties: SLAs often come with penalties for missed service levels, further increasing costs.
  • Lost Revenue from Overs: Excessive idle time during overstaffing periods leads to wasted resources and lost revenue opportunities.

Strategies for RTA Excellence

To overcome these challenges, contact centers need a strategic approach to workforce management. Key strategies include:

  • Accurate forecasting: Predictable call volumes enable optimized staffing.
  • Real-time monitoring: Continuously tracking agent performance ensures service levels.
  • Intelligent scheduling: Balancing agent preferences and business needs maximizes productivity.
  • Intraday management: Adapting to unexpected changes maintains optimal staffing levels.
  • Employee engagement: Empowering agents fosters a positive work environment.

ProHanceCX: Your Strategic Partner for RTA Optimization

ProHanceCX is a comprehensive workforce management (WFM) solution designed to empower you to take control of your RTA and achieve operational excellence. Our solution leverages advanced artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and real-time analytics to provide you with the tools and insights you need to optimize your contact center operations.

ProHanceCX delivers:

  • AI-driven forecasting: Optimize staffing levels and avoid costly overstaffing or understaffing.
  • Real-time visibility: Gain complete visibility into agent performance and adherence levels.
  • Intelligent scheduling: Create optimized schedules that align with business objectives and agent preferences.
  • Flexible intraday management: Easily adjust schedules and redistribute workloads in real-time.
  • Enhanced employee engagement: Empower agents with self-service tools and personalized insights.

Advanced Capabilities of ProHanceCX:

    • Traffic Watchdog for Proactive RTA: Monitor agent adherence proactively to ensure optimal performance.
    • Dynamic Real-time Management: Adjust staffing and resource allocation dynamically based on real-time data.
    • Expandable Views for Visual Monitoring: Utilize comprehensive visual dashboards for effective workforce monitoring.
      • Auto Assist Actions:
      • Clearing Agent Overlays: Automatically clear overlaps in agent schedules.
      • Re-assigning from Other Queues: Reallocate agents to balance workload efficiently.
      • Broadcasting & Implementing Shift Adjustments/Overtime: Communicate and execute shift changes or overtime seamlessly.
      • Reforecasting Views:
        • Auto Updates Every 30 Minutes for the Next 2 Hours to show the impact on:
        • New Call Forecasts: Predict upcoming call volumes accurately.
        • Expected Service Levels: Maintain and exceed service level expectations.
        • Required FTEs per Interval: Ensure the right number of Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) are scheduled for desired service levels.
      • Real-time Traffic Monitoring:
        • Monitor Incoming Traffic Fluctuations: Track real-time changes in call volumes and traffic.
        • Suggest Corrective Actions Promptly: Provide immediate recommendations to address fluctuations and maintain service levels.
        • Provide Dynamic Adjustments: Implement real-time adjustments based on live data to sustain optimal performance.

Real-World Results:

  • A leading global retailer reduced average wait times by 30% and increased customer satisfaction scores by 25% through optimized workforce scheduling powered by ProHanceCX.
  • A healthcare BPO provider improved patient satisfaction by 15% and reduced average handle time by 20% through real-time workforce adjustments enabled by ProHanceCX.
  • A major financial services firm achieved a 25% reduction in overtime and a 10% increase in first call resolution rates by implementing intelligent scheduling with ProHanceCX.

Empowering Contact Centers for Success

Mastering real-time adherence is essential for contact center success. By understanding the challenges, implementing effective strategies, and leveraging advanced technology like ProHanceCX, organizations can optimize their operations, improve customer experiences, and drive business growth.

This newsletter content is provided by Khiv Singh, who is an SVP of Growth (USA). He can be reached at khiv@prohance.net or +1 972 731 4374. Please know that he is *very* interested in learning about your business problems.

Follow him on LinkedIn! (https://www.linkedin.com/in/khivsingh)

Empower your organization with ProHance’s comprehensive suite of tools and capabilities, designed to elevate productivity, enforce compliance, streamline costs, amplify customer satisfaction, fuel data driven strategies, and seamlessly adapt to dynamic business landscapes. For more information, visit https://www.prohance.net/prohancecx.php.