WFM Professional of the Year Info

SWPP is pleased to sponsor the Workforce Management Professional of the Year award, which will recognize a workforce management professional who has shown outstanding leadership in the industry.

Click here to nominate a colleague for the Workforce Management Professional of the Year.

Who is a Workforce Management Professional?

A Workforce Management Professional is a person in the call center who is involved in getting the “just right” number of resources in place to handle customer contacts. Most call centers have a workforce management specialist or team of workforce planners whose sole job function is to focus on getting the right workforce in place to match the call center’s workload.

Workforce planning responsibilities may include one or several of the following duties:

  • Analyze historical reports on workload.
  • Create short-term and long-term workload forecasts.
  • Calculate staff requirements based on service goals.
  • Create staff schedules to maximize service and minimize cost.
  • Process time-off requests and update daily schedule exceptions.
  • Track actual events versus daily forecasts to adjust staff to meet service goals.
  • Monitor real-time status and recommend changes to meet service and cost goals.
  • Provide reports on workload trends and resource requirements.

Who should be nominated for Workforce Management Professional of the Year?

A Workforce Management Professional of the Year nominee should be someone who understands the importance of staffing in the call center, and also understands that workforce management is as much an “art” as it is a “science.” A successful workforce management professional combines computer skills and mathematical ability with a working knowledge of the business and the negotiation skills of a diplomat. There is no requirement that the nominee be a member of SWPP.

Click here to nominate a colleague for the Workforce Management Professional of the Year.

What does the Workforce Management Professional of the Year receive?

The five finalists for this award will be recognized at the SWPP Annual Conference, and will receive a 50% discount to the Conference. The Workforce Management Professional of the Year will receive an award at the Conference, and will be featured in an article in the SWPP newsletter, On Target, along with an industry press release. The winner will also receive a free Annual Conference pass.

What information should the nomination form contain?

First, prepare a summary of why you are nominating this person in three to five bullet points. Then follow this with a narrative with a minimum of 750 and maximum of 2,000 words. But the more you can tell us about your candidate, the better their chance of winning. You may submit your information in a Q&A format, or a story format. Please answer the following questions in your nomination form:

  • Why do you believe the nominee should receive the award?
  • Describe the individual and his or her personality characteristics, and how these characteristics helped to make him or her a success in the job.
  • How has this person contributed to realizing the goals of the call center? Give an example of what the person has achieved in the workforce management area of the call center.
  • Note that it is important to include statistics detailing what the nominee has accomplished.

Who may submit nominations?

Any authorized employee of the call center may submit a nominee from their call center. An employee of the call center’s business partner or a public relations representative acting on behalf of the call center or business partner may also submit candidates.

What is the deadline for nominations?

Nominations must be received by Friday, March 7, 2025. The five finalists will be notified by Monday, March 17, 2025.

Who will judge the nominations?

The Board of Advisors of SWPP will review the nominations and select five finalists for the award. The Board will then choose the Workforce Management Professional of the Year from those five finalists.

When will the award be announced?

The Workforce Management Professional of the Year award will be announced at the SWPP Annual Conference.

Click here to nominate a colleague for the Workforce Management Professional of the Year.

WFM Professional of the Year Award

SWPP sponsors the Workforce Management Professional of the Year award, which recognizes a workforce management professional who has shown outstanding leadership in the industry.

Winners of this prestigious award include:
2004 – Annick Duffy
2005 – Sandra McFatridge
2006 – Jennifer Behrens
2007 – Kim Henderson
2008 – Adelina Petrov
2009 – Drex Fitzwater
2010 – Angela Thomas
2011 – Matt Pitts
2012 – Robert Dobson
2013 – Christina Bell
2014 – Kirwyn Adderley
2015 – Denise Kapalko
2016 – Tony Graczyk
2017 – Rita Davis
2018 – John Campbell
2019 – Scott Boyd
2020 – Sharon Jones
2021 – Anton Nithianandarajah
2022 – Jessie Cessna
2023 – Brandon Emms
2024 - Elias Saykali

Do you know someone who understands the importance of staffing in the call center, and also understands that workforce management is as much an "art" as it is a "science?" Is there someone in your center that you feel deserves to be recognized for his or her achievement in the workforce management area? If so, then you can nominate that person for the SWPP Workforce Management Professional of the Year award.

The SWPP Board of Advisors review the nominations and select five finalists for the award. The Board then chooses the Workforce Management Professional of the Year from those five finalists. The Workforce Management Professional of the Year award winner is announced at the SWPP Annual Conference.

The five finalists are recognized at the SWPP Annual Conference, and receive a discount to the Conference. The Workforce Management Professional of the Year receives an award at the Conference, and is featured in an article in the SWPP newsletter, On Target, along with an industry press release. The winner also receives a free Annual Conference pass.

cross