February 28 -

Getting everyone onboard with Workforce Management can be incredibly difficult. Implementing Workforce Management software is the easy part, while getting everyone onboard with using it and using it consistently is much more difficult. One way to increase acceptance and to drive long term continuous improvement is to create a Workforce Management or Contact Center Committee to help drive changes in processes and create successful strategies.

Be sure your committee is cross functional consisting of contact center leadership, workforce management staff, and front line staff – even engaging staff in different types of contact centers if you are a multi-site organization.

Let’s face it, different levels of the contact center have a different perspective and different interests. Some are more data driven and some are more people driven. Having a cross functional committee will help to drive a shared vision and commitment to your workforce management strategy and help to drive change successfully at each level of your contact center.

In selecting your committee, be sure you have members who:

1. Have a positive attitude – negative attitudes never drive change.
2. Are respected by others in the contact center.
3. Have the leadership capabilities to be successful change agents.

As stated above, buy-in is the hardest part of Workforce Management – having your cross-functional committee in place will help ensure that every level of your contact center is invested and empowered in the Workforce Management process.

Note: This week’s tip is provided by SWPP member Micah Schrom of OptumHealth. He can be reached at mi**********@op*********.com.