2011 Tip of the Week Archive2018-05-09T13:45:28-04:00

Flex schedules for agents to avoid overstaffing.

October 3 –   There are times in every center that you need to let people go home without pay due to overstaffing.  This could be one day, a week, a month, or even a season (if you have very high seasonality).    But you want to keep those agents for the peak that occurs after the […]

The typical strategic planning process.

September 26 –   Strategic planning is the next big thing. Increases in computing power and development of new software technologies have enabled significant improvements in strategic planning. There is a standard approach to putting together a strategic plan with five major analytic elements. These elements are: 1. Forecast the Future: Almost every plan starts […]

“Trade with the Business” helps agents get the time off they need.

September 19 –   Our agents can trade shifts with their colleagues when they are not able to secure needed time off.  However, in some cases, they are not always successful in finding someone that can help them out. “Trade with the Business” was something we put in place to allow flexibility for our agents. […]

Research schedule requests for optimal service.

September 12 –   Many times, we just assume that all our agents prefer to work Mon-Fri from 8-5. But that is not always the case.  To be sure, ask your agent population what would be the best schedule for their life. For example, some folks may want to work the weekends and be off […]

Use peer accountability to help self-manage agent adherence.

September 5 –   Do you remember as a child when the adults used to use peer pressure to get the kids to behave?  “We can’t have recess because Johnny was acting out.”  While a bit arcane for a modern social psychologist, the idea actually does have some good behavioral psychology roots.  In several ways, […]

Incent your WFM team for soliciting Voluntary Time Off.

August 29 –   Have you implemented Voluntary Time Off (VTO) to offset overstaffing during your slower seasons of contact volume and activity?  Do you plan on this payroll savings in your annual payroll forecast needs?  Does your WFM team miss out on center incentives often focused towards front-line phone staff?  Then incent your real-time […]

Extend WFM job shadowing in the contact center and beyond.

August 22 –   It’s been discussed before about the need and great benefits in agents and other contact center staff shadowing workforce management (WFM) to get a better understanding of the role they play as well as to potentially recruit new WFM professionals when opportunities come up. This is a great opportunity, but why […]

Common and costly sources of hidden cost due to the spreadsheet technology.

August 15 –   The following list includes items that require new technologies, such as the purchase or development of simulation-based planning technologies, as well items that often can be incorporated into the current spreadsheet infrastructure. All will improve the plans and the efficiency of the operation. 1. Flat-lining shrinkage: Many organizations assume in their plans […]

Blend back office work to increase agent occupancy.

August 8 –   We have many contracts that include back office work in our company.  We have modified our staffing plans so if agent occupancy is below 85%, our system adds back office work to bring up occupancy to the 85% level, then calculates staffing requirements for the remainder of the back office work.  […]

Rotate supervisors through workforce management for better understanding..

August 1 –   Implementing a supervisor rotation into your workforce management area can yield very positive results. The rotation simply requires the Operations Supervisor to work in the WFM area for a block of time, typically four hours. The most common way this is implemented is to have a specific time frame each week […]

Listen to your vendors when implementing a new tool.

July 18 –   Rather than automatically requiring a workforce management vendor and software tool to adapt to the way you’ve always done things, let the vendor tell you what is recommended. These vendors have hundreds of installations in call centers of every type and size and they may actually have seen better ways! While […]

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