Tips from the 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes sessions – Include staffing overs and under in your real-time display.
June 17 – Here is another idea from one of the popular 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes sessions from the 2013 SWPP Annual Conference: Include staffing overs and unders in your real-time displays. It is common for centers to need more or fewer people than planned. This results in solicitations of volunteers for overtime or […]
Tips from the 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes sessions – Lengthen the interval of measurement for small queues.
June 10 – Here is another idea from one of the popular 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes sessions from the 2013 SWPP Annual Conference: In small call volume queues, lengthen the interval of measurement (such as extending from 15 minutes to 30 minutes) to get enough calls to achieve a reasonably accurate forecast. In a […]
Tips from the 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes sessions – Look for indicators of surging contact volume.
June 3 – Look for leading indicators of when your contact volume may surge. For some centers such as utilities and insurance providers, weather is a significant driver of contact volume. In others, a surge in activity on social media channels may lead to an increase in calls. Understanding your business drivers and how they […]
Steel sharpens steel.
May 27 – There is an old adage that “steel sharpens steel” – you can learn the most from people in your same profession. In a typical call center, many managers can find improvement ideas since they share common tasks. However, people in the workforce management profession usually do not have too many peers in […]
Tips from the 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes sessions – Identify the true cost of attrition.
May 20 – The 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes sessions are some of the most popular sessions at the SWPP Annual Conference. We caught several of the ideas from this year’s fast-paced sessions, where a panel of WFM experts gives rapid-fire ideas, each in one minute, and wanted to share them with everyone over the […]
The real deal with idle time.
May 13 – The tip last week raised the question as to whether idle time is truly wasted time. While one could argue the semantics, the fact remains that 49 minutes of idle time is a reality. What makes the difference is how you react to that fact. If you ask agents to squeeze in […]
Can you get rid of 1/7 of all agent costs?
May 6 – I came across an article recently that read, “Survey says that agents have 49 minutes of idle time per day.” My initial thought was “So what?” Assuming an agent works 6 ½ hours a day, then roughly 1/7 of their time is waiting to take a call. Then I thought of all […]
Denying a workplace distraction.
April 29 – In preparation for a webinar recently, I polled a question to the participants. The title of the webinar was “Minimizing the 5 Most Dangerous Distractions In Your Workday,” and the question was, “Which of the following workplace distractions is most prevalent for you?” The answers (and responses) were: Technology (40%) Mental Monsters-like […]
Paying your team members for soliciting Voluntary Time Off.
April 22 – Some WFM teams have adopted a practice of paying team members for every hour of “Voluntary” or “Unpaid” time off they recruit each day, to manage down available time. This can be particularly challenging in an environment where a large intraday team shares the responsibility of achieving a time off goal. In […]
Planning and forecasting through uncertainty.
April 15 – A common theme that we’ve heard over the last two years is about the uncertainty of the business environment and our contact center operations. Forecasting is tough, and planning, hence, is also difficult. And while this may seem counterintuitive, in times like these — when forecasts are off — that planning becomes […]
Use Schedule Surveys to Evaluate Agent Satisfaction.
April 8 – Are your agents satisfied with the available shift and break options in your call center? Have you identified a need for an option outside of the typical shift or break but aren’t sure where the interest lies? You may want to create a schedule survey for your call center to provide answers […]
Breaking communication barriers with frontline associates.
April 1 – It is not uncommon for WFM to receive feedback about a process that may be in place, the schedules that were made, or how Real-Time Analyst John Doe keeps contacting them about their unavailable time. On top of the feedback, we may also get questions regarding the time off request process or […]