Strategy to Increase Utilization of Alternative Channels

When asked if the organization has a deliberate strategy to encourage the use of one channel over another, over half (54%) reported that they do have such a strategy but 34% indicated that they do not.  It is important in developing such a strategy that measuring the effectiveness of the results be done regularly.  For example, if encouraging the use of email results in a high percentage of customer queries requiring multiple interactions, the total time expended may exceed that needed for an initial phone call.  While it is essential for the organization to serve customers in whatever medium they choose, encouraging the use of specific channels should result in benefits to both the customers and the organization.

Favored Channel

It is interesting that when asked which channel is most favored, phone calls was selected by 58% of the respondents.  Web chat was a distant second choice at 27% with email selected by only 6%.  This may be due to customer preference or contact center efficiency in these channels.

Forecasting Methodology

When asked how forecasting is done for other channels, more than half (55%) reported that this is done manually.  Just over one-quarter of the respondents have automated WFM systems to do this process with another 6% using computer simulation.  The process of forecasting for outbound calls, emails, chats and social media contacts are quite different from inbound calls requiring different assumptions and mathematical models.  For example, outbound calls and chats are limited to the ordinary hours of operation of the center, but emails and social media contacts can be initiated 24 X 7 creating backlogs.

Scheduling Methodology

It is interesting that more respondents use an automated WFM system to schedule personnel for the alternative channels than do the forecasting in those systems (51% versus 28%).  This too is a more complicated process than scheduling for incoming calls alone.  For example, some agents may be able to handle chats and calls but not email, while others can only do calls or only email.  Those who handle chats may be able to handle two, three, or even four at a time (if the demand is there to supply them).  Emails may be handled in two or three parts with other channel contacts or even off-desk time in between.  While it is possible to create schedules for inbound calls with an assumption of some shrinkage to provide time to work on the other channels, this may result in mismatches between workload, agent skills and priorities.

Software Used

Respondents were asked to identify the software used for their alternative channel WFM processes.  The most frequently mentioned systems are Nice, Genesys, Oracle, Verint, Python, IEX, and Excel.  It is common to need specialized system to record the volume and handle times of these channels even if all the history is fed into the same WFM system for forecasting and scheduling.

Agents Handling Social Media

Respondents were asked if their contact center agents handled interactions on social media.  Over two-thirds (70%) indicated that they do not have their agents handling these interactions.  While some organizations handle this work in marketing or public relations, others may not be addressing these channels at all.

Closing Comments

Based on the responses to this survey, many WFM teams are faced with the challenges of forecasting and scheduling for personnel to handle multiple channels today.  As the utilization of alternatives to phone calls continues, efficient and effective handling of these contacts will be essential to managing the customer experience.  These channels add significant levels of complexity to the WFM processes which require more sophisticated capabilities than incoming calls have required.