Noble Systems (News - Alert) Corporation, a provider of unified contact center technology solutions, conducted a survey to assess the extent and nature of prevailing Workforce Management (WFM) software solutions and found that those in vogue were outdated.

WFM provides a powerful, robust and affordable solution that automates all aspects of workforce management helping companies succeed in an increasingly complex environment.

The survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2011 and contact center managers from more than 400 North American contact centers were asked to provide inputs about their business. Responses were received from across a broad spectrum of industry.

A large majority of respondents stated that there was no WFM in place to monitor and schedule agent activity and where a solution did exist; respondents indicated that management continued to rely on outdated WFM tools.

This was borne out by the fact that more than two-thirds had still to adopt a WFM solution and 60 percent of those respondents that had a solution resorted to using simple spreadsheets and other manual methods to schedule, monitor and track agent activity.

Industry analysts underscored the fact that flexibility in agent volume, designating of skill sets, real-time reporting were important facets of superior customer service, all of which highlighted the importance of having an efficient and modern workforce management solution in place.

James K. Noble, president and CEO at Noble Systems stressed the importance of having the right WFM solution and said in a press release, “The benefit of engaging the right number of skilled people and supporting resources in the right place at the right time cannot be overestimated.”

Noble advocated the use of the company's ShiftTrack WFM ssolution that enhanced efficiency and increased competitiveness in a contact center marketplace that required resources to be allocated smartly.

However, according to the survey, companies were still not ready to adopt modern WFM technology and the transition to integrated software solutions could be slower than expected.

In related news, Noble Systems announced that Hume City Council had deployed the ShiftTrack WFM solution to assist with accurate planning of future workloads and staffing requirements within their customer service centers.