Workforce Management Featured Article
Why Workforce Management is a Must
Creating the ultimate customer experience doesn’t start with the right offerings or even the right technology. It starts with putting the right people in place at the right time and in the right mix to hit your goals. To accomplish this, it often requires an investment in workforce management.
A blog posted recently by workforce management solutions provider Monet Software (News - Alert) explored this topic, highlighting the importance of investing in the workforce. In an environment where there are so many different moving parts, it can be challenging to harness the right mix to deliver the optimal customer experience.
The parts that appear to be the most important, according to Monet Software research, are the actual work that needs to be done within the call center, the people charged with the responsibility of doing that work and the processes put in place to help these individuals achieve the goals of the business. Let’s take a look at all three and where workforce management plays an important role.
First, the work. The traditional call center deals with calls, of course, but the multi-channel environment also manages emails, Web chat requests, social media posts and even text messaging. There are orders to fulfill, returns to be processed and questions that need answers. With workforce management, the goal is to produce accurate forecasts and schedules so that enough agents are on hand at all times to respond to customer demand.
Second, the people. In some environments, agents are working on the calling floor, while in others they are working from home. Every individual agent goes through the same training, but some have developed better skills than others. Each one has different needs and preferences when it comes to scheduled work time. Without the right workforce management tools in place to ensure optimal scheduling and flexibility, too many agents leave, making it difficult to develop a solid team with longevity.
Finally, the process. The ultimate goal here is visibility as no manager can be everywhere all the time. Workforce management provides access to quality monitoring of customer interactions through workforce optimization. This enables management to track and analyze how well processes are working.
In an effort to provide the ultimate customer experience, it’s important to recognize where investments should be made in the call center. Workforce management is one investment that can have a positive impact across the board.
Edited by Alicia Young
