Monet Software's Call Center Efficiency Checklist

Workforce Management solutions provider Monet Software recently prepared a checklist to help organizations ensure that their call centers are running at peak efficiency. The 10-point checklist is offered for free as part of the company's Workforce Management Success Kit, available on its recently-redesigned website.

What follows are the first three "tips:"

1. Implement a flexible shift model. Starting times, lunch breaks, end times, etc. are often fixed over the week, resulting either in overstaffing (higher costs!) or understaffing (lower service levels and revenues!). That's why more and more call centers switch from a fixed to a flexible shift model.

2. Keep track of your shrinkage. Many companies underestimate the sheer volume of shrinkage (paid time but not available for calls). For example, in a 30 agent contact center, 20 minutes shrinkage per agent equates to 10 hours per day in shrinkage. If those agents are being paid $12 per hour plus benefits, equaling $15 per hour, it means you are losing $150 per day, $750 a week or $39,000 per year.

3. Improve schedule adherence. Once you produce optimized schedules, it will be important for agents to stay on schedule, taking their breaks and lunches on time and returning on time, reducing shrinkage. What should you do to improve schedule adherence? Inform and educate, measure and manage and provide incentives.

What to read the remaining "tips?" Then be sure to download the free Workforce Management Success Kit by clicking here.

David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of David's articles, please visit his columnist page. He also blogs for TMCnet here.

Edited by Patrick Barnard