In an increasingly demanding landscape, delivering exceptional customer experience (CX) is not an option; it is required. As businesses strive to meet these expectations, one factor stands out as a critical determinant of CX success – the need for immediate responses from live agents.
Customers don’t want to be put on hold or transferred multiple times, waiting for someone to address their concerns. They crave a seamless and swift resolution.
The bottom line is clear – businesses must find ways to manage and optimize their resources to meet these heightened expectations.
Enter Workforce Management (WFM), a solution that can transform this CX challenge into a success story.
WFM software enables contact centers to manage and organize a workforce that aligns with customer demand and operational requirements. Contact centers can address the increasing demand for immediate responses while significantly enhancing the customer experience.
90% of customers expect an immediate response to their inquiries
Decisivedge is a premier contact center consulting firm, dedicated to helping contact centers discover tailored WFM solutions that elevate their customer experiences. With Decisivedge, contact centers can unlock the full potential of WFM software, delivering unparalleled customer satisfaction.
In this blog post, we’ll dive into the CX challenges contact centers face. While exploring customer pain points and their impact on a company’s reputation, we’ll also showcase how the implementation of WFM solution can revolutionize customer service operations, creating a win-win-win situation for customers, agents and managers.
The Challenges of Customer Experience (CX) in Contact Centers
Customer experience (CX) is the heart of operations, but it comes with its challenges. As companies strive to offer outstanding service, they encounter obstacles that can hinder the attainment of CX excellence.
Let’s explore these challenges and understand how they affect the customer journey.
Voice Channel: The Prevalence and CX Challenges
Voice channel remains the dominant channel for customers seeking support, with 76% of customers reaching out via phone.
However, as more channels are adopted, a challenge arises in handling the sheer volume of voice calls while ensuring consistent service across all other channels.
The risk of neglecting channels due to the priority of voice calls poses a CX dilemma for contact centers.
Long Wait and Hold Times: The Disparate Systems Conundrum
Nothing dampens customers’ spirits more than waiting on hold for extended periods, only to be met with frustration. This issue often arises due to disparate systems within contact centers.
When information and data are scattered across different platforms, agents struggle to access the necessary resources promptly.
In fact, agents can spend up to 20% of their time searching for information while on calls, leaving customers hanging. We call this the “swivel chair effect.”
Multiple Transfers: The Runaround Blues
Picture a scenario where a customer calls a contact center seeking assistance, only to have their call bounce from department to department.
79% of callers are transferred at least once, detrimentally impacting your customer satisfaction score (CSAT), first call resolution rate (FCR) and CX.
Self-Serve: The Infinite IVR Loop
To manage call overflow and reduce agent workload, companies often implement Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems.
While IVR can be effective, CX quickly turns sour when customers find themselves stuck in an infinite loop, unable to reach a live agent. 61% of customers even report IVR makes for poor CX.
Without a live agent option, customers leave feeling isolated and dissatisfied.
Low First Call Resolution (FCR) Rate: The Ripple Effect on CX
FCR rate is a critical metric in assessing the efficiency of operations. A low FCR rate indicates that customers must reach out multiple times to resolve their issues.
FCR is not just about resolving problems swiftly; it’s about leaving customers with a positive impression. A high FCR rate is a testament to effective problem-solving and a key driver of customer satisfaction and CX.
Introducing Workforce Management (WFM) as a CX Solution
Considering these challenges, WFM emerges as the solution that holds the key to elevating customer experiences.
Let’s delve into WFM and explore its role in shaping customer interactions.
Workforce Management (WFM) and Its Role in Contact Centers
Workforce Management (WFM) is an all-encompassing approach involving strategies and tools that maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of contact center agents and resources.
WFM ensures seamless coordination, precise scheduling, and data-driven decision-making to deliver top-tier customer experiences.
By aligning staffing levels with fluctuating customer demand, WFM enables contact centers to be adaptive.
The result? Enhanced operational efficiency, reduced costs, and most importantly, satisfied customers.
Managing and Anticipating Call Volumes with Workforce Management
The unpredictability of call volumes is one of the biggest challenges for contact centers. WFM software uses historical data, patterns, and forecasting algorithms to anticipate call volumes accurately.
With this data, contact centers can strategically schedule agents, preventing prolonged wait times, minimizing hold duration and ensuring callers are connected to capable agents.
The Benefits of Strategic Planning and Labor Optimization in Improving CX
The crux of WFM’s impact lies in strategic planning and labor optimization. With data-driven insights at its disposal, contact center managers can make informed decisions that positively impact CX.
Let’s explore the advantages:
Enhanced Customer Service: 82% of customers expect to resolve their problems by talking to one agent. WFM software helps schedule the right agent skills to match the needs or call types coming into the contact center.
This expedites issue resolution and allows customers to engage with agents capable of delivering exceptional service.
Reduced Costs: The labor optimization capabilities of WFM software help optimize staffing levels, saving contact centers valuable resources.
With these features, say goodbye to wasted hours, unnecessary expenses, and underutilized agents.
Boosted Employee Morale: WFM fosters a positive work environment by providing agents with a balanced workload.
Happier agents are more engaged, motivated, and satisfied, ultimately, delivering better CX.
Improved Customer Loyalty: When customers experience prompt resolutions to their issues, they feel valued and appreciated.
This leads to increased loyalty and the potential for improved profitability, as more than half of customers are willing to pay more for exceptional CX.
Leveraging Workforce Management (WFM) to Enhance Customer Experience
With the groundwork laid for understanding Workforce Management (WFM), let’s explore how it translates into benefit by enhancing the customer experience.
Optimizing Agent Scheduling to Meet Customer Demands
WFM’s ability to optimize agent scheduling is a game-changer for contact centers aiming to cater to customer needs promptly. With optimized schedules, customers are met with a workforce ready to handle their inquiries without delays.
This approach ensures that contact centers operate at peak efficiency, aligning the right resources with customer demands.
Reducing Wait Times, Transfers and Hold Durations through Better Resource Allocation
Nothing frustrates customers more than long wait times and endless holds, not to mention the merry-go-round of transfers. Today, only 30% of customers are willing to wait two minutes to speak with an agent.
With WFM’s resource allocation capabilities, contact centers can mitigate this.
Through anticipating call volumes, WFM prevents bottlenecks and minimizes wait times by efficiently allocating the most suitable agents to satisfy customer inquiries.
Customers spend less time waiting and more time receiving the assistance they need, all while feeling valued and prioritized.
Integrating Self-Service Options Effectively with Workforce Management for Seamless Customer Experience
Self-service options, when integrated with WFM are powerful tools, with over 60% of customers even preferring it.
WFM can strategically identify scenarios where self-service options are ideal for issue resolution and automatically direct customers to relevant resources. When self-service options are thoughtfully designed and employed, customers appreciate the convenience and speed of resolving their queries without the need to engage a live agent.
Embracing Workforce Management (WFM) Software for Better CX
Embracing WFM software has become imperative for contact centers seeking to optimize operations and take their CX game to the next level.
Unlike traditional methods involving spreadsheets and manual data handling, WFM software brings automation and sophistication to the table. Automating labor-intensive tasks allows managers to focus on more complex activities.
Real-time insights also enable agile responses to fluctuating customer demands, ensuring seamless CX delivery even during peak times.
Features of WFM Solutions
WFM software is a toolkit for success, comprised of a suite of features that elevate contact center management. Here are some essential features:
Forecasting and Scheduling: Accurate forecasting of customer demand and agent availability allows managers to create optimized schedules that align with business objectives and customer needs.
Real-Time Adherence: WFM software enables real-time tracking of agent adherence to schedules, helping managers address issues promptly and maintain operational efficiency.
Reporting and Analytics: Comprehensive reports and analytics provide deep insights into contact center performance, empowering data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.
Conclusion
Customer experience (CX) is the differentiating factor for success. Customers no longer settle for satisfactory experiences and now demand exceptional service.
Workforce Management (WFM) emerges as a powerful solution, efficiently managing call volumes, reducing wait times, and enhancing CX through strategic planning and labor optimization. WFM optimizes schedules, minimizes transfers, integrates self-service options, and increases First Call Resolution (FCR) rates, leading to efficient issue resolution and heightened customer loyalty.
Embracing WFM is a strategic investment, setting businesses apart by delivering exceptional customer experiences. Reach out to us today to see how WFM can transform your contact center.
