Introduction to Contact Center Workforce Management
The Challenge of Complex Contact Center Workforce Management
One of the biggest challenges faced by contact center managers is the complexity of contact center workforce management software. Contact centers rely on workforce management solutions to optimize their operations to project call load and match their staffing schedules to that call load.
However, many existing contact center workforce management on the market are packaged as WFM suites, which overwhelm managers with an abundance of features that may not align with their specific needs. This often results in contact centers investing in a contact center workforce management software that encompasses a wide range of functions, despite utilizing only a small fraction of them.
Complex WFM software pose a significant challenge for contact centers. The abundance of features increases the learning curve and can be particularly taxing for smaller contact centers with limited resources and staff.
More than half of contact center leaders would switch to an easy-to-use Contact Center Workforce Management if given the opportunity.
The Complexity Problem in Prevailing Contact Center Workforce Management
A. Understanding the complexities of existing contact center workforce management
Contact center workforce management software’s in the market are often designed with a significant level of complexity. Many workforce management offer a wide range of features, some of which are unnecessary to the needs of contact center managers, especially for those managing smaller centers.
These solutions tend to be complex due to the multitude of options, intricate user interfaces, and convoluted processes. Standalone WFM software set themselves apart from more complex contact center workforce management software by incorporating a greater level of depth and breadth into each feature.
Standalone contact center workforce management vendors can invest more in granular WFM capabilities, focusing solely on workforce management optimization. This gives standalone contact center workforce management another edge, as contact center managers avoid the often steep learning curve required to grasp complicated contact center workforce management software.
Navigating through multiple menus, settings, and configurations can be overwhelming, particularly for those without extensive technical backgrounds or managers new to contact center workforce management software. This complexity can impede contact center managers from efficiently utilizing the available tools and maximizing their workforce management capabilities.
B. Exploring the impact of complex Workforce Management on contact centers
Steep learning curves, information overload, and suboptimal usage are a few of the side effects of complex contact center workforce management
The impact of complex contact center workforce management can be far-reaching. The steep learning curve associated with these systems requires significant time and resources for training and onboarding, which can disrupt day-to-day operations.
Additionally, the excess features and functionalities, while intended to provide comprehensive solutions, often lead to information overload and confusion among contact center managers.
The result is a lack of clarity in decision-making processes and suboptimal utilization of the software’s capabilities.
For small contact centers, investing in and implementing complex contact center workforce management can strain their capabilities, leading to inefficient utilization and a reduced return on investment.
However, With the right contact workforce management software, contact centers can yield over a 1200% return for every dollar invested.
Needs vs Wants: Selecting the Right Contact Center Workforce Management Software
A. Essential Contact Center Workforce Management Functions
Selecting the right WFM solution for the first time can be a daunting task, especially with the plethora of features and options available in the market.
Contact center managers may feel overwhelmed by feature overload and struggle to identify which functions are truly essential for their operations.
To ease the decision-making process, let’s focus on the foundational features that managers should prioritize when adopting contact center workforce management for the first time:
Accurate Call Volume Forecasting is the cornerstone of effective contact center workforce management. By analyzing historical data and trends, contact centers can predict call volumes with precision.
This critical functionality allows contact center managers to proactively plan and allocate the right number of agents at specific times of the day to handle customer interactions efficiently, all while mitigating overstaffing and understaffing situations.
Agent Scheduling is essential to maximize agent productivity and minimize idle time. A robust WFM software allows contact center managers to create optimized schedules based on forecasted call volumes, agent availability, and skills.
By ensuring agents are assigned to work when needed the most, contact centers can reduce labor costs while maintaining optimal service levels.
Real-Time Adherence Monitoring ensures agents adhere to their assigned schedules. By tracking agent activities in real-time, workforce managers can identify and address deviations from the schedule.
This minimizes compliance issues and ensures agents remain productive during scheduled work hours, thereby improving operational efficiency and optimizing workforce utilization.
B. Additional Features for Enhanced WFM Capabilities
While the essential WFM functionalities lay the groundwork for effective workforce management, contact centers can further elevate their operations by considering additional features that offer enhanced capabilities and flexibility:
Customization Options allows contact center managers to tailor the software to their specific needs. It empowers managers to configure the system to match their unique workflows, reporting requirements, and business processes.
By fine-tuning the software to align with their contact center’s operations, managers can achieve greater efficiency and flexibility.
Scalability and Flexibility are crucial factors to consider when selecting a WFM solution. Scalable software can seamlessly adapt to changing operational demands and accommodate an increasing number of agents and customer interactions.
Flexible contact center workforce management provide the agility to add new features or integrations as the contact center evolves. Investing in a scalable and flexible WFM solution ensures that contact centers can expand their operations without significant disruptions or the need for costly system overhauls.
Multi-Channel Support enables managers to monitor agent activities and service levels across all channels simultaneously.
This seamless integration of multi-channel data helps contact centers provide a consistent and cohesive customer experience, regardless of the communication medium.
Employee Self-Service allows agents to manage their own schedules, request time-off, and view shift assignments.
By giving agents more control over their schedules, contact centers foster a sense of ownership and accountability among the workforce, ultimately leading to increased job satisfaction and reduced employee turnover.
Conclusion
Recap of the challenges posed by complex contact center workforce management
Throughout this blog post, we explored the challenges that contact center managers face when dealing with complex contact center workforce management.
We discussed how these solutions can be overwhelming, are heard to learn how to use, and have excessive functionality that small to mid-sized contact centers don’t need.
As contact center workforce managers strive to enhance operational efficiency, it is important to explore workforce management solutions that simplify the complexities of the task. By embracing a streamlined approach to workforce management, contact centers can achieve accurate call volume forecasting, optimized agent scheduling, and improved resource utilization, all without the unnecessary fluff.
A well-designed contact center workforce management software enables managers to allocate more time and attention to coaching agents and engaging with customers.
As a leading contact center consulting firm, DecisivEdge guides contact center leaders in making informed decisions about which WFM solution is best for their organization.