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My very first job was stocking shelves in a local
department store (I couldnt bring myself to flip burgers like everyone
else; I think it was the silly hats). The store had just opened to the
public, and the manager informed the clerks that we could create our own
schedules, as long as we made sure that one of us was there to cover all
evening and weekend hours. Clearly he had little experience with workforce
management, or perhaps teenagers, since conflicts erupted almost
immediately. We all had better things to do on those evening and weekend
hours, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. After about a month and a
half of miscommunications and empty shelves, the manager decided to take
the scheduling out of our hands.
Scheduling still remains a headache for many, one example
being the contact center manager. Fifty different agents with 50 different
preferences is enough to send anyone to the aspirin bottle, but workforce
management helps ease the pain. It takes historical data from your ACD to
perform automatic scheduling. This can prevent overstaffing and
understaffing, as well as enabling a center to take a larger number of
calls with the same number of agents. It can integrate with payroll and
justify staffing recommendations with budget and service level reports. It
can also factor in agent skills and proficiency levels for swapping
analysis.
As small and medium-sized businesses grow, ASP models have
also become more popular. According to Bill Leake, president of Journyx,
Workforce management is widely predicted to emerge as one of the
biggest and potentially most expensive challenges facing players in the
new economy. This trend is largely due to the massive shift toward
outsourcing, which is emerging as a key element of the new economy
business model. As a result, many firms will depend upon service providers
and partners up and down the supply chain for functions such as
accounting, IT services, product manufacturing and shipment, global sales,
and other functions outside their core business.
Workforce management configured into these virtual
organizations will not only improve the bottom line, but will eventually
benefit the workforce itself. Payroll costs account for about 65 percent
of a contact centers budget, so retaining a quality agent has become a
major concern. We can never replace one-on-one human interaction when it
comes to CRM. As Web-based solutions increase, more contact centers will
require 24/7 agent coverage, and the need for flexible scheduling will
increase accordingly. Solutions that enable an agent to view the
activities of everyone across the enterprise will promote better
understanding, as well as opportunities for growth within the
organization. This promotes a sense of community and loyalty that money
cant buy. And we all know happy agents equal happy consumers.
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Interactive
Commerce News
IEX Announces TotalView SC
IEX has announced the TotalView SC workforce management solution,
designed to address the needs of organizations with smaller contact
centers. The TotalView SC package includes software licenses for 100
agents and on-site installation and training, coupled with the recently
announced single-box Windows NT hardware configuration. We developed
TotalView SC to give smaller operations access to the same advanced
workforce management technologies used by the larger centers, said
Brian Spraetz, marketing director, Contact Center Division, IEX.
www.iex.com; 800-433-7692
GMT Announces GMT Planet - Mercury Edition 7.0
GMT has announced version 7.0 of GMT Planet - Mercury Edition, a call center scheduling product with the implementation of a 100 percent wizard-based interface. GMT has added additional functions, features, and new menu styles to Mercurys four wizard guides (Setup, Daily, Schedule, and What If?). Another new feature, Campaign Forecasting, allows small call centers to prepare for outstanding or anticipated events that significantly change daily call volume. Mercurys campaign forecasting also allows for conditions by department and a four-tiered system instead of three. GMT has renamed and organized the menu into the categories of Calculate, Schedule, Employees, and Cost. The setup and reports for each category are filed under each newly-named menu.
www.gmtcorp.com; 770-416-6000
Journyx And BridgePath Partner
Journyx and BridgePath have announced that they have strategically partnered to provide Journyx Timesheet technology to BridgePath Exchange users. By leveraging Journyxs Web-based time capturing solution, BridgePath customers may access time and expense reports from any location. Journyx will allow BridgePath Exchange members to approve online time and expense records, assign time instantly to any project, and receive real-time insight into actual hours posted. The BridgePath partnership will allow Journyx to deliver its groundbreaking Internet solutions to staffing firms of all sizes, said Bill Leake, president of Journyx.
www.journyx.com; 512-834-8888
www.bridgepath.com; 415-946-6000
eshare Communications Intros NetAgent Suite 5.0
eshare Communications has introduced NetAgent Suite 5.0, a grouping of customer interaction management applications that provides contact center users with a unified interface to coordinate e-mail, voice, VoIP, multi-lingual chat, live Web interactions, and wireless contact center monitoring, while also tracking Web site visitors and generating easy-to-follow reports.NetAgent Suite 5.0 includes several new applications, including NetAgent INTERNATIONAL, NetAgent WIRELESS, and NetAgent ANSWER, as well as applications available in previous versions.
www.eshare.com, 866-437-4873
Pipkins Announces Vantage Point
Pipkins has announced Vantage Point, a new user interface enhancement to the companys Maxima Advantage workforce management software. Vantage Point enables companies to tailor Maxima Advantages feature set to each individual users unique set of recurring tasks. Users can learn only those tasks they will be performing, adding new tasks as necessary. Instead of the traditional toolbar, the user sees his own personalized task bar, consisting of icons which represent only those tasks that have been defined by the user. Vantage Point memorizes the sequence of commands for recurring tasks, enabling the user to enter only variable data. Maxima Advantages security module follows the users logon ID so that a user sees his or her unique desktop when logging on at any location.
www.pipkins.com; 800-469-6106
Workbrain And answerthink Form Alliance
Workbrain and answerthink have announced a strategic alliance to jointly deploy Workbrain Web-based and wireless solutions to Global 2000 companies. Workbrain is an Internet-based solution that automates all workforce-related transactions and enables the delivery of services directly to employees over the Internet, corporate intranets, and wireless devices. The solution enables the collection and sharing of real-time mission-critical data. answerthinks experience in the human resources function and technology implementation services will help accelerate the deployment and enhance the effectiveness of Workbrains Web-based employee relationship management (ERM) solutions.
www.workbrain.com; 678-713-6014
www.answerthink.com; 877-423-4321
Blue Pumpkin Announces Director - Enterprise 3.0
Blue Pumpkin Software has announced the Blue Pumpkin Director - Enterprise 3.0, enterprise software designed to optimize the process of managing and empowering agents across all channels. Blue Pumpkin leverages the power of Directors open integration platform. By providing out-of-the-box plug-ins that seamlessly transfer customer information from sources spanning Web, e-mail, telephony, CRM, and database solutions, Director allows companies to take advantage of their existing technology investments. Other key features include multi-contact forecasting and scheduling, Web-enabled self service for agents input, and workforce planning.
www.blue-pumpkin.com; 877-257-6756
ViryaNet Launches Service Hub For Mid-Market
ViryaNet has announced the Service Hub for Mid-Market, a solution for medium-sized service companies. Service Hub for Mid-Market is a fixed, pre-packaged solution that delivers the core capabilities and functionality of ViryaNets Service Hub for Enterprises. Companies with 25-100 field service engineers can install, configure, and deploy an adaptable subset of wireless workforce management modules without requiring consulting or project management. Service Hub for Mid-Market includes Service Hubs core workforce management functionality, fixed service delivery, an accelerated implementation timeframe, and a predetermined price that includes implementation costs.
www.viryanet.com; 800-661-7096
Convergys, Geneva Technology To Merge
Convergys Corporation, a global provider in integrated billing and customer care services, and Geneva Technology jointly announced the merger of Geneva Technology Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, and Convergys Corporation. The Geneva product will continue to be offered as a standalone solution as well as part of broader Convergys solutions.
www.convergys.com; 513-458-1300
www.genevatechnology.com; +44 (0)1223 705000
Witness Deploys Thin Client Architectures
Witness Systems has announced a solution for enhancing the performance of CSRs using thin client workstation environments, such as Windows Terminal Server and Citrix. Thin clients expand the array of contact center application services environments supported by the companys eQuality synchronized voice and data recording technique, which already captures data from Windows NT, 2000, 98, 95, and 3.1, Sun Solaris, 3270, AS/400, OS/2, and UNIX operating systems. This capture technique has been extended to thin client systems that allow companies to manage applications, as well as facilitate rapid deployment of new versions of supported applications, across thousands of users from a single point.
www.witness.com; 770-754-1900
Quick & Reilly Standardizes On Aspect Portal
Aspect Communications has announced that Quick & Reilly has standardized its service operations on the Aspect Customer Relationship Portal and the multisite edition of Aspect eWorkforce Management software. Quick & Reilly has integrated the Aspect foundation of its multisite CRM strategy with its existing Seibel front-office application in consolidated contact centers serving more than one million customers. Quick & Reilly also implemented Aspects Agent Productivity, eSchedule Planner, and Real-Time Adherence eWorkforce Management technologies to compliment the core eWorkforce Management software modules that forecast contact volume, schedule staff, and track performance for 450 agents.
www.aspect.com; 877-621-3692
Telcordia, ISC Launch Next Generation Contact Center Solution
Telcordia Technologies, CosmoCom, e-talk, ISC, and Primary Matters have announced the Next Generation Contact Center Solution, an IP-based, end-to-end customer service center solution that provides real-time interactions with customers. Providing value-added applications and acting as a systems integrator, Telcordia integrates customer service support and management products to offer the solution. The Next Generation Contact Center Solution includes ISCs Irene, which enables contact center managers to forecast customer contacts and schedule agents accordingly. Irene also enables companies to accommodate the scheduling preferences of agents.
www.telcordia.com; 973-829-2000
www.isc.com; 212-477-8800
Performix Announces New Brand Name
Performix Technologies has announced the rebranding of their software solution, Acumen Performance Manager. The software solution will now be branded the Emvolve Performance Manager. Our solution is unique in the marketplace because it drives performance improvement within contact centers by focusing on the industrys greatest asset
-- their employees. While our solution influences profit margins, it also motivates employees to improve their own performance. Basically people want to achieve and evolve in their roles and our solution can help them do just that, said Cathal McGloin, CEO, Performix Technologies.
www.performixtechnologies.com;
877-637-3063
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Pioneering
Multi-Channel Workforce Management
BY TOM AIELLO
Companies are being bombarded for service from all sides, with the contact center quickly becoming the hot bed of activity
-- responding to e-mail, live chat, fax, traditional voice, and VoIP.
The latest CRM technologies are helping to lower the number of customer requests that require live assistance. But the fact remains that customer service often requires, and will always benefit from, human interaction. Workforce management systems are making the leap from traditional forecasting and scheduling to multi-channel solutions capable of balancing and staffing to cost effectively meet these new demands.
Live agent chat is becoming an expected service at e-commerce sites. Its purpose is to more closely emulate a retail environment, where service and sales assistance is the difference between a browser and a buyer. Like inbound agent scheduling, live Web calls are an immediate demand that you can forecast and schedule based on historical measurements. Once volume is predicted, multi-channel workforce management software provides the ability to match talent, technology, and
touchpoint.
Multi-channel workforce management can monitor and score agent proficiency levels to create multi-channel agents. Scoring can determine which inbound agents are better suited to transition from talking to chatting, as well as parcel the activity by business rules, employee preference, or skill.
E-mail response is equally challenging. Surveys tell us that customers expect acknowledgment of their e-contact within one hour. However, over 50 percent of companies respond in over 24 hours, and the majority of e-mails require some level of human review, if not response.
E-mail, fax, and outbound callbacks are considered deferred demand because companies can establish how and when they will respond. Most contact centers have the formula for how to schedule employees for voice calls through simple modeling of Erlang C. But Erlang C will never address the variations created by fax and e-mail. The challenge is to interpret that information in a logical sequence, factoring in business rules and available personnel that can meet or exceed customer expectation.
Beyond the benefits of increased productivity, reduced labor costs, and enhanced customer loyalty, multi-channel scheduling ultimately benefits the employees. Browser-based technology makes it possible for employees to view, bid, and trade schedules from any PC, and work in an environment where opportunities for growth exist across the multiple channels. The result is increased employee satisfaction, reduced turnover, and a competitive hiring advantage.
Tom Aiello, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Interactive Software Systems, is a 25-year contact center industry veteran. He can be reached at
taiello@intersoftsys.com or (847) 221-2550.
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