Workforce management (WFM) is the backbone of both employee and customer experience in contact centers. When WFM is done well, tasks run smoothly with few hiccups, but when WFM is done poorly, it becomes obvious quickly, either loading on more stress across all levels of the business or leaving everyone wondering what they should be doing next with no clear direction.
Efficient WFM looks like agents knowing exactly what they should be doing and when they should be doing it, schedules lining up so that employees can foster the work-life balance they’re looking for, and productivity increasing as tasks are paired up with people best suited to accomplish them. This is especially helpful in contact centers because when agents and employees alike are working in a productive environment, customer experience (CX) also improves. Let’s dive a bit deeper into what WFM is and why efficient WFM is essential for contact centers.
What is WFM and Why is It Important
According to Oracle, workforce management is a set of processes or tools “that manage workers’ time, organize and deploy their labor force efficiently, enable employee and manager self-service, and ensure employee safety”. Much of the WFM process involves analyzing how the business is currently running and then making data-driven decisions on how to improve. Some of the metrics that may be analyzed include time tracking and performance ratings. These metrics in particular help with seeing how engaged agents are, how often they are having to spend time away, and how effective they are in helping customers that contact the center. When trends arise in this data, you may discover that during the day, there’s a common time for calls to be sparser, or you could find that calls become overwhelming for agents during the end of the year, meaning that everyone’s performance noticeably drops. Finding these patterns allows you to make the adjustments necessary to increase productivity while taking some stress off those interacting with customers.
When you take some stress off the agents, this helps improve customer experience. Agents are freer to take their time with customers, diving into the problems they are experiencing and showing the customers that they matter. When the customer feels like they matter, they’re more likely to recommend your business to their peers. Also, by adjusting the time schedule to accurately reflect the actual working hours of employees, you are able to fine tune the budget and lower the costs associated with having too many working during the slow periods.
Methods of Making WFM More Efficient
You may be tracking the right metrics with your WFM processes, but how do you know if they’re being used in an efficient and effective manner? Let’s look at some of these metrics and how to make sure that they are being used well.
- Time Tracking – As mentioned before, time tracking may simply involve keeping an eye on when employees are clocking in or clocking out, but it goes beyond this. This tracking could mean looking into the time it takes for projects to be completed from concept to implementation, analyzing how that time is affected by the number of employees working on said projects, or finding out what time of day agents are most likely to make memorable connections with customers. What’s important is knowing what data to be collecting and how to utilize that data.
- Forecasting – Forecasting means looking at the information that’s been collected from the past in order to make informed decisions about a variety of areas, such as the number of agents needed during a busy season, the quarterly/yearly budget, or what it would take to introduce a new process. This metric may be the most telling as far as efficiency goes, showing you the places where your business needs improvement. All you need is the right help to figure out where to go from here.
- Compliance – No matter the industry, there are certain standards that you’re expected, or required, to meet. Keeping track of the labor laws or regulations related to your industry will ensure that you don’t get sucked up into legal complications or costly penalties.
- Performance and Reporting – This may involve recording employee performance, which could be tracked through the number of calls where the customer gets their problem solved or surveys done after the call has concluded. These numbers can show you which agents are most helpful or most liked by customers, which gives you insight into what works and how to train others. It may also involve metrics such as the time it takes to fill a position, which could be further incentive for training and retaining agents.
How The Office Gurus Can Help
WFM is important, but there are so many other challenges that need your attention. If this is true for you, then The Office Gurus may be able to help. We can focus on tasks such as recruitment, training, scheduling, and performance management, which frees you up to focus on more pressing matters, such as planning your next product. Also, by partnering with The Office Gurus, you’re partnering with a group of experts that have been working in this field for over a decade, experiencing the twists and turns that have occurred. There’s also the fact that we have helped others in a diverse variety of industries. We may be able to find insights that fly under the radar for others or give you a new perspective that you haven’t considered yet.
Final Thoughts
Streamlined WFM processes are key to a smooth employee and customer experience in contact centers, with benefits such as reduced employee burnout, increased productivity, and improved CX, but sometimes they can easily fall to the side, forgotten in favor of more urgent matters. Ready for The Office Gurus to bring your contact center’s WFM processes back to the forefront? Contact us today to find out the next steps.
