The state of your contact centre workforce is directly linked to customer satisfaction and business success. Research suggests that “happy employees equal happy customers” is more than a cliche – by investing in agent job satisfaction and more sustainable workforce utilisation, you could significantly boost your CSAT scores. According to the report, when job satisfaction among agents was between 40 and 60%, customer satisfaction also remained low. However, an increase in job satisfaction to 70%, 80%, and then 90% was accompanied by a corresponding rise in customer satisfaction.
That’s why adopting a workforce optimisation (WFO) solution is so important. It can guide agent utilisation in a manner that you meet performance targets but do not compromise on agent job satisfaction or work-life balance. As your business grows and you embrace a multifaceted customer service ecosystem – spread across multiple channels, shifts, and support locations – WFO is key to effectively orchestrating this entire machinery.
Here are five reasons why WFO makes a massive difference in 2021, in particular:
1. Agents want greater empowerment amid complex working conditions
The sudden shift to remote work has upended contact centre operations, and, in many ways, has changed the workplace culture for agents. They are more likely to seek flexibility in schedules, which was perceived as the no.1 benefit of home working. WFO allows agents to choose their shifts, working around their unique productivity habits, and personal obligations. This is all the more important in 2021, with WFH continuing to blur the lines between work and life.
2. Customer reliance on contact centres has increased
In the face of restricted store timings and reduced face-to-face interactions with brands, customers are relying on contact centres more than ever. WFO equips you to meet unpredictable traffic spikes, maintaining your natural service levels. This is crucial specifically for essential service providers, like utility companies, banks, educational institutions, and government agencies.
3. WFO can help to reduce costs while maintaining productivity
You could meaningfully leverage WFO solutions to reduce your cumulative resource needs while reaching similar levels of productivity. For example, an AI-predicted schedule can help you meet service levels using a team of 50, while manual scheduling using excel sheets would probably require 70+ agents for the same job. This cost advantage makes a big difference amid a continued budget crunch from last year.
4. You will be able to avoid costly non-compliance issues
This is one of the key reasons why implementing WFO is so important. WFO solutions come with built-in compliance and quality management tools, such as the automatic redaction of sensitive data from call transcripts, or agent alerts when a key compliance phrase is missed out. As data breaches become more frequent in the wake of COVID-19, WFO can help to maintain secure and compliant customer data repositories.
5. WFO is crucial for employee satisfaction in the long term
Finally – and this is the ultimate objective of WFO implementation – optimal schedules, timely training, ready guidance, and access to key resources make life easier for your agents. This increases job satisfaction, influencing CSAT, and bringing down your turnover costs.
