Verint has launched a TimeFlex Bot to “revolutionize” and “redefine” the flexibility of contact center agent scheduling.
It works by automatically calculating the impact of a shift change on forecasted demand, capacity, and performance across 15-minute intervals. The bot then gives each interval a “FlexCoin” value.
If a contact center agent wishes to change their shift, they may do so. However, they will either gain or lose “FlexCoins” – depending on whether the alteration benefits the contact center.
Altogether, agents must only follow two rules:
- The agent cannot increase or decrease their number of paid hours.
- The agent must maintain a positive FlexCoin balance.
Such an approach offers agents a new level of autonomy and ensures that most agent-driven schedule changes will ultimately benefit contact center service levels.
Excited to bring the capability to market, David Singer, Global Vice President of Go-to-Market Strategy at Verint, stated:
Verint TimeFlex Bot gives agents groundbreaking tools to automate shift swap, split shifts, and schedule changes.
“It uses AI and gamification to align the agent’s preferences and impromptu needs with the company’s scheduling and forecasting priorities.”
As Singer suggests, agents can adjust their shifts, make them shorter or longer, split them, move them to another day, or delete them as and when necessary.
Such flexibility allows employees to fit work around their daily lives and accommodate unexpected events or changes in circumstances.
“This is an undervalued area of automation within the contact center,” said Jim Davies, Co-Founder and Executive Partner at Actionary, when sharing his thoughts on the announcement with CX Today.
“Many contact centers receive only a minimum of requests for small changes and believe this is due to a lack of interest from their agents. The reality is that the current difficulty in requesting these changes is what causes their scarcity.
As more and more agents are exposed to this functionality, it is increasingly becoming an expectation, as opposed to a luxury.
To enable such functionality, the Verint TimeFlex Bot juggles complex algorithms, gaming mechanics, and “CX data” – helping agents juggle their work-life balance.
In doing so, it becomes the latest addition to Verint’s portfolio of 50+ specialist bots – with each aiming to drive specific value using AI.
While these bots may work together, each augments an individual role, automates one function, and automates without disruption.
Singer shared his excitement regarding these bots’ possible impact on contact center operations when talking to CX Today in November.
Then, he also shared Verint’s ambition to release another 50-100 bots before the beginning of 2025 – which will run across the Verint Open CCaaS platform.
However, other contact center ecosystems may also leverage Verint TimeFlex and its other bots.
Promising Early Adopter Experiences with the Verint TimeFlex Bot
According to Singer, early adopters of the Verint TimeFlex Bot recorded an average of ten shift schedule changes per month, per agent.
These figures suggest that contact center agents have embraced the opportunity to alter their shifts to accommodate their personal needs while meeting business requirements.
“Contact center leaders have struggled for years to balance the scheduling needs of their business operations with [the] work-life balance of their agents,” concluded Singer.
Today, Verint is offering an AI-powered bot to finally bridge that gap and help brands improve employee experience, engagement, and retention while reducing the manual effort associated with frequent schedule changes.
Indeed, WFM stakeholders may reduce managerial review and approval time, while Verint also teases “tremendous ROI” for contact centers.
Many businesses have embraced such ROI potential within Verint’s new bot strategy.
Recent megadeals that feature these bots – including a $49MN healthcare win and a $20MN entertainment contract – highlight how the vendor’s message of specific AI over generalized AI is resonating with contact centers.
