Today, managers and supervisors can run their contact centre from almost anywhere. Thanks to things like advanced equipment and communication systems, some call centres even have employee networks with freelancers working at home, and contractors located halfway across the globe. All you need is a cloud-based communication system, and you’re ready to go.
Of course, as the contact centre becomes increasingly dispersed, contact centre managers face a new problem – how to make sure they’re getting the best work out of their employees. Workforce Management (WFM) and Optimisation (WFO) systems can ensure that today’s companies have the tools they need to plan, monitor, schedule, and evaluate their employees wherever they are – boosting the performance of any contact centre.
Defining Workforce Management and Optimisation
Before you begin implementing WFO and WFM solutions into your contact centre, you’ll need to know what these terms mean. A Workforce Management system, for instance, is a set of integrated processes an organisation uses to improve the productivity of its employees. WFM is all about delegating the right tasks to the right employees, and these systems include tools like employee scheduling, and attendance tracking.
On the other hand, a Workforce Optimisation system is a strategy that businesses use to ensure they’re delivering the best possible customer experiences and generating the highest level of profits. WFO supports businesses by producing important data on workforce performance. It’s used to manage, analyse, and optimise staff and includes things like analytics, call recording and quality management.
How Do WFO and WFM Benefit Contact Centres?
Workforce management is the key to keeping a contact centre running smoothly. For instance, with a workforce management solution, supervisors can make sure that the contact centre has the right level of staff at the right times to deal with peaks and troughs in demand. Using WFM for scheduling makes sure that cost and service levels are balanced in the contact centre, keeping operating costs low without compromising on customer service.
In dispersed contact centres, workforce management tools can also help with creating and maintaining schedules within the enterprise. Some WFM products can build on AI technology and previously captured data to forecast future demand. This ensures that companies can take extra steps to prepare for particularly busy seasons. Good scheduling reduces the amount of unplanned overtime in the contact centre and can make it easier to generate staffing schedules that suit the unique needs of a business.
Supporting Stronger Customer Experiences
Cloud-based WFO and WFM tools can even give agents complete transparency into call queues while monitoring important performance criteria. With the correct programs, companies can monitor and record the real-time availability and status of contact centre agents, to make sure that customers are directed to the right employees to get the fastest service possible.
Using WFO and WFM tools means that todays contact centres can minimise costs, improve customer satisfaction, and differentiate themselves in their marketplace. It’s no wonder that they’re growing increasingly popular in today’s distributed digital world.
