Workforce Management Featured Article
5 Ways Workforce Management Can Improve Agent Performance
What things get in the way of performance in your call center? If you’re like most call center managers, you know the answer to this question in an instant as you live the challenges day in and day out. There are specific areas in every organization where performance suffers. It may even be outside of what workforce management can deliver and instead demands a change in the state of mind.
Attendance Challenges
Workforce management solutions provider, Monet Software recently posted a blog on the four toughest trouble spots in performance management. The first one that stands out is attendance. Like all organizations, you can only accomplish as much as you’re equipped to do. If the volume of calls or contacts coming in exceeds the number of individuals available to handle the interactions, customer service suffers. When too many people are gone, you can’t help but delay a response or send someone to the queue. If you want to avoid these steps, it’s important to identify those potential agents less likely to show up when expected and eliminate them from consideration.
Never Enough Time
Let’s face it – call center managers have a lot to do in a given period of time. If agents need a lot of management and focus from their supervisors, other things suffer. Likewise, the things that draw the most attention and time make it more difficult to focus on improving performance. When workforce management is automated, many of these challenges are eliminated. To drive success, however, it’s important to understand why automation is necessary and where one-on-one will deliver the best results.
Consistency in Performance
It’s one thing to worry about performance and quite another to look at the consistency a particular employee brings to the mix. Customers expect the seamless experience no matter who they talk to or the channel they use. If you don’t have the right tools in place to ensure consistency, you’re missing out on key opportunities to drive revenue and loyalty. Reward consistency and train those who are lacking.
The Wrong Automation?
When we talk about the benefits of automation in workforce management, it’s easy to assume that automation in everything is the right way to go. While promising, automation in all of your channels may not be the right fit for your agents, your industry or your customers. Develop a strategy around where you need to be at each level and only offer automation where it makes sense to all parties. When it’s time for more complexity, bring a live agent into the mix.
Training, Training, Training
It should be a given in the call center environment, but not all leaders believe in the same level of training. The reality is, you have to give your agents the tools to accomplish the goals you’ve set for them – and that includes training. Make sure they are versed in the technology, the products and in quality customer service. Only then can you start to see improvements in performance.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi