Back to School: Basic Workforce Management Principles for Scheduling in Contact Centers

Ken Tse on August 30, 2023

As we gear up for the back-to-school season, it’s the perfect time to go back to basics on the ABCs of contact centers scheduling. Workforce management (WFM) plays a vital role in the seamless functioning of contact centers, ensuring optimal staffing, exceptional customer service, and agent satisfaction. Effective scheduling is the backbone of WFM, and mastering its basic principles is essential for success. In this blog, we will delve into the fundamental workforce management principles for scheduling in contact centers, providing you with the knowledge and tools to excel in your role.

1. Accurate Forecasting and Planning

The first lesson in workforce management scheduling is accurate forecasting and planning. Effective forecasting involves predicting customer interaction volumes, including calls, emails, chats, and more, based on historical data and trends.

By analyzing past data, you can identify patterns and predict future workload, helping you plan the right number of agents needed at different times of the day, week, or month. Accurate forecasting is the foundation of successful scheduling and ensures that customer demand is adequately met without over or under-staffing.

2. Schedule Flexibility for Dynamic Demands

Contact centers experience dynamic call volumes throughout the day, with peaks and troughs driven by customer behavior, external events, and marketing campaigns. Embracing schedule flexibility is essential for effectively managing these changes.

Consider implementing flexible scheduling options such as staggered shifts, part-time shifts, or offering voluntary time-off during quiet periods. Schedule flexibility empowers you to balance workload efficiently, improving service levels and agent satisfaction.

3. Real-Time Monitoring and Adjustments

In the world of contact centers, agility is key. Unexpected changes in customer demand can occur at any moment, necessitating real-time monitoring and adjustments.

Utilize real-time metrics to monitor call queues, average handle times, and agent availability. Being proactive in monitoring enables you to make informed decisions and redistribute resources as needed, ensuring optimal service and customer satisfaction.

4. Adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

Meeting service level agreements is a primary objective of workforce management. Service level agreements can be defined as the percentage of customer interactions that must be answered within a specified time frame, such as “80% of calls answered within 30 seconds” or average speed of answer, such as “60 seconds”.

Scheduling enough agents during peak hours is crucial to meeting service level targets consistently. Adherence to SLAs enhances customer satisfaction by reducing wait times and ensuring timely issue resolution.

5. Agent Empowerment for Enhanced Engagement

Incorporating agent empowerment in the scheduling process has a direct impact on agent engagement and performance. Involve agents in the schedule creation process by considering their preferences and shift bids.

When agents have some control over their schedules, they are more likely to feel valued and committed to their roles. Empowered agents are happier, more productive, and less likely to seek alternative employment, reducing turnover rates.

6. Skills-Based Routing for Efficient Service Delivery

In contact centers, not all agents possess the same skill set or expertise. Skills-based routing ensures that customer interactions are directed to the most suitable agents, maximizing first-call resolution and customer satisfaction.

When creating schedules, align agent skills with expected call types and volumes. Skills-based routing reduces transfers, enhances agent confidence, and ultimately improves overall service delivery.

7. Adherence to Labor Regulations

Compliance with labor laws and regulations is non-negotiable for any contact center. Scheduling practices must align with local labor laws regarding working hours, break times, overtime, and rest periods.

Maintaining compliance not only avoids legal issues and penalties but also promotes a healthy work environment and safeguards agent well-being.

8. Continuous Training and Development

Effective workforce management extends beyond creating schedules. Investing in continuous training and development for agents is critical for delivering exceptional customer service.

Allocate time in schedules for agents to participate in training sessions without compromising service levels. Ongoing training keeps agents updated on product knowledge, industry trends, and customer service techniques, making them more confident and capable in their roles.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully completed your back-to-school crash course on the basic workforce management principles for scheduling in contact centers. Armed with these principles, you are well-equipped to optimize schedules, meet customer demands, and enhance agent satisfaction.

Remember, accurate forecasting and planning form the foundation of effective scheduling. Embrace schedule flexibility to handle dynamic demands and be proactive with real-time monitoring to make timely adjustments.

Strive to meet service level agreements consistently, empower agents in the scheduling process, and implement skills-based routing for efficient service delivery. Always maintain compliance with labor regulations and invest in continuous training and development for agents.

As you apply these principles in your role in the workforce management team, you’ll contribute to the success of your contact center and foster a positive and productive work environment. With dedication and a commitment to excellence, you’re well on your way to becoming a scheduling superstar in the world of contact center workforce management!

–Ken Tse

Five Shortcut Keys to Unlock Alvaria Workforce Efficiency

Ken Tse on March 9, 2023

Let me share a little secret with you… there are plenty of keyboard shortcuts in Alvaria Workforce that would make you look like a wizard in front of your co-workers as you blast through your day-to-day tasks in the system with grace. The more shortcuts you use the more efficient you become in completing those tasks, and the more time you save at work. There could even be health benefits in terms of minimizing repetitive strain injury (RSI). Let me promise you, this blog is not just about Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V. 

Tip 1:

How many times have you wondered where a particular module is hiding exactly in the system (especially if you are a new user)? Is Official Schedule Editor in Scheduling or Tracking? Or is it in Advanced Tracking? One of the most underrated shortcuts in my opinion is Ctrl+O (the letter O, not the number zero) to launch the Open dialog. This shortcut allows you to navigate to any specific module immediately. For example, you need to navigate to Official Schedule Editor to do a quick schedule update for an employee. One of the quickest ways to get there is hold down the Ctrl key then hit the O key -> type in the word “editor” without quotes -> hit the Enter key and you are there. No mouse required!

Tip 1.5:

Here is a bonus tip for the above example – if you would like to open Official Schedule Editor in a new window (yes, it is possible to open multiple modules at the same time within the one Alvaria Workforce session just like Tom Cruise did in Minority Report), after you have typed out the word “editor” you can hit the Tab key twice to jump to the “Open in New Window” check box -> hit the Spacebar to place a check in the check box -> hit the Enter key. Magically, a new Official Schedule Editor window pops up! I will let you play around with the tab key more in your own time, it is quite handy to tab your way through the system. Tab away!

Tip 2:Now that I have your attention about tabbing. The moment you land on a field where you need to launch the lookup dialog to select something, your instincts may be to grab your mouse and find that tiny little look up “…” button to launch it. For example, you are in Official Schedule Editor, and you would like to look up an employee. RSI can be a serious issue and relying on your mouse arm heavily to perform this look up function all the time is not ideal. Hold down the Ctrl key then hit the Enter key is the shortcut to launch the look up dialog, and you are on your way to selecting the employee you are looking for.

Tip 3:

How many times have you right clicked and add… in Alvaria Workforce? For example, add an employee record, add a segment, add an Intra Day Performance, the list goes on! If I would get a dollar every time I did that mouse click combo, I would be a millionaire by now (but I think I would still not retire since I love being in Workforce too much). Drum roll… the shortcut is that you could hold down the Ctrl key then hit the Insert key to open that add dialog window. Happy adding!

Tip 4: 

Speaking of adding, this shortcut is not just a mouse click saver but something functional. For example, you need to add in notes for an employee and you also would like to track when exactly you wrote those notes down for record keeping purposes, just like a diary entry. Once you are in the memo field, you can hold the Ctrl key then hit the M key, after which you would see a timestamp appear in the format of <MM-dd-yyyy HH:mm:ss> for the current date and time.

Tip 5: 

Last but not least, this shortcut is a great friend to have, especially when you need help. Pun not intended; it is to launch the Alvaria Workforce Help! In most modules you are working in, if you are not sure about a field within the window, you can simply hit the F1 key, and a help window would pop up that is contextually based on the window you were in. For example, if you are in Forecast Group -> General tab and you are not sure what “Allow long service delays:” is, you can hit the F1 key -> click into the General tab hyperlink and read about Allow Long Service Delays. 

At Call Design we are more than happy to help you with any questions you have about Alvaria Workforce, but this help menu shortcut is a great initial step to see if it can get the help immediately at the tip of your fingers. Of course, if you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!

I hope you are able to start practicing these shortcuts next time you are in Alvaria Workforce. It is no secret that shortcuts can help you be more efficient in your day job, save you time, and can even save you from developing RSI. I have only shared what I believe to be the lesser-known shortcuts and there are a plenty more shortcuts built-in to the Alvaria Workforce system. I would be more than happy to share some more shortcuts with you another time…

– Ken Tse