Navigating WFM Challenges with Call Design Connectors

Call Design on November 15, 2023

Too often the WFM teams find themselves caught between two worlds. Between data-driven decisions and gut feeling, between customer needs and agent needs, between automated workflows and manual interventions. How often have you heard “WFM is both art and science”, and it’s true! Sometimes the tension benefits the environment, refining processes and people towards excellence. Other times the tension is unnecessary and just causes friction without benefit. That unnecessary friction, lacking any real benefit, is often because of pointless manual work. Do any of these manual processes sound similar to your environment?

The PTO Balancing Act

You have a workforce management software that can approve or decline PTO requests based on forecasting and staffing. It’s a powerful tool, but it falls short in one critical aspect—it can’t see your agents’ actual PTO balances. The result? Your WFM team ends up manually approving or declining requests, creating unnecessary work. Or perhaps, your system has a bucket for PTO balances, but it’s not synced with the HR/payroll system, and you’re still left with a manual process to ensure alignment. It’s a headache, to say the least.

The scenario becomes even more challenging during peak vacation season when many of your agents need the same day(s) off. It’s not only adding unnecessary frustration to your WFM team’s process, but it also adds a delay to the approval process for your agents. All because two systems don’t automatically synch up.

The Isolated Omnichannel Platform

You’ve invested in a cutting-edge omnichannel platform that promises to revolutionize your operations. It’s packed with features, but here’s the catch—it’s not connected to the rest of your ecosystem. Quality management, workforce management, performance management—everything has to be manually linked to the new platform. The IT team assures you they’ll build an automated process, but they’re swamped, and it won’t happen anytime soon. Now you’re stuck with manual data entry and countless workarounds.

This isolation not only hampers efficiency but also hinders your ability to adapt quickly to changing customer needs. You find yourself in a dilemma, torn between the potential of the omnichannel platform and the reality of manual data integration.

Your role as a WFM leader is about optimizing resources and ensuring that customer interactions run smoothly. The disconnect between your new omnichannel platform and the rest of your tools is like driving a high-performance car on a muddy track. You have the power, but the environment holds you back.

The Not So Real-Time Dilemma

Your WFM and ACD platforms talk to each other, but it’s a conversation that happens only once an hour. The data is reliable, and you can reforecast intraday, but there’s a crucial piece missing. You can’t monitor agent statuses in real time against their schedules. It’s a back-and-forth game, and it consumes your day.

You see the agent status on one screen and look to another screen to see their schedule. By the time you realize that they are in the wrong state they’ve already moved on and you’ve lost them in a sea of agent extensions. Your real-time adherence team spends their whole day trying to move back and forth between two screens that you’re concerned they might need FMLA to deal with the whiplash!

The hour-by-hour data transfer may not seem like a big issue, but in the world of WFM, a lot can happen in an hour. Service levels can fluctuate, agents can become unavailable, and customer interactions need immediate attention. The inability to monitor agent status in real-time adds unnecessary complexity and manual processes to your already chaotic environment.

Maybe There’s Another Way

Now, picture this: Call Design connectors that make all your horribly manual processes go away.

No more manually checking the HR system to find the PTO balances. With the right connectors, the information can be brought into the WFM tool AND the information can be pushed back into the HR system. So now your WFM team can fully leverage the automation your platform has but was lacking the real PTO balances.

Your omnichannel platform can seamlessly integrate with the rest of your tools with the right connectors. Eliminating manual data entry and giving your WFM team’s Ctrl C and Ctrl V buttons a rest.

The hourly data feed becomes real-time, letting you track agent statuses against real-time schedules effortlessly, and your RTA team sings your praises.

As a WFM leader, the impact of these data connectors goes beyond solving technical challenges. It’s about creating a work environment where your team can focus on what truly matters—delivering exceptional service while maintaining a work-life balance. These connectors might just be the missing piece of the puzzle that empowers you to excel in your role.

In the world of WFM, challenges are aplenty, but solutions are invaluable. Call Design’s data connectors are not just a technological fix; they’re a lifeline for WFM leaders who understand the nuances of their role. They empower you to make informed decisions, save time, and focus on what truly matters—creating a happy, engaged, fulfilled, and aligned workforce.

Complex WFM Software Integrations Made Simple

Call Design on October 11, 2023

We may be a little bit biased, but we believe that the role of Workforce Management (WFM) software cannot be overstated. It’s the linchpin that keeps operations optimized and agents in sync. However, we also realize that implementing WFM software is not without its hurdles. One of the most prominent challenges that contact centers face is the complexity of integration. Whether that’s integration to your ACD, HRIS/payroll, or even your performance management platform, all of these systems can benefit from WFM data and your WFM platform can benefit from their data. But too often it isn’t as simple as plug-and-play, but could it be that simple?

Why is Integration Complex?

To grasp the essence of integration complexity, it’s crucial to understand the inherent intricacies that come into play. First and foremost, the challenge arises from the need to synchronize data seamlessly between various systems. When you integrate with WFM software, you’re essentially building bridges between databases and applications that may use different data formats, protocols, and technologies. Too often may feel like you’ve integrated a system but then find out that the data doesn’t match the original system and the WFM system. The challenge to build well-structured and consistently available “data bridges” can be incredibly challenging.

Moreover, the availability of data adds to the complexity. Many systems will say that they integrate with your WFM platform, but they may only mean 2 to 3 data points. This can leave WFM leaders incredibly frustrated as they need a full system integration between ACD to WFM and WFM to HRIS. Also, the data may be available, but the lack of timeliness can often make it pointless. How is WFM supposed to forecast intraday when the interaction volume is only updated daily? Or how can we provide intra-day flexibility to agents when we only get updated PTO allotments weekly?

Lastly, by integrating systems you may disrupt existing workflows, something that most contact centers strive to avoid at all costs. Agents rely on smooth, efficient processes to deliver top-notch customer service, so any disruption is a cause for concern.

Key Platforms for Integration

We’ve already mentioned how WFM can benefit from integration with other platforms. Here are a few key ones to consider: 

1. Communication Channels: Integration with various communication channels such as phone, email, chat, and others is essential. Without the ability to access interaction volume, workload time, and unproductive activities, WFM teams will fly blind when creating forecasts and schedules.

2. Reporting and Analytics Tools: For data-driven decision-making, integration with reporting and analytics tools is paramount. WFM may be able to analyze data inside of the channel distribution platform, and they may be able to pull that data into the WFM platform for further review. The ideal scenario, though, is being able to have all of that data in a BI tool. When WFM data is integrated with performance, productivity, and customer experience data WFM leaders are able to better justify the impact of their processes.

3. HR and Payroll Systems: Integrating WFM software with HR and payroll systems streamlines workforce management processes. Sure, your WFM platform may be able to create schedules, but if it isn’t integrated with the time-keeping software then schedule adherence can become an incredibly manual process for the WFM team. The manual work for WFM also increases when PTO approval has to be reviewed in two different systems. When WFM teams can see both the employee’s personal account balance and the forecasted net staffing the PTO approval process can be significantly streamlined. Add an ability to apply checker rules that automatically approve PTO requests based upon If/Then logic and you’ll really be moving!

Additional Considerations

1. Selection of Compatible Software and Tools:
Compatibility is not just about technical integration; it’s about harmonizing the various components of your technology ecosystem.

This is where third-party integration companies specializing in building WFM connectors come into play. Companies like Call Design, with decades of experience in this field, offer a unique value proposition. They bring a deep understanding of WFM software and its intricacies, which means they can tailor integration solutions to match your specific needs and platforms.

The advantage of working with such experts is their ability to bridge the gap between your existing systems and the WFM software you’re integrating. They not only ensure compatibility but also optimize the integration for maximum effectiveness. This can save your organization valuable time and resources, as you’re not left grappling with technical challenges.

2. Thorough Planning and Assessment:
If we don’t know the value of good planning, are we even doing WFM?!

There’s no sense in looking to ingrate systems “just because”. The platforms need to be helping the WFM team move towards a particular goal, or set of goals, that are supportive of the larger organizational strategy. Sure, improving automation of manual processes is great by itself, but once that manual work is automated what do you do with the labor associated with it? Where will we now have the WFM coordinator’s focus?

The planning and assessment process includes the project and change management necessary for all effective software rollouts, but it also includes mapping out how the WFM team will conduct their work differently once the integrations are complete.

3. Continuous Monitoring and Optimization:
Implementing the integrations is just the start of a long process. The WFM team needs to continually review and refine how the data flow is helping or could help additional processes.

It could be that the integration was just meant to improve the connection and accuracy of PTO balances between the WFM and HR teams. However, WFM may also be able to help HR with payroll accuracy based on ACD data coming in for schedule adherence. Or maybe there’s an ability to tie all three systems together. Where the agent logs into the phone system, which logs a clock-in action for payroll, and then submits a schedule adjustment for WFM schedule adherence all done automatically through integrations.

The key here is to continually review what additional systems, processes, and teams might benefit from deeper integrations.

As you consider how your WFM team can benefit from additional integrations, rest assured that experienced partners are here to assist. Call Design, with over 20 years of expertise in building and implementing WFM connectors, stands ready to walk you through the full process. From identifying which platforms you want to integrate with, to building the actual connectors, and implementing the solutions; we are here to help. We understand the challenges you face and are well-equipped to help you navigate the path to seamless integration, ensuring your WFM efforts yield optimal results for your employees, customers, and business leaders. Integrations can be complex, but they don’t have to be intimidating when you have the right partner with you.