Unlocking Success in Hybrid Work with Alvaria Workforce Reserve

Call Design on November 8, 2023

In a post-pandemic workplace landscape, the future is clear: it’s hybrid. According to a recent Gallup article by Ben Wigert, Jim Harter, and Sangeeta Agrawal, eight in 10 remote-capable employees expect to work in a hybrid or fully remote fashion. This shift is a testament to the changing dynamics of the modern workplace, and as Workforce Management (WFM) leaders, we need to stay ahead of the curve. At Call Design North America, we’ve always believed in aligning with the latest trends and research, and we’re thrilled to share our insights on why the Alvaria Workforce Reserve is more relevant than ever.

The Changing Landscape

Since the onset of the pandemic, the global workforce has been navigating an ongoing experiment in remote work. The tug-of-war between employers and employees on returning to the office has been a consistent headline. Yet, as organizations like Meta, the U.S. federal government, and Zoom mandate hybrid work, it’s clear that the office landscape is evolving.

As WFM leaders, it’s crucial that we understand the implications of this shift. Gallup’s extensive research shows that hybrid work is the new norm, with a significant percentage of employees embracing it. In fact, only 20% of remote-capable employees work entirely on-site, while 29% are fully remote, and 50% work in a hybrid model.

(Another example of a changing landscape: Franconia Notch State Park in October)

Best Practices for Hybrid Workplaces

As hybrid work becomes the new norm, it’s essential to leverage key insights from Gallup’s research while tailoring them to your organization’s needs:

  1. Define a Compelling Office Experience: With remote work on the rise, leaders should make in-office experiences purposeful. The office should be a hub for collaboration, professional growth, and relationship-building. Design hybrid policies and office spaces that inspire teamwork and align with your organization’s culture.
  2. Empower Teams to Shape Hybrid Work: Rather than imposing rigid guidelines, encourage teams to adapt hybrid work practices to their unique requirements. Collaborative decision-making ensures team members understand their roles and responsibilities, fostering a sense of shared ownership.
  3. Enhance Performance Management: Trust in hybrid work hinges on accountability. Implement a performance management system that provides visibility into goals, key metrics, and regular progress checks. Beyond metrics, prioritize coaching and behaviors aligned with your organization’s values.
  4. Invest in Training: Equip managers and teams with the skills needed to succeed in a hybrid work environment. Training is crucial to ensure effective collaboration and leadership in this evolving landscape.
  5. Adapt Office Space Strategically: As the nature of work changes, consider the impact on office space. Reconfigure your workspace to accommodate a hybrid workforce and embrace the shift toward remote participation in meetings. Ensure both office and home environments are optimized for productivity and collaboration.

The Role of Alvaria Workforce Reserve in Achieving Best Practices for Hybrid Workplaces

As contact centers transition to hybrid work, Alvaria Workforce Reserve can play a vital role in aligning with best practices tailored to the contact center.

  • Define a Compelling Office Experience: In the contact center, it’s crucial to make in-office experiences purposeful. Contact centers should be hubs for collaboration, professional growth, and relationship-building. Alvaria Workforce Reserve streamlines seat assignment changes, ensuring that when employees come into the office, they find seats that match their needs. This design encourages teamwork and collaboration, enhancing the overall office experience.
  • Empower Teams to Shape Hybrid Work: Reserve empowers teams to adapt to hybrid work practices by automating seat assignments based on business rules, schedules, and capacity. This automation allows WFM teams to have flexibility without the burden of manual seat management. It aligns with the best practice of collaborative decision-making by giving teams the autonomy to shape their workspace.
  • Enhance Performance Management: Reserve plays a role in performance management by ensuring that employees adhere to their assigned seats, minimizing disruptions, and contributing to schedule adherence for contact center operations. This feature, along with Reserve’s automation capabilities, supports an environment where performance can be effectively monitored and managed, crucial in the context of contact centers and WFM.
  • Invest in Training for Contact Center Success: With Reserve, contact centers can ensure that agents are optimally positioned based on their specific training needs. This feature facilitates the onboarding process, allowing new agents to be strategically located for better learning and support. Additionally, Reserve can be used to manage seat assignments for training rooms, ensuring that the training environment is conducive to productivity and collaboration.
  • Adapt Office Space Strategically: Reserve’s automated seat planning and management tools allow contact centers to efficiently generate seating plans for both front and back office personnel. It ensures that the right seats are matched with the right agents at the right time, which is essential in a contact center setting. As the nature of work changes, Reserve supports contact centers in reconfiguring office space to accommodate a hybrid workforce and remote participation in meetings, aligning with the best practice of adapting office space strategically.

(Remote work can sometimes look like early morning work chats by the beach)

What Call Design Offers: Navigating the Hybrid Landscape with Confidence

At Call Design North America, we’ve been at the forefront of the remote and hybrid work revolution for over six years, long before it became the norm. Our extensive experience in navigating the intricate dynamics of this evolving landscape positions us as leaders in the field. We understand the complexities of managing contact centers and WFM teams in remote, hybrid, or in-person settings.

Our seasoned professionals have been leading WFM and contact center teams remotely for more than a decade, accumulating a wealth of knowledge and expertise. CDNA’s commitment to staying ahead of the curve ensures that we’re well-versed in the best practices that enable WFM teams to thrive in any work environment.

Your Trusted Partner in the Hybrid Future

Whether you’re seeking solutions for optimized seat allocation, remote engagement, or strategic workforce management, CDNA has the experience and tools to guide your organization to success. We recognize that every organization’s needs are unique, and our tailored approach ensures that we align with your specific goals and values.

In an era where workplace flexibility is paramount, CDNA is your steadfast ally, offering cost-effective solutions that meet your organization’s evolving demands. As the workplace landscape continues to transform into a hybrid model, our commitment to adaptability and the latest workforce management trends remains unwavering. Embrace the future with confidence, knowing that CDNA and Alvaria Workforce Reserve are here to support your organization on this transformative journey.

Trabajar desde casa ES personal

Call Design on May 19, 2023

Durante décadas, la línea entre la vida personal y la vida laboral se ha omitido. Esto solo se ha acelerado ya que la ecuación de dispositivos de Internet + móviles ha provocado que muchos de nosotros nos mantengamos conectados más allá de nuestras “horas de trabajo”. Es un hábito común revisar su correo electrónico en su teléfono tan pronto como se despierta, y justo antes de acostarse porque no puede perder un ritmo. O tal vez tenga que “prepararse para el lunes” trabajando unas horas los fines de semana porque el trabajo no le permite desconectarse. Una cosa es aprovechar el trabajo desde casa para brindarle la flexibilidad de trabajar horas inusuales que beneficien su vida. Otra muy diferente es sentir que no puedes desconectar y que ahora el trabajo está interfiriendo en tu vida personal.

La cultura de “Burnout” (o síndrome del quemado) no es exclusiva de los empleados que trabajan en la oficina o en desde casa. Sin embargo, lo que sí que es único  para aquellos que trabajan desde casa es el hecho de que esas líneas borrosas se vuelven aún más difíciles de ver cuando realizas todas tus reuniones, todos los proyectos y toda la lluvia de ideas desde tu propio hogar. Cuando los empleados trabajan desde casa, creo que es fundamental que los líderes recuerden que trabajar desde allí es diferente. Usted, como líder y como empresa, está provocando un impacto  en sus hogares y sus familias de una manera que usted no hace cuando trabajan en una oficina. En pocas palabras, trabajar desde casa es más que solo trabajar, es personal.

Cuando trabaja en una oficina, tiene un trayecto que le permite descomprimir y procesar un poco el día. Para aquellos de nosotros que somos introvertidos, nos da la oportunidad de recargar y prepararnos para saltar a la vida familiar. Sin embargo, cuando trabaja desde casa, su viaje se convierte en los 20 metros entre la puerta de su oficina y la cocina. No tiene tiempo de inactividad para descomprimir, y esto es especialmente cierto cuando nuestras familias están al otro lado de la puerta de la oficina y necesitan ayuda con X cosas antes de que nuestra última reunión se termine.

No solo obtiene el beneficio de descomprimir en el viaje aquel que viaja, sino que también lo obtiene su familia. En cambio, cuando trabaja desde casa, su familia sufre las consecuencias crudas de cada reunión. Ha habido muchas veces que mi esposa acaba de sentarse allí pacientemente mientras yo dejaba caer todas mis frustraciones de la última reunión en su regazo. Puede que haya hecho eso hasta cierto punto cuando trabajaba en la oficina, pero no tanto como cuando sé que está ahí justo al otro lado de mi oficina.

Est tipo de situaciones sin filtro alguno implica que las familias se ven involucradas aún más en el entorno laboral del empleado. Cuando el empleado sale de las reuniones hablando sobre cómo “les encanta trabajar con tal y cual porque hacen grandes preguntas y mantienen la reunión alineada con la agenda”, puede que no sea emocionante para su familia, pero es mejor creer que la organización es percibida como una influencia positiva no solo por el empleado sino por la familia en su conjunto. Por supuesto, cuando salen quejándose de que “una vez más se olvidó de esto y de lo otro”, es más probable que su familia vea a la organización de manera negativa y aliente al empleado a irse otro lugar más saludable.

Por último, creo que es importante que los líderes recuerden que el hogar es un espacio sagrado, y el trabajo, ya sea bienvenido o no, ha invadido ese espacio. Cuando nuestros empleados directos encienden sus cámaras y vemos sus hogares, vemos otra parte de quienes son. Llegamos a conocerlos mejor y, en cierta medida, se han vuelto vulnerables por eso. Es posible que se sientan avergonzados de que no tengan un espacio dedicado y, en cambio, estás en su cocina viendo los platos sucios en el fregadero. Es posible que no hayan mencionado antes que todos los lunes por la noche juegan a juegos de mesa, pero ahora puedes ver  los +50 juegos en los estantes detrás de ellos. Y si bien es posible que te encante ver a sus hijos y perros todos los días, sienten que los valoras menos porque constantemente están interrumpiendo. Trabajar desde casa transforma un “¿Por qué no nos reunimos en la sala de conferencias para hablar” en un “por qué no vengo a la mesa de su comedor y podemos charlar sobre esto mientras sus hijos preguntan” qué hay para cenar “”.

Trabajar desde casa es increíble y ha ayudado a muchos de nosotros a crear un equilibrio trabajo/vida más personalizado. Sin embargo, como líderes, debemos recordar que la naturaleza de nuestra relación con nuestros empleados directos, sus familias y sus hogares cambian cuando trabajan desde casa. Debemos recordar que trabajar desde casa es más que solo trabajo, es personal.

From Micro-Shifts to Schedule Adherence: The Benefits of Remote Agents for Workforce Management Teams

Call Design on April 5, 2023

As the world becomes more connected, remote work is becoming increasingly popular, especially in our post-pandemic environments. And in the world of contact centers, workforce management teams should be the biggest champions of remote agents!

Why? Well, here are five quick reasons:

  1. Split-shifts
  2. VOT and VTO
  3. Micro-shifts
  4. No longer worrying about seat allocation
  5. Increased schedule adherence

One – Split-Shifts

When agents work remotely your scheduling team suddenly has a lot more options. When people aren’t having to commute to the office, schedules that didn’t make sense before now have great value. Working from 6am-8am and then again from 12pm-6pm might be horrible for people coming and going into the office. However, for someone working from home this now gives them the chance to work some, then get the kids off to school, head to the grocery store when it’s fairly empty, grab some lunch, and then head back to work. It’s likely not for all of your agents, but for some people, this is a huge win.

Two – VOT and VTO

Then there’s voluntary overtime and voluntary time off. How many real-time teams are constantly chasing people to either add a few hours to their shift or drop hours off to help service levels and budget constraints? When agents work from home you can increase your chances of someone willing to work an extra 1 or 2 after their shift if they know they don’t have to commute home. Or agents might be willing to leave after only working 2 hours if they didn’t just waste 45 minutes driving to work. You give your RTA team a fighting chance with VOT and VTO when your agents work from home.

Three – Micro-Shifts

Micro-shifts can be a game changer for many organizations.  Working remotely now opens up the possibility of having someone work just 1-3 hours at a time. When you can create work segments that small you can start having agents self-select their schedule and use micro-shifts as building blocks. Now if you create those segments just when you have staffing shortages you suddenly have a way of giving your agents autonomy and control over their schedules while also flatting out your staffing variations and meeting a more consistent service level. Win-win!

Four – Seat Allocation 

The fourth benefit may be easy for non-contact center folk to overlook, but WFM and operation teams that work in overstaffed centers know the pain of seat management. When scheduling and managing remote agents you no longer have to worry about so-and-so sitting next to each other and talking the whole time, throwing off your shrinkage. Or so-and-so both loving sitting next to the window, but only having one seat available. As a WFM team, you can simply avoid the relational and logistical issues that come with physical contact center seats and simply focus on meeting the demands of the business and customers. 

Five – Schedule Adherence

Our final benefit is close and dear to many WFM hearts, schedule adherence. When agents aren’t getting stuck in traffic their schedule adherence will increase. Now add in schedules with varying start times and lengths, like we already discussed, and pair that with a shift-bid, where agents select their schedules, *chefs kiss*. It may not be magical but it’s as close as we get in the WFM world!

For many WFM teams working from home may seem like a non-issue. Whether the agents work in locations A, B, or at home it’s still just numbers and schedules. Forecasts will be what they are and service level goals will remain the same. However, I believe that perspective is short-sighted and hopefully you now see the benefits to the WFM team when their agents work from home. So let’s get off the sidelines, WFM teams, and start championing remote work efforts. Your agents and their schedule adherence will thank you!

At Call Design we believe employees have the right to be happy, engaged, fulfilled, and aligned at work. Remote agents are a way start to make that happen, but managing, scheduling, and engaging remote workers can be challenging. If you agree that remote agents can benefit your organization, but aren’t sure how to make that happen then reach out! We’d love to help you strategize and implement a great remote program for your contact center.

– Dan Smitley

Working from home IS personal

Call Design on February 15, 2023

For decades the line between home-life and work-life has been blurring. This has only been accelerating as the equation of internet + mobile devices has caused many of us to stay connected well past our “working hours”. It’s a common habit to check your email on your phone as soon as you wake up, and right before you go to bed because you can’t miss a beat. Or maybe you have to “get ready for Monday” by working a few hours on the weekends because work doesn’t let you disconnect. It’s one thing to leverage working from home to provide you the flexibility to work odd hours that benefit your life. It’s a completely different thing to feel like you can’t disconnect and now work is impeding upon your home-life.

Burnout culture isn’t unique to either in-office or at-home employees. However, what is unique for those that work from home is the fact that those blurred lines become even harder to see when you are taking all your meetings, all project work, and all brainstorming from your home. When employees work from home I think it’s critical for leaders to remember that working from home is different. You, as the leader and as a company, are impacting their homes and their families in ways that you don’t when they work in an office. Simply put, working from home is more than just work, it’s personal.

When you work in an office you have a commute that allows you to decompress and process the day a bit. For those of us that are introverts, it gives us an opportunity to recharge and get ready for jumping into family life. However, when you work from home your commute becomes the 20 feet between your office door and the kitchen. You have no downtime to decompress, and this has been especially true when our families are on the other side of the office door and need help with X things before our last meeting is even done. 

Not only do you get the benefit of decompressing on the commute home, but so does your family. Instead, when you work from home your family gets the raw consequences of every meeting. There have been plenty of times that my wife has just sat there patiently as I dropped all of my frustrations from the last meeting right into her lap. I may have done that to some extent if I worked in the office, but not as much as I do knowing she’s just on the other side of my office.

Getting it unfiltered like that also means the families become even more invested in the employee’s work environment. When the employee comes out of meetings talking about how they “love working with so-and-so because they ask great questions and keep the meeting on agenda”, it may not be exciting to their family, but you better believe the organization will be perceived as a positive influence on not just the employee but the family as a whole. Of course, when they come out complaining that “so-and-so once again forgot about blah blah blah” their family is more likely to see the organization in a negative light and encourage the employee to leave for something healthier.

Lastly, I think it’s important for leaders to remember that the home is a sacred space, and work, whether welcomed or not, has invaded that space. When our direct reports turn on their cameras and we see their homes we see another part of who they are. We get to know them better, and to some extent, they have become vulnerable because of it. They may be embarrassed that they don’t have a dedicated space and instead you are in their kitchen seeing every dirty dish in the sink. They may not have mentioned before they play board games every Monday night, but now you can see all +50 games on the shelves behind them. And while you may love getting to see their kids and dogs every day, they feel like you think less of them because they are constantly being interrupted. Working from home turns “why don’t we meet in the conference room to discuss” into “why don’t I come to your dining room table and we can chat about this while your kids ask ‘what’s for dinner’”.

Working from home is amazing and has helped many of us create a more personalized work/life balance. However, as leaders, we must remember that the nature of our relationship with our direct reports, their families, and their homes changes when they work from home. We must remember that working from home is more than just work, it’s personal.

– Dan Smitley

Call Center status after COVID-19 Pandemic

Call Design on April 28, 2021

Since the beginning of 2020 and the inception of COVID-19, contact centers have had to make adjustments as to the way we work and employees’ daily lives. This shift in the workplace proved to be specifically challenging for contact centers and help desks. Agents were used to being in an office and not working virtually. The change to in-person and effectively assisting customers had to take place quickly and efficiently. On any given day, agents might experience more extended workdays due to higher call volume, handling of complicated subjects, and customer complaints, and aggravation.

Supporting and Engaging Remote Agents

Call Design on March 18, 2021

In the past year, businesses across the world have seen significant disruptions to their daily operations. For many industries, this has meant, changing the way they operate, enabling staff to work from home and trying to keep staff engaged regardless of where they are working from. 

Transitioning Back to the Contact Center

Call Design on July 15, 2020

With the threat of COVID-19 still lingering, everyone needs to understand exactly what it means to come back to the office. Contact centres are at an especially high-risk for transmission due to the number of people on each shift and the sharing of equipment between team members throughout the day. There need to be strict safety guidelines in place for businesses that are bringing their workforce back into the office. In this blog, we go into detail on what bringing your staff back to the contact centre should look like

The Impact of Increased Handle Times

Call Design on July 8, 2020

n our third instalment in the WFM and New Normal series, we talk about the impacts of increased handle times. As a lot of contact centres have quickly had to adopt work from home strategies to maintain BAU status, there have been some things to be wary of, and increased AHT is one of them.