Unleashing the Potential of Back-Office WFM: Mastering the Forecasting Challenge

Laura Horton on June 16, 2023

Workforce Management (WFM) is the art and science of scheduling the right number of people with the right skills, at the right time, to handle work within service level and budget.

Forecasting is the key to solving the puzzle of scheduling the right number of people. It lays the foundation for efficient staffing levels and optimal resource utilization. Drawing from my 15 years of experience in consulting and training Workforce Optimization (WFO) teams, I’ve discovered that crafting a forecast that yields effective outcomes is a fundamental challenge when implementing Workforce Management (WFM) into the back office.

Amidst the dynamic landscape of back office, it’s common to feel overwhelmed by the various systems and processes involved. It’s crucial not to overlook the importance of getting your forecast process right. By investing extra effort and time, you can unlock significant benefits for your organization and enhance resource effectiveness, utilization, and budget. Trust me, the rewards are well worth the investment.

Now, let’s delve into some practical tips to help you conquer the forecasting challenge and elevate your WFM strategies to new heights. Here are three key areas to focus on:

1. Forecasting Expertise

  • Partner with a forecasting expert who understands the unique practices of back-office work. Back-office work is handled differently than contact center work, so be sure these differences are factored in.
  • Never assume – always ask. Collaborate closely with leaders, second-in-command individuals, and subject matter experts to gain their insight. They know the work better than anyone else so be sure to ask lots of questions.
  • Validate that your workflow solutions can handle the varying factors that impact processing time, as not all systems are designed to seamlessly integrate with forecasting needs.
  • Pick 1 team and master their forecast! Once you have the first forecast right, you can quickly move to the rest.
  • There will still be some differing factors between teams so be sure to conduct interviews and find out those differences. Making assumption is the best way to tank your forecast.
  • Promote the value of forecasting as a tool that helps leaders make better decisions and achieve their objectives. Make it the path of least resistance and empower team leaders to use it to their advantage.

2. Forecasting Task Structure Consideration

  • One of the biggest challenges for back-office forecasting is the lack of data. But you still have to account for work that is conducted and not captured in any system or documentation.
  • Remember that the structure of your task list can be influenced by service levels and expected handle times. Service levels will be a factor if you are looking to merge some of your tasks together for forecasting purposes. Group similar work together when possible.
  • Blend where it makes sense. But be aware! Inaccurate blending of work leads to inefficiencies, delays, and compromises service. Your customers rely on your business to address their needs promptly, and any delays or errors can result in frustration and dissatisfaction.
  • While reports provide valuable insights, remember that WFM is more than just a reporting tool. Use reports as a starting point to identify critical business factors but continue to refine and validate your forecast beyond the reports.
  • Be flexible and adapt as new information emerges. Omitting important details can hinder your forecasting success, so revise, review, and revalidate regularly.

3. Team Collaboration

  • Involving the right staff is a critical step to getting the task list right. Team Leaders, subject matter experts, and workflow coordinators all play a part at getting to the right data.
  • Document conversations and monitor for inconsistencies. As a key player, you have a special vantage point to spot potential triggers that could harm operation of the business. By offering recommendations based on your observations, you can enhance overall performance and minimize adverse effects.
  • Capture lessons learned from past forecasting experiences to continually improve future forecasts.

Building a robust workload forecast takes time and effort, but it’s a valuable tool that can transform your WFM operations. Remember, forecasting is both an art (understanding demand influencers) and a science (analyzing the numbers). So, let’s embrace the challenge, fine-tune our forecasting skills, and elevate our WFM teams to become strategic assets that drive positive change in our organizations. WFM isn’t just for the contact center anymore.

If you’re eager to dive deeper into the world of back-office WFM and gain valuable insights, I invite you to join our upcoming webinar series. This blog is just the beginning of a three-part back-office series where we’ll explore more tips, strategies, and industry best practices.

Why Call Design Isn’t the Right Company for Everyone

Call Design on June 2, 2023

Whether it’s personal partnerships or business partnerships, it’s essential to find the right match for your needs and goals. Call Design understands that we may not be the perfect fit for every organization, and that’s ok! We realize our model, approach, and philosophy isn’t for everyone. To help you out we’ve created a short list of reasons why you shouldn’t work with us.

Just Looking for a Platform

You shouldn’t work with us if you’re looking for a vendor that drops off software and leaves. We know some vendors are super successful with a high-touch sales process and low support at or after implementation. That can work for them, but it doesn’t work for us. We believe in building strong relationships with our clients, becoming their trusted partners, and actively collaborating to solve complex business challenges. Our business model revolves around high-touch interactions from sales, to implementation, to account support. We want to invest in your organization’s success. So, if you’re looking for a company to simply provide a platform and not a partnership, you should look elsewhere.

Maintaining Status Quo

Change can be daunting, and not everyone is eager to embrace it. If your organization prefers to maintain the status quo and resists change, we may not be the ideal match. We believe that WFM teams and contact centers can be, and probably should be, the culture champions in their environments. Leading efforts to help transform the organization from the inside out. We love working with companies that want to turn their contact center into a strategic asset, and if you want to maintain a passive, order-taking, tactically focused customer service team. Well, we wish you the best. 

Comfortable with High Attrition Rates

“Contact center jobs are hard” – Captain Obvious

High agent attrition rates have become part of an accepted norm in many contact centers. It’s not ideal but it’s a known variable and something that many leaders have gotten comfortable planning for. If you’d prefer to maintain your comfortably high attrition rates, you probably shouldn’t work with us. We believe that WFM solutions can not only enhance operational efficiency but can also boost agent engagement. When done well WFM can provide work/life balance that helps increase engagement and lower attrition rates. We realize the agent engagement play isn’t for everyone, but it’s definitely in our DNA.

One-Size-Fits-All Approach

Lastly, some organizations are looking for a cookie-cutter approach. They want someone to simply come in, plug-in the software, and step away. They don’t want personalization or customizing when it comes to the platform, the training, or the support. Sadly, our approach is all about understanding the customer’s needs and creating a unique plan with them. We check in at least monthly to see if we’re still meeting their needs and we meet in person annually to reassess and align with our customer’s goals. That’s of course on top of our weekly Ask the Expert and bi-weekly Tip of the Fortnight sessions we host. If you’re looking for a one-size-fits-all approach to implementation and support, we can’t help you.

We get it, we aren’t for everyone. Some companies love just getting a platform, maintaining the status quo, continuing high attrition rates, and a cookie-cutter approach to support. To those companies, we probably shouldn’t work together. 
However, if you are looking for passionate a partnership instead just a platform, for transformation to shake up the status quo, for ways to knock down that attrition rate, or possibly for customized support that puts you at the center; well, we should probably talk. You can reach out to us today and let us know why you think we would be a good fit for your organization.

– Dan Smitley

Revolutionizing WFM with HEFA: Call Designs Highlights from SWPP 2023 Conference

Call Design on May 26, 2023

The Call Design team just got back from the SWPP annual conference, and as usual, it was one for the books! Our beloved hometown of Nashville once again played host to an event that left us both exhausted and excited. So, grab your Call Design branded popcorn and let’s dive into a quick recap:

Justin Robbins: Keynote Extraordinaire and Pizza Party Myth Buster!

Justin Robbins, the man with the golden insights, delivered another fantastic keynote helping us get unstuck, and owning our unwillingness to lead ourselves plays a big factor! He also shared his knowledge in a few breakout sessions, and guess what? Apparently, pizza parties aren’t always the answer to employee engagement! Who knew!? Justin’s ability to make us rethink our approaches left us hungry for more (and not just for pizza).

Tiffney Spicer and the DEI Panel: Owning Our Unconscious Bias

Our dear friend Tiffney Spicer took part in an amazing panel discussion on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the world of WFM. They fearlessly tackled tough topics head-on and challenged all of us to confront our unconscious biases. We’re grateful for WFM leaders who push us to think differently and create a more inclusive environment. Kudos to Tiffney and the panel for sparking these vital conversations!

Dan Smitley’s Session: Self-Care in the WFM Jungle

Our very own Dan Smitley led a breakout session and shed light on the often-neglected topic of self-care in WFM. Let’s face it, WFM professionals wear many hats and juggle multiple responsibilities. It’s no wonder burnout lurks around the corner! Dan shared the importance of saying no, caring about our own burnout, and even shared some tips on investing in ourselves. 

Connecting, Laughing, and Sharing the Passion

The SWPP conference is always a blast! We cherished the opportunity to reunite with old friends, make new connections, and soak up the contagious energy of the WFM community. We share your passion for WFM and believe that it can go beyond simply maximizing staff and productivity. When done right, WFM can empower businesses, create exceptional customer experiences, and ensure the well-being of frontline agents. You don’t have to pick just one of those outcomes, you really can have all three!

At Call Design, we’re on a mission to help transform WFM teams into strategic partners who are improving lives, delivering outstanding customer experiences, and driving solid results for businesses. We firmly believe that employees have the right to be Happy, Engaged, Fulfilled, and Aligned (HEFA) at work. If you agree, or want to learn more, please reach out to us and let us know. WFM might be a hard career at times, but with a community like SWPP and partners like Call Design it can be transformational, and even fun sometimes!

– Dan Smitley

SWPP Tip of the Week for May 8 is from Call Design!

Call Design on May 12, 2023

The Society of Workforce Planning Professionals (SWPP) is a membership association designed specifically to facilitate education and networking among workforce planners and managers in the contact center. They are an amazing group whose can’t-miss annual event is coming up May 15-17 2023 in Nashville! Be sure to catch Call Design there, and don’t miss our own Dan Smitley’s speaking session “Managing More Than Just Your Workforce: You’re Taking Care of Everyone Else, But Who’s Taking Care of You?” on the 15th at 11:00! 

One of the benefits of signing up with SWPP is the timely views and advice in their Tip of the Week. It just so happens that May 8’s Tip of the Week is from Dan. Check it out and follow Call Design (as well as Dan’s own LinkedIn) for more insights on leadership and employee experience!

Is your forecast accuracy above goal? Yep! Are service levels being met consistently? Yep! Are you absolutely killing your role and yet it doesn’t feel like anyone is paying attention? Also, yep.

In WFM we are used to being at the crossroads of so many teams: Finance, HR, Operations, IT, Marketing, on and on and on. We are excellent at consuming these different voices and producing a plan that meets our goals. The problem is that we’re used to receiving this information and then forget we also need to push the information back out. Or worse yet, we push out information and no one is paying attention! Here are two things to help you make sure you are receiving and sending information well.

1. Don’t assume. Just because you know what the marketing team is doing doesn’t mean the operations team does. Just because HR has put a focus on X doesn’t mean that finance is aware. Work to be the middle person that shares the knowledge across teams. Position yourself not just as a receiver of information but as a giver as well. Don’t assume everyone knows what you know.

2. Listen and help. Sure, you need to know the information to adjust your forecast and staffing plans. Along with listening to the information to inform your plans, make sure you’re also listening and adding value to their environment. Marketing says they need to improve Product X and so they are going to take Action Y. Don’t just add Action Y into your plans, help them refine it to make sure it’s the best action possible.

You can have the best plans and the best information to share, but if no one is listening then it doesn’t matter. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of simply executing our job descriptions. Making sure our roles and responsibilities are covered. When we position ourselves as someone that receives and gives good information, people will start to listen. When we start investing in other departments’ environments, helping them improve ideas and actions, then people will care what you have to say.

– Dan Smitley

Investing in Your future: How WFM Analysts Can Advance Their Careers

Call Design on April 28, 2023

As a WFM analyst, you play a crucial role in managing and optimizing the performance of your contact center. You’re responsible for forecasting, scheduling, and real-time monitoring, among dozens of other tasks that fall into your lap. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself whether you’re reaching your full potential in this role? Are you taking advantage of opportunities for growth and development?

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks of WFM and lose sight of the bigger picture. But investing in your own development is essential for achieving long-term success in your career. Not only will it help you perform better in your current role, but it will also position you for future opportunities within the organization.

So, how can you ensure that you’re reaching your full potential as a WFM analyst? Here are a few tips:

1. Set goals for yourself

It’s important to have clear goals for what you want to achieve in your role as a WFM analyst. This could include improving your forecasting accuracy, mastering new software tools, or taking on additional responsibilities. By setting goals, you’ll have a roadmap for your development and a clear sense of progress.

2. Seek out training and development opportunities

There are many training and development opportunities available for WFM analysts, both within your organization and outside of it. Look for workshops, webinars, and courses that can help you improve your skills and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in WFM. Don’t be afraid to ask your manager or HR department for support in finding and funding these opportunities.

3. Build relationships with other WFM professionals

Networking with other WFM professionals can be a great way to learn from others and expand your knowledge and skills. Attend industry events and conferences, participate in online forums and groups, and connect with other WFM analysts on LinkedIn. Building these relationships can also help you stay on top of new job opportunities within the industry.

4. Take on new challenges

If you feel like you’ve hit a plateau in your current role, look for opportunities to take on new challenges and responsibilities. This could include volunteering for cross-functional projects, leading a new initiative within your team, or taking on a temporary assignment in another department. By stretching yourself and taking on new challenges, you’ll continue to grow and develop as a WFM analyst.


At Call Design, we believe that employees have the right to be happy, engaged, fulfilled, and aligned at work. Part of achieving this is through professional development. As a WFM analyst, you play a critical role in the success of your contact center, and investing in your own development is essential for achieving long-term success. If you’re interested in learning more about how Call Design can support your development in WFM, please reach out!

– Dan Smitley

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

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

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.