How good software can help with your staff management needs
A recent Deloitte survey highlighted the sheer number of priorities contact center leaders must address to run their business effectively. Staff management is just one of these priorities, and this alone includes considerations such as ensuring you have the right number of agents at all times, that they’re performing well, and that there are high levels of job satisfaction.
In the 21st century, people are looking with increasing frequency to digital solutions to solve their problems. Indeed, all of the respondents to the Deloitte Contact Center Survey, some 450 executives, said they were planning to invest in technologies to support their work.
Let’s take a look at one example of workforce management software, and how it can make your day-to-day easier.
Staff management software can provide solutions to common leadership priorities.Aspect Workforce Optimization
Aspect workforce optimization (WFO) is a cost-effective and multifaceted suite of software that is accessible from a variety of platforms.
Aspect WFO solutions increase productivity while enhancing the worklife of staff around the world every day, from real time coaching to providing the ability to manage their schedules from an app on their smartphones.
This staff management software provides a solution to many of the most common areas of concern for contact center team leaders:
1. Accurate forecasting
With 90 percent of customers being frustrated by long hold times, according to an Accenture survey, it’s important that you’re able to accurately predict expected workloads. Too few staff and you risk giving clients a bad experience of your company, while too many will lead to money being wasted on labor costs for agents you don’t really need.
Aspect Workforce Management uses historic data patterns as well as ‘what-if’ scenarios to help you plan for times where business might spike or fall away, meaning you can adjust staffing numbers to meet these expectations.
2. Performance monitoring
Without exception, Deloitte’s survey respondents said they will put money into programs to improve talent in their organizations. Within this sector of the survey, the use of analytics to both align staff and improve training finished first and second respectively as priority investments.
Performance monitoring is crucial for staff management. Aspect Performance Management allows you to pull key insights on agent productivity and performance, as well as set thresholds that allow you to determine the strengths and weaknesses of your team, and therefore plan upskilling or reward strategies accordingly.
Use staff management software to track agent performance.3. Employee empowerment
In an industry where staff retention can prove tricky, taking steps to empower your employees and increase their job satisfaction is a vital consideration. This can take a range of forms, from giving agents greater control of their scheduling to opening up communication channels between workers and company leadership teams.
Aspect WFM, along with the Call Design ME app option, allows staff to view their shifts on their smartphone, swap shifts among themselves, and apply for time off. This not only gives them a heightened sense of responsibility but also takes the pressure off your workforce management department. In addition, the Performance Management application presents employees with near-real-time insights into how their performance works towards fulfilling the business’s needs, inspiring them to take ownership of their tasks.
4. Maximizing efficiency
For managers, time is always a limited commodity. The last thing you need is a series of complicated spreadsheets each requiring individual analysis in order to produce anything meaningful. Workforce optimization software such as Aspect WFM, Aspect Quality Management, and Aspect Performance Management is a real time saver in the way that it centralizes data, allowing you to readily compare information from across your organization and create actionable insights to actively improve internal standards.
While workforce optimization software clearly has benefits for staff and team leaders, putting WFO strategies into practice doesn’t happen on a one-size-fits-all basis. Call Design will work with you to understand your pain points and provide recommendations for a solution that meets your needs. For more information, get in touch with our team today.