THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MAGAZINE ISSUE 3 • 2014
Cloud bound A practical guide to moving your contact centre to the cloud Also in this issue: ❯❯ A new definition of workforce management ❯❯ Building a people-focused contact centre
Workforce Management
A new definition of workforce management W
orkforce management can be multiple things to a contact center manager. Forecasting and scheduling. Schedule adherence. Intraday management. “Getting the right people in the right place at the right time.” This is WFM in the traditional sense. But to continually make the customer experience better than everyone else, contact centers now require higher, more exact levels of predictability for staffing and service delivery over time. They demand a broader notion of WFM that embraces the concepts of longer term strategic planning for business goals and operational improvements.
What is strategic planning? Defined generally, strategic planning is the process of determining required staffing resources across a period of one, two, or more years, including how best to implement those resources. Variables within the planning process range from agent attrition to changes in contact volumes (seasonal and other causes), unplanned shrinkage, new hire learning curves, and handling time differences between centers or staffing groups. Strategic planning further encompasses predicted outcomes for key performance metrics such as service level, occupancy, average speed of answer, abandonment, and other indicators.
Improving planning results When decisions are being made for protracted agent hiring, vacation allocation, the timing and amount of training, and so forth, accuracy in the planning process is vital. Done conscientiously, strategic planning can optimize future handling capacity and service levels, and minimize labor costs at the same time. But if predicted results don’t model the contact center’s operations accurately, the results will be flawed. Case in point: for strategic planning, many contact centers use home-grown spreadsheets that are often complicated and prone to error. Unfortunately, these spreadsheets hamper the center’s ability to examine different “what if” scenarios and options for strategic goals like customer experience, operating costs, and revenue. Spreadsheet models in many cases also aren’t properly validated, resulting in inaccurate forecasts and significant differences between staff required and staff provided. Issue 3 • 2014
In lieu of spreadsheets, new strategic planning systems are now available to enhance WFM and capacity planning in the contact center. The best of these systems offer: • Data capture and storage. Use ACD, dialer, WFM, payroll, and other data sources to calibrate and ensure the accuracy of forecasting and operational simulation models. Collected data provides variance (“actual” vs. “planned”) reporting and lends to general purpose reporting needs. • Forecasting. Forecast key metrics — contact volumes, handle times, attrition rates, sick time (plus other shrinkage metrics), and so forth — at a detailed level, such as contact center and staff group. Multiple forecasting methods ensure that the method fits the data being forecast, whereas “one size fits all” models typically use compromises that introduce significant error. • Performance prediction and requirements generation. Predict interdependencies between key operational metrics such as contact volume, staffing level, handle time, service level, abandons, contacts handled, and occupancy. To handle multi skill, multichannel, and multi site environments accurately, the best planning systems use discrete event simulation techniques, rather than Erlang C.
• Staff planning optimization. Simulation models develop required week-over-week staffing levels, but do not create an actual plan. Conversely, optimization models, like integer programming, automate and optimize this process and create just-in-time hiring and overtime plans that achieve service goals at least cost. The outcome is an efficient plan that still considers real-world constraints, and that is a huge source of ROI. • Variance analysis and budgeting. Bring the strategic planning process full circle. Variance analysis monitors the execution of the plan developed by the other components, and serves as the proverbial canary in the coal mine. If plan results vary from forecasts, operational changes are likely needed. Variance analysis detects when unforeseen changes happen, providing executive level lead time to react and make changes accordingly. Strategic planning becomes a quicker and far more effective process when all of these components are brought together and automated. More importantly, beyond traditional WFM, contact center organizations get a powerful new class of business performance and planning analytics. For more information on the WFM and strategic planning solutions from Interactive Intelligence, visit us at www.inin.com.
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Cloud
Cloud bound A practical guide to moving your contact center to the cloud
M
oving any contact centre operation to the cloud requires addressing a range of issues from both atechnology standpoint and a business perspective. To formulate a migration approach, the more structure the better. A consensus among decision makers from IT, the contact centre and the executive level, is that four key “considerations” areas form the strongest framework for developing a cloud migration strategy.
1. Business/strategic considerations Although strategies for migrating to the cloud vary from Although strategies for migrating to the cloud vary from one contact centre to the next, the most effective strategies consist of three clearly defined stages: Planning - gain executive buy-in and form a cross functional team of representatives from IT, the contact centre, and the business to manage the project to prioritize contact centre and business requirements. Determine the cloud solution’s intended impact on business objectives. Execution - sharpen and maintain focus on the determined project scope to avoid “scope creep”. Monitoring - track all success metrics and implement any changes that have been justified based on business needs. It’s vital that the cross functional team be anchored by an executive sponsor, such as a CIO or IT chief, who can represent the project at the executive level and secure project approvals and funding. The team should further include at least one representative from each project stakeholder. Establish an IT governance plan for the new cloud functionality. In aligning IT services with cloud user needs, the cross functional team should implement and monitor a strategy for identifying, planning, and supporting IT services delivery.
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2. Operational considerations By implementing the model in smaller business units before the contact centre, the process of testing the new cloud architecture is more manageable. Generally, the initial deployment phase should focus on non-mission critical applications such as apps for testing and development, apps to manage project schedules and task lists, etc. Don’t underestimate user training Although cloud-based solutions are becoming more intuitive they can still present a learning curve at first. Plan formal in-depth training for users before the cloud implementation and cut-over phases, accounting for all user types.
3. Security considerations When evaluating a cloud provider’s policies and general attitude toward security, the best tactic is to ask pointed questions. For instance: What is your definition of security? Do you have a security program in place? Is security the responsibility of a single person, or a full staff? What is your disaster recovery process? What is your incident response process? If a provider can’t answer such questions, or has no conceptual understanding of cloud security or no processes in place, it is cause for concern.
4. Technical/architecture considerations There is no standard blueprint for moving a contact centre’s various business, operational, and network functions to a cloud environment. The best method is to approach integration systematically. Among considerations are ensuring continued use of relevant existing CPE systems, along with access to databases and back-office systems. Download the complete Practical Guide with project checklists, from the resources section at http://www.inin.com/guide/cm Interactive Intelligence lets you embrace the power of the cloud with its cloudbased Communications as a Service (CaaS) offerings for the mid-size to large contact center, small contact center (10-50 agents), unified communications, strategic workforce planning, and accounts receivable management. These offerings emanate from the company’s innovative multichannel communications technology, introduced in 1994 and now implemented in thousands of contact centers around the world. Without compromise, and understanding that trust is paramount when moving critical business applications to the cloud, the CaaS solutions from Interactive Intelligence let you speed deployment, eliminate large upfront capital expense, reduce IT staff requirements, and increase flexibility as well as reliability and resiliency. Visit www.inin.com to learn more.
Issue 3 • 2014
Employee Engagement
Building a people focused contact centre
Employee engagement – the secret to building a highly connected culture By Jeff Doran
I
t seems that every new generation entering the workforce has more to say about how things should be run. But it’s not just Millennials. Almost all employees want to be actively involved in decisions that affect them. They also want to have more personal and professional development opportunities. The problem is that they are not getting enough of either. According to the CCEOC Best Practices report, 28% of contact centre employees disagree that their contact centre involves them in decision making. The survey data also shows a strong correlation between decision making and training and development. In order to build more engagement, contact center managers need to look at these issues and start creating development plans that have a higher degree of employee involvement and with a focus on training. If one employee can make a difference, a group of employees can make a big difference. But in order to make a difference, they need to be committed. In order to be committed, they need to be engaged. In order to be engaged, they need to be involved. In order to be involved, they need to be interested. This is known as the “Employee Connectedness Ladder”. It is important to know what level of connectedness exists in your contact centre. If you are trying to create an engaged workforce, and most of your employees are merely at the involved stage, it will be very difficult to achieve your goal. In order to create an environment where people are engaged and committed, you must build a culture of trust and respect. Employees need to know that their efforts will be supported, recognized and rewarded. As a result, they will be more motivated to contribute and become much more productive. In the contact center environment, it is difficult to get people involved in extra activities without adversely affecting productivity. But creative managers are introducing some interesting and unique opportunities for
employees to be more engaged with their company, community and each other. Here are a couple of examples: • Community Involvement - A manager at a large Canadian contact centre, invited her team out on a Saturday to volunteer with her favourite charity – Habitat for Humanity. Almost everyone on her team came out, not because they had to, but because they wanted to. They put on hard hats, picked up hammers and spent the day building a house. They all had a lot of fun but more importantly, they developed a real sense of connectivity to their team and the community. Helping a family achieve their dream of owning a home, instilled a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment. Interesting to note, they are the highest performing team in the contact centre. • Idea/Innovation Management Systems – organizations need to develop idea systems that will stimulate employees to think in new ways and encourage them to submit their ideas. Toyota, for example, asks employees to submit ideas on a regular basis. It’s measured in their performance reviews. The company receives over 700,000 ideas from its 70,000 plus workforce. Their system is called “Creative Ideas Suggestion
Highest user adoption
Lowest cost of ownership
System”. It is designed to capture and process ideas quickly so that the good ones can be implemented immediately by the people who submit them. Having an idea system in place not only improves employee morale but also allows you to measure and manage the employee involvement process. Suggested reading on this topic: Ideas Are Free by Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder. The secret to building an engaged, committed workforce starts at the top. If you can determine your level on the Employee Connectedness Ladder, you can better understand your culture and determine what you need to develop a more supportive, successful and connected contact centre. Jeff Doran: CCEOC Inc. recognizes and develops world class, Employer of Choice® work cultures. CCEOC oversees the administration and delivery of Employer of Choice® recognition programs for various of market sectors and regions. For the past 10 years, CCEOC has been delivering the Contact Center Employer of Choice® Certification and Development program to the customer service/call center industry. Employer of Choice® training, seminars and workshops are also provided through the CCEOC Consulting group. For more information, please contact info@ccemployerofchoice.com or call 416.886.7007.
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Issue 3 • 2014
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Industry News Bell acquires two customer service call centres in New Brunswick
Moncton and Saint John centres part of Bell’s strategy to improve customer service and invest in Canadian jobs Bell recently announced the acquisition of two customer call centres in New Brunswick as part of its strategy to improve customer service and invest in jobs in Atlantic Canada and across the country. “Delivering a better customer experience at every level is a core part of Bell’s customer-focused investment strategy. These New Brunswick centres and other locations we’ve opened across Canada are essential to Bell’s success in a competitive communications marketplace,” said John Watson, Executive Vice President of Customer Operations for Bell. “We are pleased to welcome 700 more employees to the Bell team at these two New Brunswick locations, which join 5 other new Canadian call centres we’ve announced in the last 4 years.” Bell is acquiring call centres in Saint John and in Moncton and will dedicate both centres to serving its residential, wireless and small business customers. Since 2010, Bell has announced new call centres in Nanaimo, BC; Orillia, ON; and Laval, Rouyn-Noranda, and Saguenay in Québec. The two sites will be operated by Bell’s wholly owned subsidiary Nordia. For employment opportunities, please visit Jobs@Bell or Nordia.ca
Aberdeen Group report cites intraday management as key differentiator of leading contact centers
Improved customer experience through efficient use of agent resources top objective for workforce optimization programs Intradiem has released a new report by the Aberdeen Group that cites intraday management technology as a critical component of workforce optimization (WFO) success. It also ranks improving the customer experience as the top objective driving contact center WFO programs. According to the report Contact Center Workforce Optimization: Secrets to Unlock Agent Productivity and Performance, 60 per cent of WFO leaders have adopted intraday management technologies compared to 30 percent of followers. “Intraday management tools help companies manage fluctuating agent demand throughout the day based on client traffic and agent productivity,” Omer Minkara, Aberdeen research director, states in his report. “By doing so, it helps companies optimize staffing levels and reduce the likelihood of overstaffing and understaffing.” In May 2014, Aberdeen surveyed 83 businesses regarding their contact center WFO activities. Fifty-nine percent stated that their top objective was to “improve the quality of customer interactions,” compared to 32 per cent in 2012. The top objective cited in the June 2012 report, “improving agent productivity and utilization,” fell from 65 per cent in 2012 to 44 per cent in the current report. “Aberdeen’s report provides insight regarding the shift in priorities driving contact center WFO programs,” said 6 | contact management
NICE brings 100% real time to the contact center
NICE transforms customer service into a realtime engagement experience, providing today’s customers the right service immediately and effortlessly NICE Systems has announced the NICE Engage Platform, its next generation capture platform, which supports 100 percent real-time analytics at unrivaled scale, speed and cost efficiency. The platform allows customerfacing organizations to incorporate real time interaction data and analytics, at scale, into all of their service processes, transforming the contact center into a real-time engagement center. The NICE Engage Platform makes interaction data available for every application simultaneously and instantly. Using patent pending technology, latency has been reduced 10-fold and recording capacity has increased to support 10 times more channels per server. The platform makes the use of real-time analytics practical by supporting up to tens of thousands of channels and delivering the relevant insights and guidance during the customer engagement. The NICE Engage Platform further powers NICE’s broad portfolio of real-time applications, bringing benefits to various functions within an organization. This allows them to react faster, smarter and safer during customer engagements, and save costs. “In the past, contact centers have not been able to take advantage of realtime business intelligence, analytics and guidance due to the limitations of commercially available, cost-effective technologies,” said Donna Fluss, President, DMG Consulting LLC. “Recent innovations have started to give companies a practical way to utilize real-time inputs from customers and enterprise BI solutions to optimize the service experience, transaction outcomes and cost structure. These innovations will be game-changers for companies and their customers. In the future, contact centers will be driven by predictive analytics that depend on real-time inputs.” “The NICE Engage Platform is the result of collaboration with our customers who are challenged to meet the demands of their ‘now customer,’ while reducing related costs,” said Miki Migdal, President, NICE Enterprise Product Group. “This new platform is a sign of our commitment to lead the market’s adoption of real time applications and capabilities that bring significant business value.” Matt McConnell, CEO, Intradiem. “The rubber meets the road when companies take action to reconcile this new requirement with existing productivity constraints.” The report points out that organizations are realizing the impact of “empowered customers” on the business. As a result these companies are focusing more on customer satisfaction rather than just operational improvements. According to Minkara, “Companies today are 44 per cent less likely than two years ago to cite improving agent productivity and performance as a top objective. They are, however, 84 per cent more likely than in 2012 to indicate improving the quality of client interactions as a top objective driving their WFO programs.” Though delighting customers is a top priority of WFO leaders, productivity and performance remain important as well. In order
to be successful, Minkara says, companies must strike a balance between delivering an outstanding customer experience and making the most effective use of agent resources. Some challenges contact centers face are increased customer expectations, delivering consistent customer care across multiple channels, and unpredictable customer traffic resulting in overstaffing and understaffing. However, successful contact centers meet customers’ needs while seeking opportunities to make better use of their agent resources specifically, technology tools to help hire, train and manage the contact center workforce. According to the report, leading contact center WFO users optimize agent scheduling, streamline process and organizational management, maximize training results and optimize performance for continuous improvements. Issue 3 • 2014