WFM (Workforce Management) planning of working time

In the context of information technologies, WFM represents the solution for automation of process of management of working time of personnel. The greatest distribution WFM решенияполучили to Call Center/Contact Center where a main objective of their use is performance improvement for the account:

• drawing up the optimal schedule of work of operators according to the level of their qualification, the direction of specialization, and also wishes of employees;
• effective a planirovniya of number of staff on the basis of job analysis of TsOV for previous periods of time;
• monitoring of work of operators in real time;
• creation of a comfortable working environment for operators, etc.

The efficiency of call center in many respects depends on that as it is organized, changes of operators are how precisely planned and possible peak loads are calculated. Nobody likes to look forward to hearing long from the operator, and afterwards, it can lead to financial and image losses.

The Workforce Management systems do workflows transparent thanks to information on keyword parameters: the number of the working operators, queues and extent of loading, control of volume of the processed calls and accuracy of observance of the schedule in real time. Therefore recently demand for these systems increased.

How to count an investment payback in WFM

If you use the complex WFM solution or are going to make it, understanding of ROI is a key factor for making decision on its purchase or updating. Here six criteria for evaluation of an investment payback in the solution for distribution of workload:

• Reduction of excessive labor power – the solution provides exact employee scheduling on the basis of the integrated forecast of the expected work volume.
• Optimization of employees to the available skills – critical aspect for connection to work of the corresponding specialists. The solution for load distribution optimizes completeness of the state during the day and weeks for compliance to requirements of the company.
• More effective use employees/employment – the full-scale solution for distribution of workload is ensured by the advanced forecast of the volume of functioning and more exact planning that allows to create optimum the number of employees on days and weeks.
• More strict observance of the working schedule by employees – the WFM solution allows to obtain information on the current employee performance, observance of the schedule by it and versions of the forecast.
• Decrease in overtime expenses – functions of the forecast and drawing up the schedule allow to control more carefully the volume of overtime work in real time.

Decrease in fatigue of employees – flexibility of planning of the full-scale solution on distribution of workload in combination with opportunities of independent drawing up the schedule by employees does them more self-sufficient and satisfied. It provides decrease in quantity of absences and a staff turnover.

How to select the solution for management of workload? 6 main WFM functions

When choosing the solution for management of workload a clear understanding of opportunities which from it are required to find the correct balance between the good performance and satisfaction of employees is necessary.^[1]

Other question to which it is worth paying attention – ease of obtaining information on the volume of interactions and the average time of processing of a request without the need for creation of integration projects for each communication channel separately.

There are 6 main opportunities which your system of distribution of workload should have

• Function of multi-channel forecasting – communications in the world do not happen on any one channel any more.
• Multinodal planning – many transactions are made on different platforms. Your WFM solution should consider features of each platform, but at the same time provide centralized operation in virtual environment.
• Management in real time – the forecast and reality can be different things. Good abilities to manage in real time will help to improve daily work and to improve work in the future.
• Employee empowerment – an opportunity for operators to exchange watches or to take extra work is a good example of their involvement in management to processes when preserving control over performance of call center of you
• The reporting – without proper mechanisms of reporting you can appear without the strategic and/or operational decisions given for acceptance
• Integration – modern WFM solutions should be closely integrated with infrastructure of your call center and corporate applications for distribution of workload

Notes