Workforce Management Software For Call Centers
Workforce management software for call centers are solutions designed to maximize performance levels and the overall productivity of an organization. By focusing on optimizing the institutional processes within the company, you’ll find an increase in productivity in many of the major critical aspects. This means improving the efficiency of the workforce behind several activities such as field service, human resource, onboarding and training, scheduling and analytics and more.
A multitude of workforce management solutions are created specifically for different types of industries. Examples are financial services, retail companies, large enterprises and call centers. For call centers, these workforce applications are often integrated with tools designed to assist in automated scheduling, automatic call distribution and quality customer service.
Call centers require specific features due to the dynamic nature of their business and the set requirements they need to achieve. Call centers need to have accurate volume forecasting in most, if not all, customer interaction channels, which include voice, chat, email and social media outlets. They also need real-time data tracking, flexible staff scheduling and mobile access to schedule employees from the perspective of the agents and managers.
Workforce management software is similar in nature to employee scheduling software. Such solutions manage the hours of call centers. Call centers usually have a larger number of employees and these workers are often paid on an hourly basis with ever-changing shifts and schedules.
In order to handle the dynamic nature of the work itself and reduce the turnover experienced by the company, workforce management solutions offer a modern, intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface for all users to enjoy.
Many workforce management software designed for call centers are available in the current market. They provide similar features but with different visual interfaces. The majority of them are deployed via the cloud or on-premise and offer free trials for users who want to test the system out. However, the prices can change according to the size of your business.
Five9 is an all-in-one cloud contact center solution for inbound, outbound, blended and omnichannel contact centers world-wide. Powered by AI, Five9 enables agents to provide better and more engaging customer experiences across phone, email, chat, mobile, social and more.
Workforce management solutions are created with a variety of features integrated into their system. Most of them function as useful tools in accommodating varying client times, increasing employee engagement, integrating crucial employee data and reducing manual errors in daily processes. These become useful in staying on track of your employees’ performance and improving the overall efficiency of the call center.
Most call center workforce management solutions have the following features that can help call centers manage better:
What-if simulations are features that help you prepare and handle potential operational changes. In the call center industry, it can be difficult to manage unexpected changes in call volumes. If you don’t have the right number of agents during a sudden spike in call volume, it could negatively impact your business through an increase in labor costs.
These simulations assist you in handling changes to the automatic call distribution queue and change shifts when there are scheduled server maintenance checks.
This feature is essential in improving the way agents view schedules and submit request for leaves and time-offs. It’s automatic and efficient, giving both supervisors and agents flexibility in changing and shifting schedules around. As it’s a portal, it can be integrated in mobile applications which makes it easier to view and control in real-time.
ACD lets you use a combination of inbound routes and queue types to address, support and resolve issues coming from the customers’ perspective. By its definition, ACD routes incoming calls to the appropriate agent, reducing the on-hold waiting period. Additionally, you can set certain requirements and standards to ensure the issues each customer faces are resolved quickly and efficiently.
Labor costs and employee turnover are one of the factors you need to reduce in call center industries. This problem is easily addressed through the forecasting and scheduling features. It allows you to reduce labor waste with concise forecasts and enhanced schedules. Through this functionality, you are effectively maximizing your employee headcount and improving the channel in which customers are rerouted to.
Five9, one of the leading software providers in the cloud contact center platform, has integrated features that can improve the workload of call center industries. These features include automatic call distribution (ACD), interactive voice response (IVR), call routing and queuing, call summary notes and predictive dialing.
With these functionalities, small and mid-sized call centers are fully equipped to connect with their customers. Its starting price usually begins at $150. per month/user and its main platform is deployed as a cloud-based solution. If you want to test their interface before paying for the product, it also offers free trials.
Call centers gain many benefits when using workforce management software. As they aim to automate the daily operations within the system, call centers don’t needlessly have to worry about the flow of their work. Instead, they can focus on having the best quality of services towards their audience.
Customer-oriented industries are designed to optimize the customer experience and to provide improved performance in addressing their concerns. Customer satisfaction is one of the goals call centers aim to achieve in their services. This is a major reason why they use workforce management solutions in the first place.
Call centers can gain many benefits from using this type of software, including:
When managing your workforce, you need to track the schedules and shifts of your employees to compensate them properly; with time tracking features, this won’t be as difficult to manage if done manually.
When it comes to automation, accuracy and efficiency are crucial aspects; having the system automatically do the work for you lessens the chances of cost contributors and inaccurate forecasting.
Some solutions offer intra-day scheduling which allows users to task-level schedule during days where there are low call volumes. Many solutions allow you to automatically schedule back-office staff and call agents; it easily lets you decide the schedules of your employees based on their availability and designated shifts.
Better customer experiences lead to more customer retention; the more customers you satisfy with your services, the more your audience grows.
If you offer optimized tools and automated processes, then your agents can work faster and better at their jobs and overall reduce turnover; with KPI (key performance indicator) monitoring and e-learning features, agents can consistently strive to do better and engage with customers more efficiently.
Overall, workforce optimization is the key to improved performance in the call center industry. Since it’s one of the most competitive industries in the corporate world, you need a software solution to keep you balanced, accurate and practical. With the help of workforce management software, call centers can increase productivity and efficiency, achieve better results and ensure that they provide the best customer experience possible.
