Logically, if you bring someone a solution that will make it easier for that person to do his or her job, you’d expect that solution to be gladly received.
But the real world (and that includes contact centers) doesn’t always run on logic.
We are creatures of habit. We learn a certain way to do things and once we’ve done so we are resistant to efforts to change those procedures.
That is why introducing a workforce optimization (WFO) solution into a contact center must be done with care. Yes, it will improve efficiency all around. Yes, it will shorten customer calls and deliver more accurate forecasts and schedules. But managers and agents used to “the old system” may not be eager to break old routines.
Here are some ideas to help ease the transition.
No, you don’t need everyone’s permission. But what’s great about WFO is how it addresses all of the most common issues contact centers face. So why not call a meeting and ask, “If you could change something about how we do business, what would it be?” Outside of “better salaries” and “more candy bars in the break room,” most of the common issues cited would be improved by workforce optimization. Then, when the system is rolled out, your team will feel like they played a role in the decision and will be more willing to give it a chance.
All WFO systems are not created equal. If you give the wrong system a big build-up and then it doesn’t deliver, it’s only going to make it more difficult the next time changes are made. Choose wisely. Start by asking us about next-generation WFO.
The learning curve on Monet WFO is shorter than with other workforce optimization solutions, because of our intuitive dashboards and other timesaving features. But it will take a workforce time to absorb the training, ask questions and become acclimated to a new system. In the days and weeks to come, ask them their opinions on how the technology is working to ensure that they stay engaged in the process and excited about their progress.
Ready to learn more about next-gen WFO? Here is the place to do so
Find out how one company improved service levels, reduced customer wait time and saved more than $25,000 after installing Monet WFO
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Workforce-Optimization/post/helping-agents-buy-into-workforce-optimization
Publish Date: October 1, 2018 |
Whatever business you are in, whatever product or service you are selling, however many other companies are competing against you for the same customers, there’s one thing you can do right now to gain a competitive edge in your industry: add speech analytics to your contact center.
Why? Because surveys show that just one out of five contact centers have already done so. And those numbers haven’t moved much over the last two years.
“Then maybe it’s not worth it!” you might say. But if you talk to a contact center manager that has made the switch, he or she will probably make a better case for it than we could.
You’ll hear about agents who are better able to meet the needs of their customers, which helps them to remain customers instead of exploring the competition.
You’ll hear about better training sessions that result from analytics data identifying operational and performance issues.
You’ll hear how agents are better able to recognize upsell and cross-sell opportunities, so sales go up.
You’ll learn how caller patterns that would take weeks to detect can now be found in minutes, because of the business intelligence analytics delivered.
Speech analytics can also reduce agent attrition, and help with compliance with government and industry regulations regarding the handling of credit card information and other sensitive data.
At a time when customers have become more demanding given the technology options available, contact centers need every tool they can find to meet these demands, and even to anticipate them when possible. That is another advantage analytics provides.
The Monet Software version of speech analytics is part of our award-winning WFO product. It delivers detailed, data-driven insight into daily call center operations and customer behavior, but without the significant investment that such benefits used to require.
You can find more information here, or schedule a live demo to see Monet Analytics in action.
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Analytics/post/the-competitive-edge-delivered-by-speech-analytics
Publish Date: October 1, 2018 |
Add up how many calls your contact center receives every week. Let’s say the number is one thousand – now consider what would happen if you reduced the length of each of those calls by one minute. We’re no math geniuses, but we believe that comes to 1,000 minutes – or more than 16.5 hours.
Among other benefits, that one improvement would cut average wait time, which inevitably improves customer service. Can you make it happen? Here are five ways to achieve this goal.
Send the easy calls to the new agents. Send the angry calls to the agents who know how to calm agitated customers. Send the tough questions to agents who can answer them. A workforce management (WFM) solution makes skill-based scheduling a breeze, so you’ll always have the right combination of agents on the floor to handle every type of call.
With a WFM system that delivers quick access to caller information, the agent won’t have to ask basic questions or go through the same information-gathering already covered by your IVR.
Sometimes (ok, a lot of times) the reason calls run long is that customers won’t get to the point. Agents have to remain courteous in these situations, but test out methods for steering the conversation back where it should be, and try different, pointed questions that will shorten the path toward answers.
Train agents to focus on what the customer is saying, and to carefully enter notes into the system. Even if the agent is confident in his or her memory skills, it’s better to have a written record of the key points of each call. Also make sure an agent’s station is free from distractions, and that personal cell phones are turned off during work hours.
If nothing else works, try this: “All agents that cut an average of one minute from their calls this week will receive a special reward” (whatever you believe will get results). However, if you try this monitor the situation closely to make sure agents reduce call times the right way.
Find out more about Monet WFM, our workforce management solution
Or see Monet WFM in action with a free online demo!
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Workforce-Management/post/cut-every-customer-call-by-one-minute
Publish Date: October 1, 2018 |
Ten years ago, the concept of a telecommuting workforce was just starting to gain acceptance. But we’ve seen a sizable shift away from centralized workplaces since then. It wouldn’t work for every type of company, but for contact centers? If the job is answering phones or responding to emails, there is nothing that prevents a qualified employee from doing that from his or her family room.
The benefits are obvious: in the current economy, when there are more job openings than applicants, the option of working from home will appeal to those who have a choice between companies offering positions.
When hiring, look for agents that have experience with a telecommuting arrangement, that are born self-starters, and that are independent enough to be trusted on their own. It’s also important to keep a sense of inclusion with the company’s goals. These are still team members, so they should be able to attend meetings onsite when necessary, participate in all coaching and training programs, and communicate with other agents to answer questions or solve problems.
Telecommuting also works only if agents can do everything at home that they can do in the office. A cloud-based workforce management solution makes that possible. With it, you will always know that your agents are working with the current software versions, as with the cloud they are uploaded automatically (and at no cost) upon availability.
Managers can access real-time and historic reporting so they will always be aware of current activity no matter where it is taking place. And remote agents can have their calls recorded and monitored for future training purposes.
The key is communication. As you begin your transition into a partially or fully virtual workplace, make certain there is an end-to-end communication plan in place so that agents have the knowledge, the tools and the guidance they need to deliver outstanding customer service, wherever they may be.
Find out more about Monet WFM, our workforce management solution
Or see Monet WFM in action with a free online demo!
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Workforce-Management/post/remote-agents-making-that-system-work-with-workforce-management1
Publish Date: October 1, 2018 |
The use of comfort pets in the workplace is becoming mainstream.
Once reserved only for special use in the wake of extraordinary circumstances, such as office shootings and natural disasters, more companies are now finding that animals can also have a positive impact in places where employees regularly face stressful situations on a regular basis.
A contact center would certainly qualify.
Studies have shown that people's stress levels markedly decrease when they are allowed to bring their pets to work. Just a few minutes petting a dog can make the memory of the last angry caller fade more quickly.
But as with everything else these days, initiating this policy is easier said than done. You can’t have dogs barking while agents in the next cubicle are on a call. You need to be mindful of fellow agents that may be allergic to dog or cat hair. If the contact center floor is always buzzing with activity and people running around, it might make the pet so nervous that it will need it’s own comfort animal to calm down. And no one likes to step in puddles that were not caused by spilled water.
If a pet-friendly policy would work at your contact center, give it a try. Your agents will love it, it will make their shifts go by faster, and they are more likely to stay in a job that allows them to take their furry friend to work.
A second option would be to work with an organization that provides dogs and cats that are trained at being comfort animals. They are calming, affectionate and more relaxed around strangers and in strange surroundings.
Try it once and see how it works. If the day goes well, and agent productivity remains consistent or improves, introduce the concept on a regular weekly or bi-weekly basis. Don’t be surprised if you start looking forward to those days as much as your agents.
Is your contact center pet-friendly? If so, how is it working? Tell us on our Facebook page
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Performance-Management/post/comfort-pets-at-contact-centers-why-not
Publish Date: October 1, 2018 |
What should you look for when considering a workforce optimization suite?
Perhaps this will be your first time upgrading to a WFO system, or perhaps you purchased one that did not live up to expectations. Either way, this is something you don’t want to do again, so it’s vital to get it right.
Here are five “musts” for your next WFO investment.
WFO should adjust to your call center regardless of how it is organized. A cloud WFO solution will be customized to fit your environment, prepared and tested before it is live, and can run parallel with your hardware solution during the actual conversion, so it can continue to function if an issue arises. But it’s always a smart precaution to insure that the integrations during the selection process are understood and tested to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Everything you wish to achieve at your contact center starts with the reports generated by a workforce optimization solution. These reports provide the data that triggers changes, decisions, personnel training and effective communication. Simply put, this is how you know what’s going on at your business. Be sure the reports you’ll receive will help with workforce management, quality management and performance management.
Used correctly, WFO will generate schedules that make sure you have enough agents on every shift, every day, while also reviewing shift patterns for highs and lows that could impact when breaks and training takes place. And if something unforeseen happens, as it often does in this business, the schedules generated by WFO should have enough flexibility to adjust as needed.
With WFO, a contact center can monitor and record the schedule adherence status of all agents in real-time. The system should track data on every status related to this issue, from lunches to daily breaks to when agents log out. By having this information easily accessible on a workforce management dashboard, managers can quickly compare the agent’s actual daily activity to the objective intended by the company. One can even create custom states and guidelines to address atypical needs for a specific contact center, such as after-hours work.
They may be working in the contact center or from home. They all go through the same training but gradually develop specific skills that should be leveraged. They have different needs and preferences when it comes to shifts and schedules. And unfortunately, too many of them leave too soon, necessitating another round of recruiting, hiring and training. With WFO, calls and other communications can be automatically routed to the personnel best suited to handle them. It should provide flexibility in scheduling, making it easier to accommodate agent requests. And it must deliver the data agents need to make their jobs easier – which might induce them to stick around longer.
Monet WFO is an affordable and easy to use cloud-based workforce optimization software solution that includes workforce management, quality management, analytics and performance management.
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Workforce-Management/post/five-musts-for-your-workforce-optimization-solution
Publish Date: August 29, 2018 |
Questions about speech analytics are popping up more frequently at contact centers. Is it worth the investment?
To help you decide, we’ve created a list of the five biggest benefits of speech analytics. We call them the “Now you knows” – as that’s what analytics provides: knowledge, insight, and all the customer service advantages that derive from them.
It’s never fun dealing with a disgruntled or disappointed customer. However, there are times when the root cause of their frustration is not clearly communicated to your agent. Speech analytics can help to fill in the gaps through various tools that track word choices. The sooner the agent understands what’s wrong, the sooner he or she can begin to make it right.
No customer likes to be put on hold, but there are times when this inconvenience reaches the point where it risks the loss of that customer. Analytics can help identify why some ‘hold’ times are longer than they could or should be. Can you reduce these stretches by 10 seconds or 30 seconds? What difference would that make in customer satisfaction?
Many companies, particularly retailers, offer a wide range of promotions and special offers that will appeal to different segments of their customer base. The challenge is to make sure the right offers get to the customers most likely to take advantage of them. Speech analytics gathers information on customer purchasing habits and trends, so you’ll know which promotions to target to which customers.
Speech analytics gathers data on agents as well as customers. You’ll know which are sticking to the script and which are maintaining the quality standards set by your company. Analytics can be of great benefit in training those agents now falling short to get better.
Every lost customer is harmful to your company. With speech analytics you’ll have a powerful new weapon in helping to identify which customers may be on the brink of taking their business elsewhere. That gives you a proactive opportunity to save that relationship before it’s too late.
Monet's Speech Analytics solution is delivered in the cloud, making it extremely easy to set up and implement, so you can see results within weeks.
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Analytics/post/the-now-you-knows-of-speech-analytics
Publish Date: August 29, 2018 |
One of the unfortunate realities resulting from America’s increased preference to shop online has been a decline in the quality of customer service at many retail chains and stores. With more resources now devoted to ecommerce sites, businesses are often relying on fewer in-store salespeople.
Over time, that will just motivate more people to stay home and shop. And that may require contact center agents to do much more than take orders and payment information, especially in situations where the easy inquiries and basic functions are turned over to chatbots.
Tomorrow’s contact center agents may need to fulfill more of a sales role. They won’t be just asking customers for the size and color of a garment they wish to purchase – they will recommend clothes that would be flattering based on each customer’s age, complexion and personal style. For someone starting a do-it-yourself home improvement project, the agent might work with the homeowner on the list of items needed.
This takes us far beyond the standard contact center scripts. And it will require agents who are trained to take on these responsibilities. Such agents will expect to be paid more for their expertise, or receive a commission on the sales they make.
It doesn’t mean that every agent must be trained in marketing, but they should be made aware of the marketing tenets that customers associate with good service.
With a workforce management solution, agents can pull up past purchases, the caller’s location and previous contacts. With speech analytics, agents will be in a better position to tailor each call to a customer’s preferences. And by using analytics, raw call data such as recordings can be fashioned into actionable insight.
By providing experienced agents with the right technology solutions, your call center can serve as one of your most effective marketing and sales outreach efforts.
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Workforce-Management/post/can-contact-center-agents-replace-in-store-employees
Publish Date: August 29, 2018 |
October, November and December will be here sooner than you think. For many people, that means festive holidays and cooler weather and the start of football season. But for healthcare contact centers, the last three months of the year can be summed up in two words:
Open Enrollment.
This is the time every year when thousands of people begin exploring their health insurance options. And since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, such activity has increased significantly. Just the thought of it can make the most experienced contact center agent break out in a cold sweat.
Are you ready for the open enrollment crunch?
You will be – if you have a workforce optimization solution.
With WFO, contact centers can more accurately forecast and plan personnel needs by running “What If” scenarios and analyzing the results. Once the level of increased demand has been determined, scheduling becomes more efficient and flexible, ensuring better utilization of limited resources and improved cost management.
Of course, public sector and government healthcare agencies are often further challenged with resource constraints. Thus a flexible cloud model becomes more desirable, as it allows healthcare organizations to effectively manage costs as workforce demand fluctuates. Plus, with the cloud delivery model there is:
Find out more about Monet’s Next Generation Workforce Optimization solution here
Publish Date: August 14, 2018 |
Ask contact center managers which challenge keeps them up at night, and many of them will single out scheduling.
Here are five tips that will help you optimize your scheduling solution – and one bonus tip to make all of them work more effectively.
Not just anticipated caller demand and agent availability, but weather, special events, regional variables, and anything else that may impact scheduling.
Whenever possible, schedule your best agents on the shifts where call volume is highest, or when your most important customers are likely to call.
Sometimes life happens and good agents can’t show up for a shift. That’s when you’ll be happy to have a roster of on-call reserve agents who can step in on short notice.
If you allow some agents to work from home, you’ll have a wider talent pool to choose from when hiring, as well as agents who can accommodate more flexible schedules.
Offer agents additional motivation to work peak periods.
Bonus Tip: Workforce Management Software
Spreadsheets simply cannot handle fluctuations in call volume, agent preferences and call center activities as efficiently as a workforce management solution.
With WFM, its easier to analyze call metrics, after call work, time spent in training and coaching sessions, break durations and other non-call related activities to optimize forecasting and scheduling. You can monitor agent activity in real-time, and make adjustments so unforeseen service hiccups don’t last the entire shift.
You’ll also be able to employ skill-based scheduling, while giving your agents more flexibility in changing their schedules and swapping shifts with co-workers.
Finally, WFM also boosts forecast accuracy – which in turn boosts scheduling precision.
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Workforce-Management/post/5-tips-to-optimize-contact-center-scheduling
Publish Date: August 13, 2018 |
We won’t bury the lead this time. The one-word key to help desk efficiency is:
Consistency.
Think of it – what are some of the biggest challenges faced by help desks?
Just one of these can be a hazard – all of them result in a snowball effect that results in a poor level of service to the end user.
Consistency is the answer. Make it a priority. Doing so becomes much easier with a workforce management solution designed specifically for help desks.
With WFM, managers can be proactive, taking the data gathered from historic performance and creating processes for scheduling, staffing, and how each type of case should be handled.
When a help desk can rely on consistently having the right number of agents on each shift, with procedures in place on how to provide assistance, customer service inevitably improves.
How does WFM help with attrition? Ask your departing agents why they are leaving. Many of them may describe the stress of the job, the confusion and frustration that can result from not having consistent procedures to follow.
Monet’s WFM for Salesforce delivers advanced scheduling that incorporates all forecasted casework, voice channels, and other activities to generate staffing schedules that optimize a wide range of factors including: agent availability, work rules, holidays, breaks, service levels, and center budgets.
And because it’s cloud-based and delivered as a service, help desks using Salesforce can access secure web-based applications at a competitive cost with no large upfront investment.
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Workforce-Management/post/the-one-word-key-to-help-desk-efficiency
Publish Date: August 13, 2018 |
By now, you’ve certainly heard of speech analytics. So for those that have not added this capability to your contact center, we would simply ask: Why not?
It’s a solution that will boost the operational efficiency of your contact center. It will help your agents quickly identify why customers are calling, resulting in faster resolutions and improved average handle time. Properly used, it will also reduce the number of calls and repeat calls.
This is particularly true if you are already using a workforce management solution. Together with speech analytics, you’ll be able to disseminate call center data and deliver analytics insights into the KPIs that matter most.
Today’s speech analytics software automates the search process for important words and phrases, and provides automated alerts when certain issues or opportunities arise. The faster these issues are addressed, the better the customer service.
Let’s face it – even the most qualified, experienced agents cannot mine each call for relevant data in real time. It’s simply more efficient to automate this practice so calls are instantly categorized by purpose and/or outcome, while the agent is clear to focus only on delivering a positive engagement.
By combining the more precise capabilities of speech analytics, such as keyword spotting, with a more general review of how customers and agents speak with each other, a contact center is better equipped to proactively solve issues before they can impact the company.
Is it time for your contact center to discover the benefits of analytics?
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Analytics/post/it-s-past-time-to-get-serious-about-speech-analytics
Publish Date: July 31, 2018 |
Labor Day weekend is approaching, and while most people are looking forward to the extra day off, contact centers should be looking ahead to analyze how the holiday will impact call patterns.
You’ll have agents laboring on Labor Day – but will you have enough to meet consumer demand? These four steps should help to answer that question.
If you have a workforce management (WFM) solution, it will be easy to gather reports from past Labor Days to tabulate call volume, call patterns and other key performance indicators. Without a WFM solution, you may need to start now to have any chance of finding those figures by September.
A holiday is a variance in itself so that will obviously be taken into account, but watch for other issues that might be responsible for lower or higher numbers.
What if last year, call volume dropped on Friday as more people were preparing to get out of town for the weekend, which also resulted in lower call volumes on Saturday and Sunday. But by Monday, most folks were back home and wrapping up some business matters before the work week resumes. Does that sound like a reasonable outlook for this year, or is there some reason it might change?
Has the company announced a new Labor Day sale or promotion? Is there any reason to believe it will result in higher or lower call volume than last year’s sale?
Once you have this information, it will be much easier to calculate staff requirements to meet service goals.
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Workforce-Management/post/optimizing-labor-day-weekend-at-your-contact-center
Publish Date: July 31, 2018 |
The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things. – Ronald Reagan
Leadership is an essential quality for a contact center manager. But there are many different ways to lead. For decades the drill sergeant approach was among the most popular, but that’s not as effective anymore, especially with millennial employees. While enforcing business rules and maintaining discipline must always be considered, here are four tips that will make the intrinsic but harsher aspects of leadership more acceptable.
Agents know the manager is in charge. But a good manager will send the message that we succeed as a team and we fail as a team. By presenting one’s self as an ally rather than an adversary, there is a better chance of inspiring better agent performance.
“Do what I say, not what I do” is a recipe for a hostile work environment. The best managers follow the same rules as their employees, leading by example and demonstrating confidence in the policies that have been put in place.
Focusing on team goals should not preclude recognizing outstanding individual performances. Reward those agents that go above and beyond. Doing so will have a positive effect not only on the person being recognized but his or her coworkers as well. When agents understand their efforts are appreciated, it will raise morale across the entire organization.
Agents are on the front lines of customer service, and they will have ideas on how methods or scripts can be altered to better serve customers. Listen to those ideas and reward those that are implemented. The more an agent feels like he or she is part of the company, the more likely they are to stick around.
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Performance-Management/post/four-tips-to-become-a-better-contact-center-leader
Publish Date: July 31, 2018 |
So, you are finally ready to make the switch from spreadsheets to workforce management (WFM). Great! Now just two steps remain. First, choose the WFM solution that has the capabilities your contact center needs, at a price you can afford.
We believe Monet WFM will be a good fit for your business. Check out its capabilities, and the cost-saving benefits of our cloud solution, here.
Step two happens after WFM is implemented. You’ll discover an enormous array of capabilities that you either didn’t have before, or could not achieve without many more hours of work. It may seem a little overwhelming at first, so here’s a short-cut list of ways in which WFM should be utilized.
When you know what to look for, when you have the information you need, when you need it, and when you can act upon it quickly, that’s workforce management made easy.
Source: http://www.monetsoftware.com/blog/Workforce-Management/post/workforce-management-optimizing-its-benefits
Publish Date: July 31, 2018 |
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