All types of call center operations were represented in the study, with the biggest percentage representing financial, insurance, and outsourcing. Current Tools In Place The largest percentage (90%) of the respondents currently has a workforce management system in place. Eighty-three percent have quality monitoring systems, while 44% have hiring and recruiting tools, 37% have dashboard reporting and an e-learning system, 30% have agent performance analytics, and 19% have an automated customer satisfaction measurement tool. The smallest group (10%) currently has simulation tools. Systems Provided By Same Vendor When asked if the current technology in the center was provided by the same vendor, over three-quarters (76%) said each technology was acquired from separate sources. Twenty-one percent said two or three systems came from the same vendor, but only 3% had three or more from one source. Favorite Features Of Systems The survey participants were asked for favorite features of each system. Most noted for workforce management tools were the intraday forecasting and performance capabilities, as well as real-time adherence modules and ease of use/maintenance/administration. For quality monitoring systems, the respondents most often mentioned the ability to capture both screen and voice and also monitor all calls coming into the center. The ability to use e-learning systems during idle time and finish training online were the top choices for features in that product, while compliance reporting and daily performance reports were important for agent performance analytic systems. Noted features of dashboard systems included real-time performance information shown to agents, the flexibility in creating the dashboard, and the ability to see information at a glance. Consistency and "another voice" in the hiring process were favorite features in hiring and recruiting tools. Systems Next In Purchasing Plans Over one-quarter (26%) of the survey participants noted that agent performance analytics would be next in their purchasing plans. Twenty-two percent plan to purchase dashboard reporting, while 12% are looking to buy an automated customer satisfaction measurement tool. Eleven percent plans to purchase a quality monitoring system, and 10% plans to buy simulation tools, e-learning systems, and workforce management software. Hiring and recruiting tools are in the purchasing plans of 7% of respondents. Benefit Of Acquiring Technology From Same Vendor The largest percentage of survey respondents (29%) felt that simpler implementation was the biggest benefit in acquiring technology from the same vendor, while 19% noted that minimal data entry would be a big benefit. Another nineteen percent felt having only one vendor to manage would be helpful, while 17% saw no benefit in buying from one vendor. Another 12% noted having less infrastructure as a selling point. Drawback To Acquiring Technology From Existing Vendor Thirty-four percent of the participants felt that acquiring additional tools from an existing vendor would sacrifice "best of class" capabilities offered by others. Thirty-one percent worried that changes in one application could affect others, and 23% did not want to be locked into a single vendor. Features Not Currently Available When asked what they wish vendors are offering that they are not currently seeing, survey respondents gave many different ideas. Here is a sample: "Better integration of products" "Better-tuned "what-if" scenarios" "Blending of support channels like e-mail, chat, and voice" "Easier exporting of data into other products" "Enhanced reporting packages" "Far better forecasting capabilities" "Higher degree of integration and industry standardization" "Consistent health checks on not only systems and the setup but in the skills of the user" "Less labor intensive and more intuitive systems" "Multi-media forecasting" "Speech recognition" "Better ways to manipulate which historical data/patterns to utilize for forecasting" "Real-time KPI stats from various sources" "A web-based agent real-time dashboard" "A truly integrated solution from point of hire (having agent info move from HR to WF); skills updated and changed when training completed; quality system able to pull back skills from bottom agents; scheduling top agents for more training; then linking it all together." Capabilities Not Needed The survey participants were also asked what workforce optimization capabilities vendors were pushing that were of no use to them. Here are some responses: "Enhancements to their system (silo effect); no integrated tools to manage across multiple channels" "MOTS -- more of the same" "Multi-channel scheduling (phones, web chats, e-mail, etc.)" "Reports that are not interchangeable" "Time-off manager" "Web-based tools -- high dollar value -- we have internal programmers who can do the same thing" "Would like it all if we could afford it, but with constraints on budgets, we make do as best as we can with what we have" "Off-shore outsourcing" "Back-office/non-phone rep scheduling" "I think that all offerings are usable if you are creative enough to apply the right tool in the right environment." Other Comments about the Workforce Optimization Market The final question on the survey asked participants to provide any other comments about the WFO market and opportunity that might guide vendors to make it more attractive. Here are some sample responses: "There are a lot of different products out there, but each is lacking key features, and support for these products has been poor in my experience." "I would love to see a one stop solution that encompasses all areas from hiring, profiling, scheduling, staffing, and trending on all fronts. Whoever comes up with this will be extremely rich." "Get to know your customers' principal operations first — then tailor your solutions to meet their needs. Listen to the end users and not just us managers." "Integrated solutions that interface with the ACD are important." "I would like to see 30/60 day trials of products so I can see if they fit in with our organization." "Keep pushing the envelope on capabilities, keep thinking of ways to leverage existing infrastructure to make future investment easier to sell to executives." "I would like to see vendors lower the overall costs and provide solutions for smaller contact centers." "Don't have products "bundled" together, where you have to buy two together." "Our purchases and the related purchasing decisions are made at the corporate level. Providing information to the users, geared to the job they do, would allow us to better influence those who make the purchasing decisions." "Speak with user groups in all demographics."
Conclusion There is a lot of press and vendor effort going into workforce optimization (WFO). However, this survey gives the impression that the call center community has not quite embraced the concept yet. Many centers have acquired quite a bit of technology, but are not purchasing from one vendor. And while they see benefits to "one-stop shopping," they are not ready to give up "best of class" capabilities from other vendors. Since we are early in this trend, perhaps the further enhancement of new products and education by vendors may make a difference. |
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