5 Ways Workforce Management Can Cut Costs in a Call Center

A call center leader must consistently meet customer service expectations while staying within budget. A key factor in achieving both objectives is effective resource management, which represents an important part of the entire contact center budget line and is also a key factor in customer satisfaction. It stands to reason that the way it is forecast, scheduled and managed can help reduce call center costs.

That’s why forecasting and scheduling cause most of today’s budget problems for call center resources. To do them correctly, analysts must accurately predict workload and then create appropriate programs / tools for contact center agents to meet the service level objective at any time of the day.

That’s why workforce management (WFM) software, designed to deliver a superior customer experience in a reliable, consistent, and efficient manner, is rapidly gaining momentum. It helps supervisors better manage and monitor call center employees, makes agents feel more empowered, and motivates both groups to be more proactive.

5 Ways Workforce Management Can Cut Costs in a Call Center

1) Reduction of Unnecessary Personnel

With the simplified task automation provided by WFM software, a traditional contact center can reduce by approximately 25% the amount of time it takes to forecast, schedule and manage service levels for multiple channels and locations.

This automation also leverages customer history data to provide more accurate forecasts, resulting in less unnecessary staffing and consequently less budget overspending.

2) Improved Customer Adhesion

Contact center leaders employing workforce management leverage a variety of capabilities to increase and foster agent loyalty.

A WFM software enables agents to actively participate in the scheduling process, through the self-service capabilities of workforce management that request their preferred hours and allow them to exchange schedules or request time off easily.

Supervisors also use WFM to optimize compliance by automatically sending alerts or posting schedule updates to agent calendars. They can also, through visual indicators on WFM dashboards, detect and address compliance violations more quickly than with manual solutions, allowing supervisors to minimize negative impact on customer experience (CX). Some WFM tools even allow agents to view their own adherence status, to encourage self-management.

3) Improved Monitoring Efficiency

Call centers using the WFM also enjoy greater monitoring efficiency. Supervisors can quickly create a detailed and accurate daily forecast using factors such as historical call volume information, mathematical algorithms, and simulation methods, to ensure they have the optimal number and level of agents available to answer customer inquiries.

With WFM, supervisors can also take advantage of automation to quickly and easily approve agent requests, such as vacation requests, and take agent preferences into account when creating a schedule.

Additionally, WFM enables supervisors, together with agents, to more easily monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), such as first call resolution (FCR) and call times, which measure the health and quality of the service provided to the client.

4) Minimization of Overtime Expenses of Agents

By automating and forecasting the call center, WFM tools enable call center leaders to run forecasts more frequently and accurately to reduce the amount of overtime incurred. Some tools even predict during what hours the greatest needs will occur and allow supervisors to address any unexpected increases in call volume by quickly and easily transferring resources from less important tasks.

They can also allow agents to take advantage of WFM’s self-service features to trade hours or identify those in which they are available for additional hours when the need for overtime arises.

5) Reduction of Agent Turnover

Agent turnover is a frequent and costly problem in today’s contact centers. And one of the main reasons agents’ leave is because they don’t receive consistent feedback and training. A WFM tool can alleviate this problem by helping supervisors more easily schedule mandatory, regular coaching sessions with agents.

A WFM tool can also help reduce agent churn by boosting morale. For example, supervisors can reward those who perform better by allowing them to take the first steps in main schedules or shifts; give agents control over their own schedules; empower agents to monitor their own performance metrics; and deliver fast, automated approvals on vacation and schedule exchange requests. Some call centers are also evolving their philosophies regarding schedule flexibility, as they may transition a portion of their staff to part-time schedules, offer telecommuting opportunities, or allow for more overtime.