6 Essential Steps to Effective Workforce Planning

Building an efficient call center that solves customers’ problems effectively the first time while keeping agents motivated is the ultimate goal of CX leaders.

Success boils down to effective workforce planning, in its simplest form, ensuring that enough staff with the right skills is in the right place at the right time. However, in recent years, achieving this gold standard of excellence has been thwarted by the added complexities of remote or hybrid working. And there is no turning back. According to the Call Center Management Association, 79% of employees want to work from home and go to the office one day a week.

Why Invest in Automated Workforce Management Solutions?

The entire organization is united with the goal of making continuous improvements in workforce planning. Fortunately, all this is a possible thanks to the automation of Workforce Management (WFM) processes, which allow:

• Manage and grow your remote and hybrid workforce.
• Highlight employee and customer satisfaction.
• Obtain remote intelligence.

6 Essential Steps to Effective Workforce Planning

1) Get Creative With Shift Work

Make the most of your free time by scheduling team meetings and agent training sessions, as well as experimenting with different types of shifts. For example, split shifts are good for training, and if call volumes are higher than usual and time is of the essence, micro shifts offer 1-hour windows to catch up.

2) Expect the Unexpected

Make the most of the what-if scenario for workforce planning to be on the lookout for the impact of potential COVID lockdowns or other unexpected events. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate “shock absorbers” that allow managing unforeseen peaks in daily activity and unplanned absences.

3) Archive All Forecasts

The audit trail of past forecasting activities provides a solid foundation for the future. However, schedules and forecasts, like demand, are constantly changing, so set a regular date on the calendar, at least once a month, to review historical data and increase efficiency in terms of production planning workforce is key.

4) Create Behavior Profiles

Known as “noise factors”: Holiday periods, marketing promotions and product launches all affect customer contact volumes with the call center. For this reason, building behavioral profiles for each of these scenarios is a useful technique for planners. For example, a smart scheduler at a water company will calculate the probability of freezes to schedule more staff when subzero temperatures mean more broken pipes and spikes in contact center demand.

5) Make the Most of Mobile Apps

Giving planners, managers, supervisors, and agents a complete picture of workforce activities requires saving time, increasing efficiency, and enabling frontline teams to check their schedules, request time off, and swap shifts, all within of a workforce planning portal.

6) Use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Predictive Planning

When AI is combined with the latest WFM solutions, it drives predictive planning and scheduling. AI-powered chatbots provide additional support for self-scheduling requests from agents on remote teams, helping to prevent burnout, high abandonment rates, and dissatisfied customers.

In conclusion, effective workforce planning encompasses everything from process management to reevaluating hiring and retention plans and employee engagement. Maximizing call center resources using flexible and intelligent WFM technology is good for the team and good for the business.