Contact Center Workforce Optimization

Companies with poor customer service and stressful working environments have given call centers a bad reputation. Do you know how to counteract those challenges with contact center workforce optimization? 

For example, call centers often have high employee attrition rates, recently averaging 38%. However, some companies were able to bring that figure down to 20%. 

This is likely due to workforce optimization in a more advanced contact center environment. Learn how you can deploy contact center workforce optimization for enhanced employee and customer experiences. 

Key Takeaways:

• Automated data collection and analysis allows you to optimize your workforce’s performance.
• Workforce optimization balances company needs while offering employees greater freedom and flexibility. 
• Cloud contact center software lets you integrate all workforce optimization features into a single platform.

What Is Contact Center Workforce Optimization?

Workforce optimization refers to the tools, processes, and strategies you use to maximize your team’s productivity and efficiency. With contact center workforce optimization, you align team members’ schedules and skills with your company’s goals. This leads to higher performance and a better use of your resources. 

Advanced workforce optimization starts with installing cloud-based contact center software. A robust platform captures all interactions across channels. The service then provides helpful data to supervisors for fine-tuning staffing schedules, improving training, and perfecting workflows.

Why Is Contact Center Workforce Optimization Necessary?

Contact center workforce optimization offers many advantages that keep your team competitive.

Offering Employee Flexibility While Meeting Staffing Needs

Operating a hybrid or fully remote contact center allows you to offer unmatched flexibility to your agents. It also offers you the benefit of hiring from an international talent pool.

However, a remote environment can make it challenging to ensure that those agents are working when customers need their help. A cloud contact center with workforce optimization has user-friendly tools for viewing call volumes. That way, you can staff your team according to customer demand. 

Specific data lets you accommodate agent preferences while ensuring workers with the right skills are on the line to assist callers according to channel, location, or knowledge base.

Streamlining Processes To Prevent Burnout

A common cause of burnout is repetitive, low-level tasks that don’t allow employees to use their greatest talents. Contact center workforce optimization helps you address this issue.

For one, data lets you identify optimal workflows for efficiency. Additionally, an intuitive cloud-based interface is easier for agents to learn and use. When you integrate other business software into your communications platform, navigating all aspects of the contact center becomes even simpler.

Empowering Agents With Excellent Training and Tools

Agent monitoring gives clear data on what tools your agents need and how you can improve training. Encouraging employees to upskill and grow is a key aspect of maintaining high engagement. 

Importantly, contact center workforce optimization tools look at the entire organization. You no longer have to restrict team leaders to a small sample size for decisions. You can have the total picture before drawing conclusions.

Keeping Operational Costs Low

Better scheduling means you’re not paying agents to work when you don’t need them. You also avoid overstaffing by hiring the correct amount of employees. Plus, training becomes more efficient, allowing supervisors to maximize their time.

Improving the Customer Experience

The ultimate benefit of contact center workforce optimization is providing your customers with the customer experience they desire. This encourages customer loyalty and provides more opportunities for cross-selling and upselling.

Which Features Help You Optimize Your Contact Center?

Your data is the fuel that permits contact center workforce optimization. By tracking the correct metrics and key performance indicators, you can succeed at optimizing your workforce.

However, you shouldn’t have to constantly juggle multiple software services to do so. Look for cloud contact center software with vital optimization features.

Call Recording and Transcription

Recordings and interaction transcriptions allow supervisors to accurately evaluate agents. A solid platform makes it easy to annotate the file.

Interaction Analytics

Instead of having to personally listen to or read each interaction, artificial intelligence can understand and provide concise notes on calls, chat threads, and email conversations. AI can then categorize and sort interactions by topic, as well as share general customer sentiment. 

Productivity Suite Integrations

You may have other software that helps you assess team performance for contact center workforce optimization. Connect programs to your contact center software with either pre-built integrations or custom APIs. Then, you can see everything you need within one platform without constantly toggling back and forth. 

Forecasting Tools

You no longer have to project future needs manually after receiving data. Contact center intelligence tools consider historical data and help you determine staffing and training concerns. 

Skills-Based Scheduling With Shift Trading

Create team schedules that ensure the agents with the right skills are on deck. Set rules that only allow agents to trade shifts with employees who have the same skills to ensure you’ve appropriately staffed your team at all times.

Are You Ready To Try the Ultimate Contact Center Workforce Optimization Platform?

Contact center workforce optimization is an excellent strategy for ensuring exceptional customer service and employee engagement. However, it all starts with a remarkable contact center platform. Contact us at Intermedia to discover how our software streamlines your workforce optimization process.

Mark Sher

Mark Sher, a 30-year telecom and cloud communications executive, is the SVP of Product Marketing for Intermedia Cloud Communications, a leading provider of UCaaS, CCaaS, and business cloud application solutions to partners and the businesses they serve. In his role, Mark has global responsibility for all direct and indirect product marketing at Intermedia including product launches, product messaging and positioning, competitive intelligence, analyst relations, and cross-channel pricing.