How to streamline supervisor / agent communication

Lately, we are getting more inquiries from people looking for a solution that makes communication, schedule changes and exception planning between agents and supervisors easier, especially across multiple locations. Here are some key capabilities that our web-based solution Monet Anywhere provides to address this:

Manage schedule changes: Agents can request changes to their schedule. These requests immediately alert the agent's supervisor, who can review the impact of the change and approve or decline the request. If approved, the change immediately affects the schedule. Supervisors can also request schedule changes for agents, in an identical manner with supervisor and agent roles reversed.

Open shifts for bidding: The solution presents unfilled shifts to qualified agents on which to bid, allowing them to volunteer for shifts normally outside their desired working hours. Supervisors can review bids made for a shift and select the agent they wish to assign.

Multiple locations and home-base agents: Agents can securely access the solution through a web browser. Agent and supervisor communication will get easier and more efficient especially across multiple locations and remote/home-based agents.

Please contact us if you would like to learn more.

Three ways to improve service levels in your call center

Achieving targeted service levels while keeping payroll cost under control and within budget is one of the key challenges in a call center. In our upcoming webinar "3 Ways to Improve Service Levels in your Call Center" we will explain how three important forecasting and scheduling tasks impact service levels:

• Schedule optimization: How to properly handle exceptions and place breaks, lunches, training, etc.

• Forecast versus actual: How to deal with call volume fluctuations and adjust schedules

• Schedule adherence: How to set goals, measure adherence and keep agents motivated to adhere to schedules

Please join us for this free webinar on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) - we hope to see you.

How to select a Workforce Management Solution that fits your needs

We have compiled a list of questions that should be helpful when selecting a workforce management solution for a small to medium sized call center:

Performance and key capabilities

• Does it accurately forecast call volumes by leveraging data from your ACD system?
• Can you easily run “what-if” scenarios based on shift patterns, skill levels, exceptions, etc.?
• Can you make intra-day changes to forecast and schedule based on changing call volumes?
• Can you track and monitor agent adherence?
• Can you create performance management reports?

Time and resources to implement

• How long does it take to implement the solution from start to finish?
• How is it deployed? Do I need to buy and implement hardware or can I just use it over the web?
• What resources (money, people, etc.) do I need to implement the solution?

Total cost of using the solution

• Upfront costs: What are the total upfront costs for software, hardware, integration and implementation?
• Ongoing costs: What are the ongoing costs such as subscription, maintenance, support, upgrade fees?
• Hidden costs: Are there any “hidden” costs you should account for? (IT resources, integration costs, licenses, upgrade costs, etc.)

Usability

• Is the solution easy and intuitive for non-IT people to use?
• Does the solution focus on your specific call center needs?
• What features do you really need?

ROI and financial risk

• How much is the upfront investments? The higher, the lower the immediate ROI.
• How long does it take until I can start using the solution to realize the benefits?
• What is the financial risk if the solution doesn’t meet your needs? How much does it cost you to "return" it?