Workforce management is a vital necessity when it comes to the successful running of call centers. By identifying crucial metrics, such as time to answer, average handling time, and other important performance indicators, managers can allocate resources effectively, increase agent productivity and provide better service to customers.
Identifying the correct data to track can help managers make good decisions, prevent operational problems, and sustain high-quality service in a fast-paced call center. These are some of the metrics that can only be fully understood if you are to get to the roots of success.
1. Forecast Accuracy
Workforce management call center forecasts accuracy relate to the extent of deviation of actual calls received from the expected number. Forecasting is important in a call center since having an excess of staff or not having enough is very costly to the operation of the center. Regarding call volume forecast, call center managers should employ the data from the past to determine the tendencies needed for future forecasting. Inaccuracies in forecasting can result in unnecessary underutilization of human resources and on the other end of the spectrum, over hiring, which affects costs greatly.
2. Schedule Adherence
Workforce management call center schedule compliance measures how well the agents are able to stick to schedules, with considerations for their breaks and times of arrival to work and going off duty. Schedule non-adherence is likely to lead to high customer hold times, dissatisfied customers and low service levels in the call center. This can be managed using some tools such as the real-time monitoring tool that can be used to monitor this metric and suggest measures that could be taken to rectify the situation.
3. Service Level
Service level is another productivit indicator that is defined as the ability to answer calls within a specific timeframe. A high level of service provision means that the clients are being responded to within the shortest time possible and this highly contributes to the overall satisfaction of the clients. Adequate and appropriate staff coverage is required to meet the necessary service standards and, therefore, staffing levels should be surveyed on a regular basis and corrected as needed.
4. Average Handle Time (AHT)
Workforce management call center average handle time, or AHT, is the total time taken by an agent to complete a call, including wait time and time spent on post-call activities. It is crucial to manage AHT as it determines the quality as well as the speed of call processing. Although some interactions result in shorter handling, such kinds of interactions are likely to offer poor customer experience. Ensuring that agents are trained and coached correctly on how best to handle calls can help to keep the AHT moderate and efficient.
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5. Employee Satisfaction
Engagement satisfaction is another important factor in the workforce management model but is ignored most of the time. Yet it is very instrumental in the workforce in the long run. When the employees are satisfied, they do not leave the company easily, they make better sales to customers and they work efficiently. Employees’ retention can be increased using feedback, proper training, and recognizing career advancement opportunities.
