5 Workforce Optimization Mistakes to Avoid

Workforce optimization (WFO) can deliver significant operational benefits to the contact center. You can find out the potential for your contact center with our WFO Savings Calculator. There are some common mistakes, however, when rolling out a WFO solution that can weaken or make it difficult to obtain full benefit. Here are five of them:

1. A one and done approach for quality management (QM)

The business environment in the contact center is far from static. It’s important to periodically review the QM process to reassess its effectiveness. Then adjust the QM program for changing business environments and to continuously improve agent performance.

2. No CRM Integration

CRM integration allows non-voice CRM interactions to be included in the QM and workforce management (WFM) processes. Embedding WFO functionality within the CRM UI creates a seamless experience for agents to increase their productivity and allow them to better focus on taking care of customers. CRM integration also enhances security and streamlines access to the full customer interaction history, including playback within your CRM.

3. Taking partial advantage of WFM capabilities

Moving from spreadsheet scheduling delivers a large payback, but don’t neglect the other powerful capabilities of a complete WFM solution. Take full advantage of the forecasting tools that are available to handle complex skill groups, extended hours of operation, and agents working across multiple locations or at home. “What if” functionality also supports cost analysis to identify potential savings for various operational scenarios.

4. Ineffective communication with agents

Keep agents informed about schedule changes, overtime availability, and related updates. Use automated alerts to increase administrative efficiency, keep operations running smoothly, and make it easier for agents to keep on schedule.

5. Lack of planning for analytics

Analytics is a powerful tool for identifying opportunities for improvement and determining specific improvement actions. Success is best obtained when you have a clear understanding of use cases aligned with business priorities, start slow and build on success, and share analytics information outside of the contact center.

If you’re considering adding workforce optimization tools to your contact center, paying attention to these common mistakes will help your organization achieve the full benefit of using WFO in your operation. Discover how much you could save with the right WFO solution with our WFO Savings Calculator.