meeting the workforce management challenges of the 21 st century:

Copyright 2001 The Call Center School

Meeting the Workforce Management Challenges of the

21st Century:Presented by:

Northwest Call Center Group


Your Seminar Leaders

Penny Reynolds is a Founding Partner of The Call Center School where she heads up curriculum development. She develops and teaches courses on a wide variety of call center topics, including workforce management, performance measurement, and call center technologies. Penny is a popular speaker at industry conferences and association meetings and a frequent contributor to industry trade publications. Her articles have appeared in print publications such as Customer Interface, Customer Interaction Solutions, and Customer Support Management, and on-line sources such as ICCM Weekly, New Frontiers, SourceCRM, and Workforce Weekly. She has recently published a book entitled Call Center Staffing: The Complete, Practical Guide to Workforce Management and has also co-authored the five textbooks for University of Phoenix’s call center certification program. An honors graduate of Vanderbilt University, Penny was one of the first recipients of Call Center Magazine’s prestigious Call Center Pioneer award.

[email protected] 615-812-8410


Session Overview

Identify the eight main workforce management challenges associated with today’s call center.

Describe the primary issues that complicate the workforce management process.

Outline potential solutions and alternatives for addressing some of these challenges and problems.

In this session, you will :


Audience Poll

What are your biggest workforce management challenges?

Let’s Take a Vote!


WFM Challenges

Increasing Accessibility

Designing Effective

Schedules

Attracting and Retaining Staff

Cutting Costs

Managing Attendance &

Adherence

Managing Daily Service

Hiring Freeze

StaffTurnover


WFM Challenges

Challenge:Staff Turnover


Turnover Challenges

First day no-shows Loss during training Competition in local area Internal transfers Other:

_______________________ _______________________


Calculating Turnover Rate

Turnover Rate = = 40%

80

200

Calculation:

Example:

Turnover Rate =Number of people that leave

Total number of positions


Agent retention 75.0%

Agent turnover 25.0%

Total number of agents 100

No. of agents transferred annually 5

No. of agents terminated annually 20

Average annual agent salary $30,000

Amount of revenue per call $20.00

Average no. of calls per agent hour 7

Average no. of hours position open 80

Average no. of hours to train agent 80

New agent's initial efficiency 50%

No. of hours to achieve 100% eff. 160

Costs

Operating Costs $10,500

Call revenue lost during hiring $11,200

Call revenue lost during training $11,200

Call revenue lost during ramp-up $11,200

Calculating Turnover Costs


Reasons They Leave and Stay

Why They Leave

Motivation/Job fitCompensationLack of career pathWork environmentLack of recognition

Why They Stay

Motivation/Job fitEmpowermentTrainingCareer PathRecognition/Rewards


Turnover Solutions

Screen for better motivational fit. Paint a clear picture of job before hiring. Implement a buddy system. “If you can’t fix it, feature it!” Train supervisors and hold them

accountable. Rethink rewards and recognition. Other:

___________________ ______________________


WFM Challenges

Challenge:Hiring Freeze


Hiring Freeze Challenges

Frequently heard statements:“The whole company is holding the line and the call center is no

exception.”“Business is not growing so contacts won’t

either.”

Beware the dangers of inadequate staffing!Does it really save money?


This Year

Calls per hour 350Number of staff

33Resulting delay 30 secTelephone sec/call 310 secTelephone cost/hour $109

Next Year(Needed) 385 36 30 sec 310 sec $119

Staffing for a 10% Increase in Calling

Staffing Freeze?


This Year

Calls per hour 350Number of staff

33Resulting delay 30 secTelephone sec/call 310 secTelephone cost/hour $109

Next Year(Needed) 385 36 30 sec 310 sec $119

Next Year(No Hiring) 385 33 268 sec 548 sec $211

A “Hiring Freeze” Example

The Cost of Understanding


Staffing Tradeoffs

The Costs of Understaffing

Increased Telecom Costs________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________


Hiring Freeze Solutions

Track all costs, not just personnel. Educate senior management. Implement more self-service options. Perform root cause analysis to

reduce calls. Other: _______________________ _______________________


WFM Challenges

Challenge:Cutting Costs


Cost Reduction Challenges

The need for belt-tightening Places to look Dangers of reducing staffing

numbers Where else to look


Cost Cutting Measures

How many of you been asked to cut costs in your center in the past 12 months?

Audience Poll


Traditional Cost-Cutting Strategy:

Reduce staff.



Staffing Example

175 calls per half-hour, 5 minute AHT (280 talk/20 acw)

(29.2 erlangs)Number of

StaffAverage Speed of Answer

Service Level (in 30 sec)

30 298 sec 24%

31 107 sec 46%

32 54 sec 62%

33 30 sec 74%

34 18 sec 82%

35 11 sec 88%


Call Center Staffing Example

175 calls per half-hour, 5 minute AHT (280 talk/20 acw)(29.2 erlangs)

Number of Staff

Average Speed of Answer

Service Level(in 30 sec)

30 298 sec 24%

31 107 sec 46%

32 54 sec 62%

33 30 sec 74%

34 18 sec 82%

35 11 sec 88%

Staff Occupancy

.97

.94

.91

.88

.86

.83


Traditional Cost-Cutting Strategy:

Reduce staff.

Better Cost-Cutting Strategies:

Alter workload.

Utilize technology.

Re-engineer processes.



Workload Alterations

What are some ways to affect or alter the amount of workload so not as many staff are needed?

Workload = # Contacts x Average Handle Time


Making the Most of Contact Center Technologies

ACD

IVR

CTI

Contact Management

Technology Cost Cutting Measures


Re-think some of your support center processes and look for savings opportunities.

Shrinkage

Scheduling options

Hours of operation

Workload blending

Process Reengineering


Cost Cutting Solutions

Re-engineer processes. Educate senior management on trade-

offs. Make better use of existing technology. Other:

_______________________ _______________________


WFM Challenges

Challenge:Managing Attendance and

Adherence


Attendance and Adherence Challenges

Mondays! Time off (FMLA, Workers Comp) Earned vacation days Family friendly policies Management enforcement Other: _______________________ _______________________


What Is the Impact of One Agent?

175 calls per half-hour, 5 minute AHT (280 talk/20 acw)(29.2 erlangs)

Number of Staff

Average Speed of Answer

Service Level (in

30 sec)

30 298 sec 24%

31 107 sec 46%

32 54 sec 62%

33 30 sec 74%

34 18 sec 82%

35 11 sec 88%

Staff Occupanc

y

.97

.94

.91

.88

.86

.83


Attendance and Adherence Solutions

Attendance recognition and rewards Magnificent Mondays Staggering earned days off Formal adherence standards and

programs HR and staff education Other:

_______________________ _______________________


WFM Challenges

Challenge:Attracting and Retaining Staff


Attracting and Retaining Staff Challenges

Labor saturation rates Wage competition Aptitudes and attitudes Skilled support staff Generalists versus specialists Other: _______________________ _______________________


Attracting and Retaining Solutions

Systematic site selection Compensation benchmarking Systematic recruiting and screening Creative labor sources Mandatory retention programs by team Supervisor education Other: _______________________ _______________________


WFM Challenges

Challenge:Increasing Accessibility


Accessibility Challenges

Multiple channels Hours of operation Self-service expansion/staff impact Growing expectations

Other: _______________________ _______________________


What Happens?

When self-service handles more calls, what happens to the calls agents handle? ______________________ ______________________

When multi-media requirements increase, what happens to agent skill requirements? _______________________ _______________________


Accessibility Solutions

Outsourcing Multi-channel forecasting and

staffing plan Remote workers Revised performance expectations

and rewards Other:

______________________ ______________________


WFM Challenges

Challenge:Designing Effective Schedules


Scheduling Challenges

Balancing business/human needs Efficiency versus acceptability Long versus short horizon Skill-based scheduling complexities Multi-channel complexities Other:

_______________________ _______________________


Scheduling Strategies

Full vs part-time mix

Different shift lengths

Days on/off mix

Staggered start times

As you build schedules, try and expand your mix:

Flexibility is the key.


6 am 10 pm

Pe

ople

Think of your shifts as LEGO building blocks.

The more sizes and types of blocks,

the better you can build your model.

Schedule Inflexibility


6 am 10 pm

Pe

ople

The Result:

A better fit with less understaffing and overstaffing

Optimized Schedule


Staggered Start Times

Catalog Case Study Example

Staggering (!) Results:

8% Headcount Savings over Traditional 30-Minute Start Times

60-Minute Start Times

30-Minute Start Times

15-Minute Start

Times

132 FTE 124 FTE 114 FTE


Scheduling Solutions

Implement schedule mix to: Utilize sufficient part-time staff. Expand shift definitions. Stagger start times.

Consider performance-based versus seniority-based schedules.

Use simulation for complex scenarios. Other:

______________________ ______________________


WFM Challenges

Challenge:Managing Daily Service

and Performance


Daily Management Challenges

Managing schedule exceptions Schedule adherence Real-time statistics Service level variations Other:

_______________________ _______________________


Tracking Daily Performance

Three Components:

AHT

Call Volume

Staff


What if calls take 30 seconds longer to handle?

Forecast versus Actual

Time of Day

Forecast Calls

Forecast AHT

Forecast Staff

Actual Calls

Actual AHT

New Staff

Net Staff

6:00 280 320 56 280 350 61 - 5

6:30 310 320 62 310 350 68 - 6

7:00 350 320 69 350 350 76 - 7

7:30 380 320 75 380 350 82 - 7

8:00 420 320 82 420 350 90 - 8

8:30 450 320 88 450 350 96 - 8


What if volume is 10% below forecast?

Forecast versus Actual

Time of Day

Forecast Calls

Forecast AHT

Forecast Staff

Actual Calls

Actual AHT

New Staff

Net Staff

6:00 280 320 56 252 320 51 + 5

6:30 310 320 62 279 320 56 + 6

7:00 350 320 69 315 320 63 + 6

7:30 380 320 75 342 320 68 + 7

8:00 420 320 82 378 320 75 + 7

8:30 450 320 88 405 320 80 + 8


Analyzing and Reporting Service Level

Time of Day Call Volume Daily % SL (in 20 sec)

6:00 – 7:00 85 4.5% 100%

7:00 – 8:00 90 5.0% 95%

8:00 – 9:00 95 5.5% 95%

9:00 – 10:00 145 8.0% 90%

10:00 – 11:00 185 10.0% 75%

11:00 – 12:00 195 10.5% 70%

12:00 – 1:00 165 9.0% 80%

1:00 – 2:00 185 10.0% 80%

2:00 – 3:00 220 12.0% 65%

3:00 – 4:00 210 11.0% 70%

4:00 – 5:00 145 8.0% 80%

5:00 – 6:00 125 6.5% 85%


Reporting Service Level

Activity An executive calls and wants to know how

service level looked yesterday.Your service level goal is 80% in 20 sec.

Questions:Did you meet your goal?Why or why not?What are the possibilities for reporting the

numbers?Which method do you think is best?


Payback Example

Real-Time Adherence Monitoring

Number of Agents

@ $15/hour wage rate

@$20/hour wage rate

100 $ 32,500 $ 43,333

250 $ 81,250 $108,062

500 $162,500 $ 216,125

1000 $325,000 $ 432,250

Assumption: 5 minutes savings per agent per day


Daily Management Solutions

Reliable schedule exception process Tracking/reporting of activity categories New service definitions Real-time adherence monitoring Reaction strategies “handbook” Other:

______________________ ______________________


WFM Challenges

Increasing Accessibility

Designing Effective

SchedulesAttracting and Retaining Staff

Cutting Costs

Managing Attendance &

Adherence

Managing Daily Service

Hiring Freeze

Staff Turnover


Thank You!

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Good luck with your workforce management challenges!

meeting the workforce management challenges of the 21 st century:

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