Achieving True Performance Management in the Contact Center
by Doug Whitaker on January 6th, 2012
In recent posts, I have discussed the Workforce Optimization process in the contact center—specifically, how companies can create a cycle of continuous improvement in business processes—and the value it can generate for the entire organization. An essential component of this process is performance management software because it delivers the “action” for continuous improvement. This process is both guided (by suggesting best practices and corrective action) and automated (with applications triggering a process).
Before we discuss how companies should pursue performance management in the contact center, I’d like to clear up a common misperception. Too often, the term “performance management” is associated with either reports or dashboards generated by individual applications. In reality, these tools are just forms of performance reporting, not performance management. Reporting may provide a snapshot of progress against a goal, but users must take action based on this information to make any real progress. Unfortunately, once individual action is introduced, the overall process suffers because such efforts can vary widely from person to person and group to group.
Foundational elements of performance management
A comprehensive performance management solution helps remove this variability from the process in several ways.
1) Information from multiple sources is unified to create “one version of the truth,” removing the potential for different interpretations of the data.
2) Companies can measure performance, aggregate it across siloed groups, and then correlate with other metrics.
3) Contact centers can understand the impact that transactional measurements (such as handle time) has on customer-specific metrics (such as sales and satisfaction).
Communication and transparency are key
To support performance management efforts, companies must be able to share data with various stakeholders. This can be done in an automated fashion with alerts, forms, and e-mails rather than relying on the individual to look at the information and recognize the problem.
However, key performance indicators will vary based upon the stakeholder: an executive will want to see data on the contact center’s progress against corporate goals―such as profitability, cost structure, or forecast accuracy. Meanwhile, a lower-level supervisor will be more interested in team performance, handle times and individual adherence. Therefore, any solution must align to the needs of the individual role.
Translating data into action
The next step is to derive future improvement from the information. To achieve this goal, performance management must embrace business processes that are connected to results. This can be automated or guided.
For example, if a contact center agent has low customer satisfaction scores, an automated process can be launched that provides training to the employee on customer empathy. A guided approach may initiate a coaching session with a supervisor in which the supervisor is provided suggestions for remediation. The goal is to establish a standardized process to coach employees toward improvement, thus generating improved organizational effectiveness.
While successful performance management requires a coordinated effort at all levels of the organization, the results can be tremendous. Performance management helps companies identify best practices, which can result in a wide range of organizational benefits: increased productivity, higher revenues, and reduced costs.
Four Critical Components of a Next-Generation Contact Solution
by Doug Whitaker on December 26th, 2011
In previous posts, I discussed how a contact center can directly support business strategy as well as the workforce optimization tools that contact centers need to fulfill their potential. The next step for business leaders is to identify a solution that can empower the contact center—and the organization as a whole.
As the customer service environment has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past several years, what had been a straightforward exercise is now more complicated. Four forces have altered the landscape.
1) The customer-company dynamic has changed. One-way conversations, in which companies dictated the terms, have been replaced by an ongoing dialogue. What’s more, customers now expect a collaborative relationship with the companies they favor.
2) The availability of information about companies and products has exploded. Companies used to have control of the information that was available about products and services. Now customers can do their own research using forums, blogs, and reviews.
3) Technology has enabled greater connectivity. The mass adoption of mobile devices—Pew Research found that 83 percent of U.S. adults have a cell phone—has given rise to consumers who are always on. The same study found that nearly one-third of adults preferred to be contacted via text message.
4) Consumer expectations have increased. As soon as one company integrates such channels as social media into their contact center operations, consumers not only become aware of it but also immediately expect the same capabilities from other companies.
The evolution of consumer behavior and technology will likely accelerate, presenting businesses with new challenges—as well as new tools to address them. Therefore, a next-generation solution must incorporate traditional applications while allowing the flexibility to accommodate near-term and future requirements. The components of the solution must include:
- Customer empowerment – To give customers the ability to interact and get information in the way they want, companies will have to offer a variety of options for live and self-service communications. This strategy will require new functionality to ensure that information and experience across channels are consistent.
- Enterprise engagement – Aspect CEO Jim Foy noted in an interview in May of this year that the contact center as we know it won’t exist in ten years. Unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) have connected our enterprises so that physical, technological, and organizational barriers don’t inhibit a company’s ability to address customer requirements. Increased consumer expectations will compel companies to adopt UC&C so that back-office and knowledge workers can be included in the process.
- Social communications – New communications channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and even blogs have introduced exciting mediums for customers to share information and opinions on their consumer choices. What makes social media more complex is that the contacts are typically indirect rather than direct. Many companies are scrambling to address social media channels with their contact center operations. A key element of this strategy is the ability to monitor these communications, manage the interactions, and respond appropriately to the customer issues.
- Dynamic analytics – Contact centers have become the natural hub of customer data, but many companies haven’t adopted the tools and processes to use this information to shape business strategy and set priorities. Beyond the technology, executives must reorient their organization so that functions such as marketing, communications, and sales can all benefit from these insights.
Speaking in the general sense, companies must pursue workforce optimization to make the best use of their available internal resources. A comprehensive strategy to schedule staff, accommodate mobile agents, and right-size the physical contact center can increase efficiency and returns on investment.
In the coming year, Aspect will continue to share our vision for the future of the contact center and how companies can achieve the full potential of our customer experience efforts.
Empowering the Contact Center with Vital Workforce Optimization Tools
by Doug Whitaker on November 29th, 2011
In my last post, I discussed the strategies that contact centers should pursue to improve agent productivity and resource allocation. Once organizations have defined their strategy, they must have the functionality that can support it.
Contact centers need the ability to anticipate future activity and schedule the resources necessary in order to meet business requirements, manage the employee process to ensure agents are doing what they are supposed to be doing, understand their current status, and improve business processes through automation driven by business initiatives and best practices.
With these tools, contact centers can achieve better results through more effective customer communication and organizational productivity. Most important, the complete process enabled by Aspect Productive Workforce allows for the holy grail… a cycle of continuous business process improvement that offers better customer transactions, improved employee performance, and increased service to customers.
Workforce Optimization includes several technologies that were once independent but have grown together to offer synergy and a complete process.
- Workforce Management allows the ability to forecast future traffic, schedule employees to meet requirements and adherence tools to manage employee actions.
- Quality Management software records the customer contact and the employee desktop so evaluations can be made and quantitative assessments can be made.
- Performance Management software consolidates business metrics from disparate data sources so that key performance indicators can be identified and measured. Then the information is used for automated alerts, comprehensive coaching process and actions driven by business-driven workflows.
The workforce optimization process is enhanced significantly through a number of tools:
- “Dynamic analytics,” which include capabilities such as speech and desktop analytics. Speech analytics provides automatic mining of customer recordings for valuable information, while desktop analytics monitors employee workstation, which can then support information collection, proactively ensure best practices, and automate manual processes.
- Social media management solutions provide insight and automation to indirect communications such as blogs and social media sites.
- eLearning offers employee training and improvement.
In my next post, I’ll highlight the components that a successful workforce optimization solution must include.
How a high-performing contact center directly supports business strategy
by Doug Whitaker on November 7th, 2011
I serve as the director of sales for Aspect Workforce Optimization, and from this vantage point it’s been interesting to see how the role of the contact center has evolved over the past decade. For instance, the notion that contact centers should focus primarily on cost cutting and saving money is an outdated concept.
Instead, many companies have recognized the pivotal role that the contact center can play in nurturing customer relationships by providing better service. So while efficiency is important to organizations, Gartner’s survey of CEOs and senior business executives found that their priorities in the contact center reflect this evolution. Here are the top five responses:
• Retaining customers and enhancing existing relationships
• Maintaining competitive advantage
• Attracting new customers
• Attracting and retaining skilled workers/talent
• Reducing costs via better efficiency
Clearly, companies understand that better service can both increase revenue and be a competitive differentiator. Based on the last two priorities, survey respondents also acknowledge the importance of an efficient, productive workforce to a successful contact center operation.
Setting priorities is one thing; enabling the contact center with the right tools and capabilities to achieve them is another. One challenge is that consumers have rapidly adopted new communication channels such as text messaging, e-mail, and social media, forcing contact centers to become more nimble and responsive. In addition, instant access to online information has increased consumer expectations for what the contact center should be able to deliver.
As a result, contact centers must adopt strategies to improve agent productivity and resource allocation. Fortunately, platforms and software can empower contact centers by delivering critical functionality in three key areas:
Driving effective interactions. The bottom line is that every customer interaction needs to be successful. With access to the right information and experts, contact centers can dramatically increase first-contact resolution, sales, promises to pay, and customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Controlling personnel costs. Through better resource management, the contact center can reduce overstaffing, improve contact handle time, and increase employee adherence to scheduling.
Enabling dynamic decision making. When a contact center has the ability to recognize business patterns proactively, it can resolve issues before they become major problems. And by consolidating vital business information into a single view, agents can gauge progress in attaining goals.
When a contact center performs well across these three areas, it becomes more effective and more efficient—and can directly boost revenues and profits.
Improving the way companies communicate internally and externally with their customers is an important objective for all organizations. This blog is focused on levaraging the collective knowledge withing Aspect.