workforce management - icmi @ dreamforce 2010 handout - brent haferkamp

©2010 International Customer Management Institute. All Rights Reserved. icmi.com I 800.672.6177

Brent HaferkampSenior Consultant, ICMI

Workforce Management: Are we doing the right things?

Doing things right?


Today’s Agenda

• What is WFM?

• Where are you now?

• What should my team look like?

• How can we tell if they are doing a good job?

• Can we get the rest of the center on board?


What Is Workforce Management?

The process of forecasting the workload and applying the appropriate resources to handle that

workload at service level1. Workload includes inbound calls, outbound calls, emails,

web chats, faxes, mail, etc.

2. Appropriate is important because you have to include all the factors that pull your agents from the phones and/or production work

3. Service Level – The basis for inbound call center staffing, but also includes response time objectives (email) and productivity (outbound)


Forecasting

Staffing

Scheduling

ReportingReal-time mgmt

Data Administration

Reports

Long Term

Short Term

Long Term/ Budget

Proactive

Reactive

Shrinkage

Methods


Where Are You Now?


WFM Maturity Grid

5 Stages…You tell us…

0. Non Existent (N/A) Not doing it

1. Emerging (EMG) Trying to do it

2. Intermediate (INT) Doing the basics

3. Advanced (ADV) Doing advanced stuff

4. Mastery (MAS) Doing it right!


WFM Maturity Categories

• Reporting

– Data Administration

– Reports

• Forecasting

– Long and Short Term

• Staffing

– Long Term/Budget

• Scheduling

– Methods

– Shrinkage

• Real Time Management

– Proactive

– Reactive


Data Administration0. N/A

1. EMG

2. INT

3. ADV

4. MAS

Do not manage rosters, calls and ACW

Rosters inaccurate, difficulty counting calls

and ACW

Good call counting, rosters, and ACW but

difficulty managing changes

Consistent use of phone modes, calls counted

accurately, rosters effectively managed in major

systems

Full and effective integration between all

systems that affect call center and other

departments


Reporting0. N/A

1. EMG

2. INT

3. ADV

4. MAS

Do not look at numbers

Use basic ACD reporting, creates some custom

reports but have data or calculation errors

Creates custom reports from main call center

systems with occasional data, definition or

calculation errors

Using a database to consolidate data and

generate reports. Agreed upon definitions and

calculations

Has fully implemented report change control

process


1. Data Administration

2. Reporting

Where Are You Now?Post-Assessment

Any surprises?


Long and Short Term Forecasting0. N/A

1. EMG

2. INT

3. ADV

4. MAS

Not currently forecasting

Let the WFM system do it, or use a “same as last

week” model

Actively cleans data for major anomalies, basic event or

driver planning and evaluates forecast performance at

monthly or daily level

Cleans data at the interval level, uses complex models to

forecast and has dialogue with departments that effect

forecasting

Uses statistical methods to clean data, forecast and

evaluate forecast performance. Has a clearly defined

forecasting process and accountabilities, measures

accuracy at the interval level and is proactively engaged

regarding forecasts by all other departments


1. Long and Short Term Forecasting


Any surprises?


Staffing: Long Term/Budget Planning0. N/A

1. EMG

2. INT

3. ADV

4. MAS

WFM team not involved in budget planning

Using calls per hour or production based

methods

Using service level and set shrinkage

percentage to demonstrate center capacity but

plans to not meet service level

Has collaborative process that clearly identifies

different types of shrinkage and plans to meet

service level in all months

Ties results into customer experience and

validates results with payroll hours


1. Staffing: Long Term/Budget Planning


Any surprises?


Scheduling0. N/A

1. EMG

2. INT

3. ADV

4. MAS

Schedules created/maintained by supervisor or manager

Manually building schedules based on “seat of pants” feel

of busy periods. Little or no off-phone work scheduling

Possess Erlang based WFM tools, but scheduling not tied

to workload. Schedules are generated based on employee

preference or cost-basis.

Scheduling based on interval workload and agent

availability preferences. Scheduling off-phone work and

have balanced net staffing results. Accounting for

shrinkage factors

Different schedules sets for seasonality, continual

tweaking for events and hiring/attrition, adherence

reviewed regularly and used to improve future schedule;

balance of interval service level and employee satisfaction


1. Scheduling


Any surprises?


Real Time Management0. N/A

1. EMG

2. INT

3. ADV

4. MAS

Utilizes escalation plans based on call thresholds,

monitoring real-time, but majority of focus is future intervals

and making adjustments to ensure target performance for

future intervals

All off-phone work is scheduled, beginning to focus on

future intervals, however real-time “fire fighting” is still

taking up large amount of time

Do not monitor real time performance

“Calls in queue” focused, react when calls are in queue,

but not much focus when there are no calls in queue

Focus on adherence in the current interval, most off-

phone activity not scheduled, so time spent “hunting

down” people


1. Real Time Management


Any surprises?


What Should My Team Look Like?


Workforce Management Team Sizes

• Overall ratio: 1 WFM per 45-60 agents

• Factors that complicate that…

– Number of forecast groups

– Number of groups to staff

– Complexity of workload

– Amount of automation/self service

– Bizarre business rules

– Number of sites


WFM Structure

WFM LeaderTactical- Long Term Plan

Strategic- Enterprise Integration and Consistency

Accountability- Long Term Staffing and GOS

Forecasting

T-Interval FCST

S-Long Term FCST

A-Forecast Accuracy

Scheduling

T-Schedule all shifts

S- Shrinkage

A-Planned GOS

RTM

T-Proactive planning

S-Real Time Reaction Plan

A-Actual GOS (shared with

Management)

Reporting

T-Operational Reporting

S-Data Administration

A-Report effectiveness


Workforce Management Job DescriptionsWorkforce

Management

Leader

Forecaster Scheduler Real-Time Manager Reporting

Administrator

Team’s primary

contact for WFM-

related issues with

other departments

Collects & stores

historical data.

Cleans &

documents data

Generates

schedules using

forecasts

Maintains daily

roster changes for

non-discretionary

instances

Produces & presents

WFM reports on a

regular basis:

Forecast Accuracy,

Financial Service

Level & Agent

Coordinates training

and cross-training

on the WFM team

Researches

forecast drivers

Assigns

schedules to

agents

Plans & schedules

events like

meetings, training &

vacation

Ensures availability of

raw data flow from

system to forecaster,

forecaster to

scheduler, etc.

Establishes &

reports on goals &

milestones for WFM

team

Generates

forecasts: interval,

daily, weekly,

&quarterly/annual

basis; re-forecasts

if/when needed

Regularly

optimizes breaks

and lunches

Optimizes net

staffing with

overtime and flexible

scheduling

Reviews forecast

accuracy

Maintains

schedule roster

changes due to

attrition/hiring

Manages schedule

adherence


WFM Role Banding

Report Developers

Report Clerks

RTM Data Admin

Schedulers

Forecasters


1. They must be math geeks

2. Your supervisors can run the system themselves

3. They can train their replacements

4. Hire the person with Excel experience

5. You learn everything you need to know in the initial training

6. The system can do it all for you!

7. You only need 1 Administrator

WFM Hiring/Training : Myth or Fact?

They are all myths!


Hiring Workforce Managers

– Loves numbers

– Is sensitive to people

– Leads from within

– Fosters mutual respect

– Appreciates collaboration

– Values the opinions of others

– Is by nature a detailed, analytical planner

What makes a good workforce manager?


Hiring Process

1. Provide them with some “clean” data (not too clean but not crazy bad either); ask them to create forecast and

2. Provide actual (after you get the forecast) Have them create a presentation of Forecast and result

3. Conduct live presentation

*Important note: Always check with and get Human Resources involved prior to implementing any new hiring/screening process


How Can We Tell If They Are Doing A Good Job?


WFM KPIsBusiness Need KPI Definition Sample Goals

Forecast

Accuracy

IAP- Interval

Accuracy

Percentage

Percent of intervals

within +/- given

percent

80% of intervals

within +/- 10%

Scheduling

Effectiveness

Scheduled SL

by Interval

Percent of intervals at

end of schedule

process that project

within goal range

80% of intervals

with predicted SL

between 75%-

95%

Service Level

Performance

Actual SL by

Interval

Percent of intervals at

end of day within goal

range

80% of intervals

with SL between

75%-95%

Long Term

Planning

Effectiveness

Workload

Percentage

of Payroll

Hours

Workload hours

divided by Payroll

hours (incl. OT)

45%-55%


Create A Dashboard

• A Good Start: Create an internal dashboard for your WFM team and review it on a monthly basis

• A Great Finish: Integrate and communicate with other parts of the organization!


How Do We Get The Rest Of The Organization On Board?


Balancing the System and the People

• Variable start times

• Flexible hours per day

• Flexible days per week

• Flexible breaks and lunches

• Off phone time planned around workload

• Exceptions in advance

• Consistent schedule stat/stop

• Breaks and lunches with friends

• Weekends off

• Guaranteed hours

• Ability to switch when they want

• Consistent meeting times

WFM System Wants Agent Wants


Where Is WFM in the Big Picture?

1. The Final Authority– Creates a nasty, calls-per-hour culture

– Results in an unbalanced focus on efficiency

2. The Disenfranchised Guru –suggestions on what to do if you know everything, but no one is listening

3. System Administrators – danger

ahead


Where Is WFM in the Big Picture?

4. Balanced Workforce Management

“Plan it … prove it!”


Top 10 Pitfalls To Avoid

1. Trying to do too much, too fast, too soon

2. Viewing WFM software as THE answer to all our challenges

3. Forgetting the human element

4. Isolating the WFM team from the rest of the center and the organization

5. Not communicating the WIIFM


Top 10 Pitfalls To Avoid

6. Backdating exceptions and focusing on “catching agents”

7. Not measuring and reporting on the WFM function

8. Having the wrong people in the roles.

9. Wrong tools, processes, methods, models

10. Don’t know what we don’t know…doing what we’ve always done


Try something new!

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got.“

- Anonymous


Thank you!


Sites/tools mentioned during the presentation and/or Q&A…

• www.erlang.co.uk - FREE Erlang add-in for MS Excel (the “erlang97.zip” works for all versions of Excel [97 and newer])

• EZForecaster - Forecasting add-in for MS Excel www.ezforecaster.com

• ICMI - www.icmi.com

• cc-Modeler - www.kooltoolz.com

• Pipkins - Cloud based WFM solution www.pipkins.com

http://www.erlang.co.uk/

http://www.ezforecaster.com/

http://www.icmi.com/

http://www.kooltoolz.com/

http://www.pipkins.com/


ICMI102 South Tejon Street, Suite 1200Colorado Springs, CO 80903 US

US and Canada: (800) 672-6177Brent Haferkamp: [email protected]

icmi.com

Copyright © 2010 International Customer Management Institute (ICMI).All rights reserved.

ICMI assumes no liability for error or omission.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the International Customer Management Institute (ICMI), with the exception of trade publications reporting on the data. In such cases, credit must be given to ICMI.

The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) is a registered trademark of United Business Media Limited in the United States and other countries. ICMI is a part of UBM Live, a division of United Business Media Limited.

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workforce management - icmi @ dreamforce 2010 handout - brent haferkamp

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