Connor Bourke, CEO of Optima WFM, a leading provider of managed WFM services, returns with his second guest blog for Calabrio this week. Connor explores the 22 signs that your company is in need of a WFM solution.

A successful contact centre can’t run on uncertainty or guess work. ‘That’s just the way it is’ doesn’t have to be a reason to stay the same and miss the opportunity for improvement. If you have ever said, heard or thought any of the below, maybe it’s time to start your WFM search:

1. “Hiring decision are based upon gut feel and knee jerk reactions, or simply replacing attrition – not on future forecasts of demand and our ability to meet that demand.”
2. “Our standard response to missing service levels is to simply hire more staff.”
3. “I applied for leave, I thought it was approved” or “I am not supposed to be scheduled on Friday” are common explanations for absenteeism.
4. “I thought I was supposed to start at 9” is a common explanation for coming to work late.
5. The answer to “How many staff do we require”, “How many did we schedule” or “How many do we actually have on the phone” is “not sure.”
6. “We can’t explain why the service level was missed on Monday.”
7. “Our shrinkage, AHT and occupancy targets are based more on guesswork than analysis.”
8. “Service levels vary greatly within the day and from day to day.”
9. “Our schedules are determined more by when employees want to work than when they are needed.”
10. “Some employees love their schedules, others hate them.”
11. “All our staff are full time because we have never really considered part time staff.”
12. “Whenever our employees or management ask us to do something different we cannot tell what the impact will be on service levels.”
13. “Coaching sessions are always being cancelled due to high volume.”
14. “Whenever we have training or team meetings the call queue blows out.”
15. “We are always in ‘all hands on deck’ mode.”
16. “Employees are always complaining that their schedules are being changed.”
17. “Supervisors cannot coach agents because their schedules are not aligned.”
18. “We have 3 people on the night shift because that is how many we have always had.”
19. “We looked at getting serious about WFM – but we feel it is too expensive.”
20. “We spend all this time on creating a plan but we have no idea if anyone follows it.”
21. “Payroll is always wrong because we don’t know who was in the centre at what time.”
22. “We paid a lot of money for this software but nothing improved.”

If one or more of the above seem familiar, WFM can provide the solution, one that will cost you less, not more, and will improve the performance of your contact centre, as well as improve employee morale.