We talk a lot about outcomes. A focus on outcomes tends to intensify as things trend very good or very bad. We like to think leadership, culture, economy, and decision-making as the primary drivers of outcomes and results. Rarely do we equate process with results for some reason. Process isn’t action; it’s glacial. Process isn’t fun, or intuitive, or on a whim. Papers get processed. Requests get processed. We take time to process things. Process is waiting. And yet, process is trying to consistently take all the best information you can and consistently make good decisions.    ..read more

As vaccines roll out and the world continues to adjust to COVID-19, how can your workforce management team plan for use of your contact center facilities to meet all applicable state safety restrictions, provide confidence to staff who may be reluctant to return to a facility, while at the same time provide records of employee workspace assignments for each moment over time to assist in contact tracing if that becomes a necessity? In addition to complying with all relevant restrictions, it is also important to have a plan that can be clearly communicated, simple to follow, and is visible ..read more

Now that we’ve introduced the Aspect WFM Benefits Calculator, we want to zero in a bit on the key areas that impact your business: your people, your processes and the technologies deployed. The calculator is designed to place an estimated dollar amount on improvements to schedule adherence, occupancy rate, shrinkage rate and agent attrition; so naturally, the first place to start is with your people.   Your business is built on customer collaboration. Better and more efficient interaction is the defining characteristic of your business model as well as your engagement, and growth st ..read more

  In the recent past, if you really wanted to, you could run a business without Workforce Management tools. It wouldn’t be easy; you’d be extremely frustrated, probably work 80-hour weeks, and have a lot of operational inefficiencies — and you might only save some money. In 2021, that no longer applies. Any organization that is considering enterprise level software now must employ a WFM strategy and platform. In a post–COVID business world, the cost of not doing business efficiently is enormous while the benefits are just as substantial.  We already know that WFM tools can facilitat ..read more

“Anyone can lead when the plan is working. The best lead when the plan falls apart.” – Robin Sharma I ran across this quote the other day and it stopped me in my tracks.  This is exactly where we were collectively a year ago.  I remember how pumped I was about the plan my team and I had set out to achieve in 2020.  Our mission was simple, we were going “old school”, the mandate was: invest in programs and activities that would result in our people shaking hands and sitting down face–to–face with our customers and prospects.  It sounded like such a great plan in January of ..read more

In the post-COVID-19 era, how can your workforce management team plan for use of your contact center facilities to meet all applicable state safety restrictions, provide confidence to staff who may be reluctant to return to a facility, while at the same time provide records of employee workspace assignments for each moment over time to assist in contact tracing if that becomes a necessity? In addition to complying with all relevant restrictions, it is also important to have a plan that can be clearly communicated, simple to follow, and is visible to help make employees more confident so that ..read more

Aspect Workforce Management (WFM) has been a leader in the contact center workforce management industry for decades and we plan to keep it that way.  In July, we’re releasing version 20 of our flagship WFM solution.  Full of powerful new features, it will make the job of the workforce planner and the employee even easier and more efficient — especially in the work-from-home environment.   Join us on June 11th for the next session in our ASUGA webinar series, See What’s New with Aspect Workforce Management  Attend this session to learn about the exciting new featu ..read more

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela  This statement has never been truer. The world we knew just a few short months ago is changing before our eyes.  The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to think without boundaries.  They have relied on lessons learned from historic events and are also using the education they witness each day. We’ve all had to react in ways we never thought possible. Our customers are at the forefront of the changes brought on by the pandemic and we are right there with them.  Walking and work ..read more

It’s a brave new world for contact centers in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.  In a recent survey of contact centers by Aspect, we found that about 70% of agents were “work-from-home” as of April 16, and a recent Gartner poll of CFOs indicates that 74% think telecommuting will become permanent.  Our customers are telling us that agents are actually more productive at home than in a centralized contact center.  With agents largely working out of their houses, there’s an entirely new dynamic in the air with new priorities for both contact center managers and agents.  While ..read more

Up until now, we have largely discussed ways to help agents with workforce optimization tools and processes. Agents on the front line are in a rapid shift and require most initial focus. But when agents move from a centralized location to a distributed environment and the very culture of the organization is in flux, many of the existing workforce management (WFM)  assumptions and parameters should be re-examined. This falls on our organizational management teams to assist our front line. As we review these crucial elements, it’s important to remember that while productivity can be measur ..read more