Workforce Optimization Trends

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1 Workforce Optimization Trends

2 Survey Summary Between May and August 2016, Gatepoint Research invited selected Workforce Management executives to participate in a survey themed Workforce Optimization Trends. Candidates were invited via and 100 executives have participated to date. Management levels represented are predominantly senior decision makers: 7% hold the title CxO, 20% are VPs, 43% are Directors, and 27% are Managers. Survey participants represent firms from a wide variety of industries including business services, financial services, retail trade, general manufacturing, healthcare, telecom services, utilities, wholesale trade, and high tech manufacturing. Responders work for firms with a wide range of revenue levels: 56% work in Fortune 1000 companies with revenues over $1.5 billion; 18% work in Large firms whose revenues are between $500 million and $1.5 billion; 4% work in Mid-Market firms with $250 million to $500 million in revenues; 22% work in Small companies with less than $250 million in revenues. 100% of responders participated voluntarily; none were engaged using telemarketing.

3 Executive Overview Workforce Optimization (WFO) solutions provide the tools companies need to manage and optimize their contact centers, from improving employee performance to analyzing customer satisfaction and more efficiently schedule their agents. This survey focuses on workforce management (WFM) and performance management, two applications found in many WFO solutions suites. The survey asks respondents to report: What matters to them - why did they chose the WFM they are currently using? Are they using a WFM vendor solution or spreadsheet? What do they use a solution to accomplish (for example, to do back-office analytics)? What metrics do they use to determine agent performance? Can they easily gather this data? What are their contact center goals in the near future? How can a WFO solution boost their competitiveness?

4 Do you currently use a Workforce Management (WFM) solution or a spreadsheet? Excel 33% WFM solution 67% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Workforce Management: a variety of solutions. 33% use spreadsheets; 67% use WFM software solutions. However, in firms with fewer agents there is a greater tendency to depend on spreadsheets - 45% of them report using spreadsheets versus 27% of the larger firms. The leading 6 WFM solutions comprise the 67% of vendors reported by respondents.

5 How many agents are in your contact center? 30% 25% 28% 20% 21% 21% 15% 18% 10% 12% 5% 0% Fewer than to to to or more Contact centers by the numbers. 21% of respondents report less than 50 agents in their Summary contact centers; Results 28% October have 2016 over 1,000 agents.

6 Please indicate the key reason(s) you chose your WFM solution. 60% 50% 54% 40% 30% 36% 35% 33% 32% 20% 20% 10% 0% Product features Product cost Product reliability Product integration General convenience N/A 4% Cloud based What matters in a WFM solution? Respondents overwhelmingly indicate product features are the primary influence in their WFM choice (54%), overshadowing the importance of product Summary cost (36%) Results and other October seemingly 2016 important factors.

7 Do you use any Workforce Optimization (WFO) solutions to help manage your back office automation? No, but we're interested in knowing how 7% Yes 32% No 61% WFO in the back office. Among all respondents 32% of those surveyed say a WFO solution Summary helps manage Results their October back 2016 office automation.

8 Which of the following present significant challenges in managing agent performance in your contact center(s)? Coaching effectiveness Agent accountability Measuring productivity Obtaining actionable performance data Measuring skill level Supervisor accountability 35% 34% 34% 45% 44% 43% Engaging millennials Managing remote agents 30% 29% Measuring compliance 26% Agents unable to self-correct 13% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Measures of success. In determining agent performance, respondents have problems with critical management criteria such as the effectiveness of coaching (45%), agent accountability Summary (44%), and Results measuring October productivity 2016 (43%).

9 Which KPIs are most important in your contact center? Customer satisfaction 75% First call resolution (FCR) 50% Utilization (optimized schedule) 39% Average handle time 34% Schedule adherence 29% Occupancy After call work (ACW) Revenue per call (RPC) 20% 19% 22% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Customer satisfaction is #1. 75% of respondents rate customer satisfaction as Summary their primary Results gauge October contact 2016 center performance.

10 What are your top contact center goals in the next months? Improve agent performance 67% Increase automation of processes 52% Accelerate employee onboarding 47% Reduce agent churn 43% Improve supervisor performance Consolidate reporting 36% 39% Reduce hiring costs Deliver relevant training material Adapt to Millennial work style 22% 25% 27% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Top goals: performance, automation, hiring. To enhance customer satisfaction, respondents seek to improve their agents performance (67%), automate more (52%), and Summary accelerate Results employee October training 2016 (47%).

11 How much of a unique competitive advantage can the following WFO solutions contribute to your organization? Quality management 71% Performance management 70% Workforce management 60% Desktop analytics 56% Speech analytics 47% Gamification 31% Robotic automation 30% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% WFO competitive advantages. Respondents believe that the applications in the WFO suite that give them a competitive advantage are Quality Management (71%), Performance Management (70%) and their Workforce Management (60%)

12 What is your preferred application hosting environment for any new WFO applications that you would be deploying for the first time at your organization in the next 12 to 18 months? Cloud 36% N/A, we do not intend to deploy any new WFO applications in the next 12 to 18 months 25% On premise 17% No preference 14% Hybrid 8% Where to host new WFO apps? Thinking ahead, 36% of respondents plan to host new apps on the Summary cloud, compared Results to October 17% planning 2016 to host on premise.

13 When choosing a unified WFO solution from a single vendor, how important are the following? Not at all important Somewhat important Very important Common user interface (UI) across products 7% 29% 61% Cost savings 5% 32% 61% Cross-product reporting 11% 30% 57% Common technology platform (e.g., database technology) 8% 36% 52% Cross-product workflows (e.g., schedule QM coaching using WFM) 11% 38% 49% Cross-product Integration 11% 40% 47% Single services and support 10% 45% 43% A unified WFO solution provides greater value than point solutions. Asked to rate the importance of various aspects of a prospective unified WFO solution, a common user interface across products, cost savings and cross-product reporting topped the very important category.

14 Profile of Responders: Industry Sectors BUSINESS SERVICES 28% MFG - HIGH TECH 5% TELECOM SERVICES 7% WHOLESALE TRADE 5% UTILITIES 4% FINANCIAL SERVICES 29% HEALTHCARE 6% MFG - GENERAL 6% RETAIL TRADE 10% A wide range of industry sectors participated in the survey.

15 Profile of Responders: Revenue <$250 million 22% $ million 4% $500 million - $1.5 billion 18% >$1.5billion 56% 56% of responders work in Fortune 1000 companies Summary with over Results $1.5 billion October in revenue. 2016

16 Profile of Responders: Job Level CxO, 7% VP, 20% Director, 43% Manager, 27% 70% of responders hold executive positions in their organizations.

17 NICE s WFO Solution Suite optimizes operational performance, improves customer experience and retention and empowers agents to performance their best. With more than 25,000 customers, NICE is a recognized leader in the WFO market. The WFO suite is backed by global service and support and business consulting teams of experts that will help you to meet your goals. For more information, visit