Using Agent Idle Time to Improve Enterprise Performance and Profitability Sponsored By:

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1 to Improve Enterprise Performance and Profitability Sponsored By: 2011 DMG Consulting LLC March 2011

2 Table of Contents Introduction... 1 What are Real-Time Work Allocation Solutions?... 1 Ideal Contact Center Fill-In Work... 2 Best Practices for Optimizing Agent Idle Time... 4 Financial, Operational and Practical Benefits... 5 Final Thoughts DMG Consulting LLC - i - September 2011

3 Introduction After more than 25 years of doing things pretty much the same way in contact centers, new technology and applications are enabling dramatic improvements in service delivery at the same time as they are reducing agent downtime. From a productivity and efficiency perspective, it makes sense to have a team of people dedicated to handling customer inquiries the contact center staff. But, just because they are highly trained contact center agents does not mean that they shouldn t be used to handle other work activities when call volume is low. Agents are often outstanding at handling a variety of operational tasks that are related to the very broad base of knowledge required in many contact centers. And agents are often quick on the uptake because they are already somewhat familiar with many of the processes, as their primary job is to answer questions related to them. Even in the busiest and most efficiently staffed contact centers there will always be downtime due to variability in the arrival rate of calls. This downtime is a costly waste of highly trained and valuable resources for enterprises, and annoying for agents, who prefer to be kept busy. A growing number of leading contact centers are putting their agents to work during idle time. They are using an emerging set of workflow-enabled applications to identify agent downtime and deliver work items and tasks to fill those idle periods. These emerging solutions are helping to speed up and reduce the cost of processing. Additionally, for a contact center that uses predominantly full-time agents, real-time work allocation solutions allow managers to make better use of these resources. What are Real-Time Work Allocation Solutions? New applications and solutions are being introduced into contact centers to change the way that business has traditionally been conducted. Managers are rolling out a variety of workflow and analytics-enabled applications to improve the productivity, effectiveness and overall performance of their organizations. A real-time work allocation solution is a workflow-enabled, real-time work delivery tool that identifies agent downtime, assigns work to fill in the gap, and keeps track of the process. See Figure 1. Here s how these applications work. The process starts with managers identifying work types that are appropriate for contact center agents to address during idle time. The work distribution engine looks at current agent availability, agent schedules, and projected call volumes. It then decides what work to allocate to each available agent. Agents then complete assigned non-phone work when they are not busy handling calls, and the activity is tracked using dashboards and reports DMG Consulting LLC September 2011

4 Figure 1: Real-Time Work Allocation Solution Decision Criteria Work Allocation Process Work Queue Management / Oversight Current agent availability status Agent schedules Near-term forecasted call volume Work Distribution Engine Reports Dashboards Alerts Agent 1 Agent 2 Agent 10 Completed work Item Completed work Item Completed work Item Source: DMG Consulting LLC, September 2011 Ideal Contact Center Fill-In Work Most contact center agents know a great deal about what happens throughout their organization because of the training they receive and the inquiries they handle. The idea is to build on this knowledge by cross-training agents to handle work items that have traditionally been the responsibility of other groups or departments. Some of these work items are a logical extension of contact center responsibilities, such as the addition of new channels and outbound interactions. Others are outside of what has classically been considered the purview of contact centers, but are ideal for this type of short-term fill-in work. See Figure DMG Consulting LLC September 2011

5 Figure 2: Ideal Fill-In Work Types New Contract Center Channels Handling s Handling faxes Handling paper correspondence Handling media interactions Outbound Interactions Outbound surveys Outbound welcome calls Outbound account retention calls Transaction Processing Application review and approval credit cards, revolving loans, insurance policies, health care policies, etc. Opening new accounts all types Purchase orders RMAs Accounts Receivable Source: DMG Consulting LLC, September 2011 The work types identified in Figure 2 are ideal for contact center agents to handle during idle time because they have the following characteristics: 1. Agents need to be able to start, stop and continue working on the item 2. Each work item should take no more than 5 to 10 minutes 3. Agents should not need to get out of their seats to do the work 4. Agents should be able to complete each work item without engaging in conversations with other staff 5. Agents should not need constant re-training to do the work 2011 DMG Consulting LLC September 2011

6 In addition to these characteristics, the fill-in work should also meet these delivery guidelines: 1. There should be a continuous flow of work to the contact center 2. There should be a sufficient volume of each work type to justify the cost of training contact center staff 3. Work sent to the contact center must not require immediate turnaround Best Practices for Optimizing Agent Idle Time For a real-time work allocation solution to achieve its objectives and be well received by agents, it s important to do more than just send agents the right work types. The list of best practices in Figure 3 provides guidelines for rolling out a successful program for productively using agent idle time. Of course, it s always a good idea to start with a pilot and fix any issues before doing a complete roll-out of the program. Figure 3: Best Practices for Optimizing Agent Idle Time Best Practices for Optimizing Agent Idle Time Deliver work when transaction volume is low and expected to continue that way Deliver and return work on an automated basis Create a mechanism to track, account for and report on non-call work activities Get buy-in from supervisors and managers before rolling out the new program Do not require agents to have to look for and pull physical files Train agents to handle the new functions Enhance the QA program to address the new work types, in addition to traditional contact center interactions Ask for volunteers to take on the additional responsibilities Ensure that agents master their contact center job before expanding their responsibilities Recognize agents for taking on additional responsibility Pay agents extra for doing extra work Solicit ongoing feedback from agents on what does and does not work Source: DMG Consulting LLC, September DMG Consulting LLC September 2011

7 Financial, Operational and Practical Benefits When managed properly, a real-time work allocation solution will deliver the right types of work to agents to complete during idle time and will be a major boost to agent satisfaction, work quality and overall productivity. All of these benefits contribute to an enterprise s bottom line. Here s how it works: Agents, like most employees, prefer a steady stream of work, and most agents prefer to be hired on a full-time basis. A realtime work allocation solution smoothes unexpected agent downtime by assigning nonphone work tasks to agents at a pace that keeps them busy without being a burden. As previously reflected, these work items can be put aside easily when call volume increases. Figure 4 shows the financial, contact center, management and agent-related benefits of these new work allocation solutions. While enterprises are going to use them because they reduce operating costs while improving customer satisfaction, the fact remains that they will also be well received by agents and supervisors, as long as they are implemented together with best practices. Figure 4: Benefits of Real-Time Work Allocation Solutions Source: DMG Consulting LLC, September DMG Consulting LLC September 2011

8 Final Thoughts DMG expects to see significant changes in contact center operations and systems during the next 5 years, as innovation gives executives new opportunities and tools for improving the performance of these people-intensive organizations. There will continue to be great advantages in having a team of people dedicated to handling customer inquiries, but due to variability in the arrival rate of phone calls, there will also always be unexpected downtime, even in the best managed contact centers. It makes financial sense to take advantage of this idle time with fill-in work that agents can comfortably complete at their desks with a minimal amount of training, as long as there is an automated method for allocating and managing this workload. Workflow-enabled realtime work allocation solutions enable managers to fill the void with work tasks that agents can address effectively, giving them an opportunity to expand their knowledge base and keep busy. While these solutions reduce operating and processing costs, their benefits are also a plus for agents and customers DMG Consulting LLC September 2011

9 About Intradiem Intradiem is the leader in intraday automation solutions for multi-channel contact centers. Intradiem s customers achieve an invincible customer experience with a real-time workforce by automating manual processes such as intraday task management, intraday staffing, reskilling, channel balancing, and real-time alerts. Intradiem empowers an immediate and consistent response to unpredictable events and changing conditions, resulting in labor savings, improved employee performance and a better overall customer experience. More than 200,000 contact center, field service, retail, bank branch, and back office employees around the world use Intradiem s solution every day. About DMG Consulting DMG Consulting is the leading provider of contact center and analytics research, market analysis and consulting services. DMG s mission is to help end users build world-class, differentiated contact centers and assist vendors in developing high-value solutions for the market. DMG devotes more than 10,000 hours annually to researching various segments of the contact center market, including vendors, solutions, technologies, best practices, and the benefits and ROI for end users. DMG is an independent firm that provides information and consulting services to contact center management, the financial and investment community, and vendors in the market. More information about DMG Consulting can be found at DMG Consulting LLC September 2011