Page 15 - July August 2014

July/August 2014 Telecom Reseller 15
How At-Home Agents Have Changed

Holiday and Vacation Scheduling

W
ebb
with more than ity agents the best option is
planning just got easier. he At-Home Agent to accommodate staing requirements based on
to utilize a vacation planning module available model allows agents to pick and choose blocks business needs
Bob Webb, Pipkins, Inc.
with advanced workforce scheduling systems.
of time in which they can build their own shits l Create schedules in blocks of time to
HAn automated vacation planning system that allows agents to submit requests electronically according to established company rules and staing requirements.
accommodate both the center as well as their personal needs
istorically, vacation and holiday relieves the burden on supervisors and increases Brick and mortar centers ofer a limited agent
scheduling has been a universal scheduling accuracy and eiciency. However, the Agent scheduling has evolved with the at- pool and scheduling can be tricky when trying to
problem for contact centers due to last
optimum scheduling solution is to have access
home model and agents have more control over balance organizational needs and service levels.
minute staing issues that require supervisors to to enough agents to accommodate any scenario their work/life balance resulting in improved Remote agents can be located anywhere in the
create and distribute new intra-day schedules and requiring agent lexibility and availability.
morale and eiciency. Self-scheduling sotware country and are available for hard-to-ill time
handle overtime needs.
he At-Home Agent model has dramatically tools allow agents to:
slots, enabling contact centers to ofer extended
his places centers at risk for being changed contact centers, including agent l Schedule through an easy agent self-service hours or accommodate non-traditional operating
temporarily understafed and can negatively scheduling. With technology now enabling scheduling tool
hours.
afect daily service levels. For contact centers
agents to self-schedule, vacation and holiday
l Use a checkout method for self-scheduling
Supervisors also beneit from the At-Home
Agent model. While supervisors are still
responsible for setting business rules and
establishing staing needs, agent self-scheduling
tools eliminate the need to limit agent time
of. With an unlimited remote agent pool,
supervisors have:
l Various conigurations of scheduling
options
l Simpliied staing for special events,
holidays, and vacations by remote agents with lexible schedules
Accommodation for spikes in call volume
l on short notice by remote agents, ensuring
holiday luctuations are fully stafed
he scheduling process ensures rules speciic
to organizational needs are met, including break
and lunch times, hours worked, and any other
speciic needs
Intra-day optimization is also simpliied with
agent self-scheduling. When agents cannot
ill their allotted time slots, supervisors can
notify remote agents and receive help without
disruption to service levels. Last-minute
schedule changes and overtime requests can
be sent to agents’ computer screens via pop-
up messages. Supervisors can quickly review HELPING YOU GET THERE. GREATAMERICA.
current-day staing, update forecasts, and
recalculate staing needs for the day through
an intra-day analysis and forecasting function, with conidence that staing needs will be
accommodated by at-home agents.
While sotware tools are available for helping
increase agent control over schedules, the
At-Home Model supersedes sotware solutions
ofered to on-site agents. Remote agents can
create schedules unique to their availability.
Schedules can be segmented throughout the day
and vary on a daily basis.
he At-home Agent model creates a win-win GreatAmerica is committed to helping you achieve greater
situation for both agents and supervisors and ills success by providing inancing solutions and complementary
intrinsic needs of agents who desire more control
over their schedules. he value of an unlimited business services.
agent pool is well documented and companies
are experiencing cost savings as well as increased
morale and lower agent turnover rates. Issues • Innovative commercial equipment inancing solutions from the largest
such as holiday and vacation planning that used private independent small-ticket equipment inance company in the U.S.
to present a scheduling nightmare have become a
thing of the past with the use of at-home agents.
• Expertise to help you implement, inance, bill, and monitor your
About Pipkins
managed services: voice, print, and IT
Pipkins, Inc. is a leading supplier of workforce
management sotware and services to the call • Fast and lexible inancing from a dedicated team of communications
center industry. Vantage Point, Pipkins’ premier
product, is the most accurate forecasting and and IT professionals
scheduling tool on the market. Pipkins’ @
HomeVantage gives organizations the ability to
efectively manage their agents and can be used
with Vantage Point or integrated into another
workforce management system to leverage
existing technology.
Pipkins’ systems forecast and schedule more
than 300,000 agents in over 500 locations across
all industries worldwide.
www.greatamerica.com | 888.307.2641
n For more information, visit www.Pipkins.com.

p1-28_TR_July/August_2014.indd 15
20/08/2014 22:05