Discover the power of workforce management

A glimpse into the World of Forecasting & Planning at Cloudoe

Every contact center manager knows that creating an Excel schedule based on a forecast for multi-skilled employees is already quite challenging. This becomes even more complex in an omnichannel environment where, besides voice interactions, other channels such as email, chat, and social media also need to be considered. Where Excel falls short, Workforce Management (WFM) provides a solution. A WFM system not only unlocks the technical value of forecasting and planning, contributing to operational efficiency, but also provides insight into employee adherence and real-time monitoring. This enables more effective staffing optimization.

Analyzing, evaluating, and excelling are becoming the norm, and WFM shows the way.

Today, Wendy Waasdorp gives us a brief look into the world of WFM. With more than 25 years of international Workforce Management consultancy and implementation experience across various sectors, Wendy can empathize with and adapt to the customer. For those unfamiliar with WFM within a contact center environment; Workforce Management is a combination of processes that optimally coordinate capacity demand and the availability of multi-skilled employees. By deploying the right people at the right time, you optimize customer service efficiency, leading to more satisfied customers.

Moreover, forecasting the various incoming interactions is essential. This not only provides insight into the workload, work distribution, and any understaffing or overstaffing of employees, but also offers the ability to quickly respond to unforeseen and changing circumstances through real-time monitoring functionalities.

Wendy also emphasizes the importance of balancing employee scheduling requirements with customer experience. "It has always been a challenge to keep employees satisfied with their desired availability while incorporating some schedule flexibility to ensure timely and expert customer interactions. After all, we do it for loyal and satisfied customers," Wendy explains.

By optimally setting up a WFM system and considering both employee skills and availability, a balanced workload can be ensured, contributing to higher employee satisfaction and excellent customer service. In short, it is the key to satisfied customers and a happy, optimized workforce.

Cloudoe is also working on migrating existing WFM systems to GenesysCloud WFM. "If desired, we conduct 'health checks' or audits to assess whether the current WFM system is optimally configured and still meets the organization's current needs, or if a redesign would be a better option," says Wendy. Her expertise includes not only implementations and reorganizations, but also process optimization, training, and advice in all areas of Workforce Management, drawing on her extensive international practical experience and best practices from various industries.