Prolog

1
Prolog WFM solutions in practice Paul Miller
2
Prologs use of NICE technology

• NICE Universe since 2003
• IEX Totalview since 2005
• NICE Perform since 2007

3
Agenda

• The need for WFM
• Early Lessons
• The Planning Cycle
• Agent Profiling and Offline Management
• Coaching

4
The need for WFM

• Rapid Expansion
• 80 skillsets
• Three call centres
• 80 shift patterns
• 15,000 calls a day, 12,000 data input,
• 1,500 correspondence, 3,000 email
• Skillsets - 2 calls to 5000 calls per day
• Varying SLA PCA, Abandonment rate,
• conversion rate
• Prior to 2005 spreadsheets only

5
The need for WFM

• Regular missed service levels with no
  understanding of why
• Undetected favouritism, cliques, blind eyes,
  fire fighting
• Very short planning horizon (less than one
  month)
• No planning team huge team leader discretion
• Swamping of smaller skillsets
• Overstretched multi-skilling
• Slow recovery from underforecasts
• Poor awareness of the right now
• Very inefficient evenings and weekends
• No time to work on the quality

6
Learning and Choosing WFM

• Unqualified!!
• Business case based on better forecasting,
  better scheduling, improved intraday management
  and reduced admin funds for investment
• Played with modelling tools cc-Modeller and
  Mitan Phonecalc
• Create a team and learn planning first..system
  second
• Joined PPF
• Site visits
• Balance need with ambition

7
Implementation

• Clarity of vision
• Planning responsible for the plan, operations
  responsible for the
• execution
• Scepticism from the rest of the business
  Totalpoo
• Heart and soul commitment to a planned
  environment
• Selected the team from within good
  operational, weak technical
• Excellent support from QPC
• Good buy in from Operational team
• Evangelise to other departments
• Blame the right person!

8
Forecasting and Service Levels

• Mission to provide consistently excellent
  quality contact
• handling in meeting service levels against
  forecast
• The only person who definitely doesnt own the
  forecast is me
• Six week lead time for locked down forecasts
• Provided a Totalview forecast, history and
  advice
• Helping the rest of our business to understand
  erlang its not
• just me making excuses
• Is at a million?

9
Early lessons

• Gain belief in the numbers
• Dont try and do everything from day one
• Get it right for the first site and then roll
  out
• Get buy in from every department they can help

10
Where are we now

• Planning team of 7
• 550 Agents
• Three Buildings
• Two Sites
• Centralised forecasting
• Local Scheduling and Intraday
• Competent not expert
• Undergoing CCA Global Standard audit

11
Where are we now

• Forecasting long range spreadsheet
• Used for capacity planning and recruitment
• Short range Totalview forecasts often
  overwritten by client
• forecasts
• 5 week schedules produced and accessed through
  Webstation
• Plus
• Manual adjustment for weekends
• and evenings

12
Where are we now - KISS

• Planning Recruitment, schedule and schedule
  fit
• Operations Adherence
• Totalview is at the heart of our business
• Comfortable and experienced planners in control
• Occasional conflict operations and planning
• Users not experts

13
IEX Totalview

• Very reliable
• Excellent real-time adherence and intraday
  reporting
• Payback in less than 18 months administration,
  adherence,
• multiskilling gains
• Developing functionality - looking at shift
  bidding, Smartsync,
• vacation planner
• Developing techniques supported by Totalview
  not supporting
• the Totalview functionality
• Agents love it!

14
Experiments in Planning - Offline

• Contact Centre model?
• SLAs as important for offline (non-demand work)
• In-house TLF tool derives durations
• Smartsync could input demand
• Currently intraday management of offline
  resource
• Looking at smarter management

15
Experiments in Planning Agent Profiling

• Coaching model uses wider range of measures
• Better to use your form players
• WFM schedules against skillsets but doesnt use
  priorities
• Operate three priorities
• Intraday and Operations set priorities for
  individual agents based
• on form
• Most impact when forecasts are higher than
  actual
• 5 improvement in conversion rate
• Additional time for performance improvement

16
Planning for Coaching

• Very personalised evaluation forms
• Team Leaders evaluate calls and give feedback
  6 per day
• Supervisors calibrate calls across sites
• Team leaders select ten agents for coaching and
  the reasons
• for it
• Coaching sessions booked in with Planning
• Coach takes agents offline

17
A Prolog Coaching Session

• The reasons for coaching are explained
• The agent scores the calls
• Positive areas and areas for improvement are
  discussed
• Agreed SMART targets are set and documented
  agents can
• view at any time
• Follow up sessions organised
• Ten formal per coach per week but ALL agents are
  coached and
• documented
• Recurring themes become training issues

18
Coaching Results

• All agent monthly scores are published (very
  motivational)
• Ranked as Gold Silver and Bronze Silver is
  expected
• Traffic light system being introduced including
  Not Ready,
• Conversion rates and Adherence as well as
  Quality
• Scoring sheets are published
• Client results including offline quality are
  published and
• reviewed weekly
• 10 improvement in measureable quality
• Gains in morale and consistency

19
Summary

• WFM is an essential operational tool
• Planning must be very close to operations but
  with a healthy
• tension
• Benefits financial efficiency, operational
  performance, lower
• stress, individual focus, time to do the good
  things
• Have fun!