Advances in analytics and AI are pushing the barriers for Workforce Management (WFM) and Magnus Geverts at Teleopti, a Calabrio Company says it’s time to act now to take advantage of new initiatives, starting with a data-infused WFM strategy for better human interactions and superior customer experiences.

Customer Experience (CX) is still the number one measure of strategic performance while 87.2% of organizations agree that it can be directly linked to commercial success. This reality puts the spotlight firmly on customer-facing teams and the ability to re-evaluate everything they do from the people they hire to the technology they deploy. CX has also totally revolutionized the way front-line operations such as contact centers measure their success, switching from the number of calls answered and how quickly to how well do we understand customers? Data is central to success when it comes to creating dynamic CX and actionable strategic business intelligence.

For years, technology has collected call recordings, keystrokes, e-mails and other interactions between front-line employees and customers. This information would later be analyzed by managers to assess how staff were performing and what could be improved. What if this could happen in real-time and go one step further to tell the customer service representatives (CSRs) and managers whether a customer interaction is going well or suggest how to improve it in the experience? What if this call intelligence could simultaneously link to critical workforce data to ensure CSRs are properly trained, motivated and available at the right time?

Welcome to the new era of customer experience intelligence where the very best of human talents and activities combine with contextual, predictive customer analytics all in one place.

5-point plan for Customer Experience Intelligence incorporating WFM

1. Gain control of your data
How do organizations capture what really matters, then tailor it to empower staff and inspire customer loyalty? While digitalization has made life easier by automating important business processes, it has also created a world flooded with non-stop data. Success comes down to controlling data – a vital source of Customer Experience intelligence – effectively and dynamically. The beauty of WFM is its proven ability to capture critical CX data all in one place and then process and analyze it in real-time to drive the customer experience.

2. Interaction analytics – it’s the next hot thing
…and it works by harnessing valuable data to give a comprehensive view of 100% of customer interactions, whether they be by voice or text. Use this powerful capability to identify the one word that keeps cropping up in every conversation or highlights when 90% of customers are asking the same question to focus on what really matters for improved CX.

Advanced interaction analytics involves using data to understand what is currently happening in the contact center and applying that customer experience intelligence to generate actionable insights about what will happen next – with amazing results. McKinsey and Company found that companies that have already applied advanced analytics have reduced average handle time by up to 40 percent, cut employee costs and boosted the conversion rate on service-to-sales calls by nearly 50 percent—all while improving customer satisfaction and employee engagement.

3. Maximize human capital
Use workforce management to collect and share data with the HR department to identify the skills required to meet corporate objectives and build effective recruitment and succession plans. Then, use quality evaluations and analytics to detect coaching needs and automatically schedule training at quieter times.
The latest WFM solutions also provide easy access to a wealth of historic data and advanced reporting functionality to speedily predict, create and search future requirements for headcount and specific skills. This is especially helpful when right-sizing during periods of organizational change or to accommodate future growth plans.

4. Put intelligence at the front end of employee and customer self-service
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the form of robots, chatbots and virtual assistants boost both employee and customer experience intelligence. The more AI tools are used, the better they get – use them to monitor and process staffing data to communicate schedules with employees and then automate requests and approvals.

5. Turn WFM into WEM
It’s time to stop viewing scheduling as the end destination for WFM and instead embrace the full capabilities of Workforce Engagement Management (WEM). Choose a technology partner that offers one integrated suite of solutions for scheduling and forecasting while extending and automating these traditional WFM capabilities to encompass the 5 key elements of Customer Experience Intelligence: Performance Management (PM), Quality Management (QM), Interaction Analytics, Desktop & Process Analytics and Employee Recognition.

Magnus Geverts is VP Product Marketing & Management at Calabrio

(i) 2019 Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report – Executive Guide” published by Dimension Data

(ii)Mycustomer.com

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About Teleopti
Teleopti, a Calabrio company, helps organizations empower their employees to provide outstanding customer service through our cloud-first workforce management (WFM) software. We are a global team of innovators and experts focusing 100% on WFM, enabling companies with user-friendly automation and optimization of omnichannel forecasting, scheduling, and people management. Teleopti WFM supports companies’ profitability by elevating operational efficiency, employee engagement, and customer experience. Since the start of 1992 we have grown our customer community to 100 countries, collaborating with partners worldwide, and today Teleopti WFM plans and empowers over 500,000 employees. For more information, visit Teleopti

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