This article, authored by Roger Woolley, Director of Marketing at WFMSG, was originally published in the October 2017 issue of Contact Center Pipeline.

Employee engagement is more than just a buzzword. Successful customer service organizations create a culture that encourages it. Engaged employees are more enthusiastic about their contribution to the business and, ultimately, increase the level and consistency of service provided to their clients. Senior executives, as a result, are increasingly targeting employee engagement as a significant contributor to the quality and impact of the customer experience.

Sounds simple enough, right? But actually, creating a dynamic culture that encourages employee engagement means addressing what’s important to contact center employees:

  • Work-life balance
  • Recognition of accomplishments
  • A voice in decision-making
  • Clear and attainable goals
  • Tools needed to be successful
  • Transparent communication

Community workforce management (WFM) keeps employees engaged as it was built from the ground up with agent empowerment at the forefront of its design.

Communication Framework

The Community WFM framework natively connects agents, supervisors and analysts through tightly integrated desktop portals and multiple notification channels without the need for a third party plug-in. It provides the tools for contact centers to have the right number of agents with the right skills, at the right time, across all channels throughout the day. But, the difference is the agents are involved in the process every step along the way, giving them input into critical scheduling decisions.

While traditional workforce management applications are good at accurately forecast- ing customer demand, optimizing the agent’s schedules, and have increased productivity, Community WFM expands these capabilities by engaging employees with a built-in communications network that gives agents a voice in the decision-making process. Through this framework, analysts are able to update forecasts and schedules in seconds to adapt to intraday changes in call volumes and customer demand. With more control over their work schedules, agents enjoy a better work-life balance to deal with unexpected challenges in everyday life.

Multichannel

Agents, supervisors and analysts can interact across five different channels including: desktop pop-ups, internal memos, email notifications, SMS/text messaging and an agent mobile application. Through any of these options, supervisors and schedulers can:

  • Send ad-hoc information and notifications to a specific group or individual.
  • Send reminders about upcoming schedule events.
  • Solicit agents for opt-in shift adjustments.
  • Notify agents of schedule changes and processed requests.
Mobile Everywhere

Community’s mobile application, Community EverywhereTM, empowers agents on-the-go by providing unmatched visibility and transparency. Whether employees are in the office, working at home or on the road, they can:

  • View their schedules.
  • “Call in” sick.
  • Receive notifications and accept or decline offers for schedule over- and under-time.
  • View adherence to KPIs.
  • Notify analysts and supervisors of an unplanned late arrival.
  • Request time off.
Collaboration

Agents and supervisors can engage in traditional intraday activity such as shift-bidding as well as swapping shifts with other co-workers all from the communications network.

As an enterprise workforce management provider of omnichannel forecasting and scheduling optimization, Community WFM is the first truly collaborative workforce management system that revolutionizes the way WFM analysts collaborate with agents and supervisors to quickly adjust schedules with precision and agility. Imagine having the ability to refine work schedules and immediately engage employees about the new schedule with just a few clicks.

Yes, It Is That Simple

With Community WFM you have the ability to engage employees by offering them the framework to connect with each other, the ability to engage through the channel of their choice, and on-the-go visibility and transparency. This engagement will help your employees make happy customers.