Choosing Wisely: Expert-Led Comparisons of Leading WFM Software for Contact Centers – Scheduling (2 of 10)
Navigating WFM Software Choices with Expert Guidance
Intro:
After laying a strong foundation with forecasting, the next critical step in workforce management is scheduling. Scheduling transforms interval forecasts and capacity plans into practical, actionable strategies to ensure the right people are in the right place at the right time. This article delves into the intricacies of scheduling within a one-week timeframe, exploring the capabilities of Calabrio, Verint, NICE WFM, Alvaria, Genesys, and injixo. In a later article on Capacity Planning, we'll discuss how these applications handle shrinkage, new hires, and attrition, how whole weeks are successfully planned within a year, and how these processes help to lower costs.
Schedulers are puzzle solvers, creating a platform for agent happiness, a workable environment for managers, and customer-facing interval time successfully managed to keep customers happy without long queue times—no easy task.
Scheduling: The Practical Planning of Activities
Effective scheduling is vital for maintaining operational efficiency and meeting service level agreements (SLAs). Here's how the leading WFM software solutions perform in this crucial area:
Calabrio
When it comes to scheduling, Calabrio have a very simple yet effective approach to creating schedules, it has to be one of the easiest tools on the market for generating shift patterns. Creating the components that build the schedules can be a bit tricky to understand, especially when dealing with complicated rotations. It can also be a bit clunky if you have many different channels all requiring their own base activity.
However, the ease of use and the ability to plan block activities (two or more activities within a shift), is very good and user friendly. The optimisation features is also very powerful and allows work to be optimised easily to help fill any unplanned gaps.
With a variety of different ways to schedule from simple fixed scheduled and rotations all the way to preference based scheduling and self-scheduling, Calabrio ticks all the boxes and more.
If you are a heavily multi-skilled organization with complex routing rules, Calabrio may struggle in this type of environment, but for the vast majority of customers this won’t be an issue.
Calabrio has some neat scheduling features, which really help when it comes to managing and maintaining schedules and it has a really good UI for both planners, managers and employees.
Strengths:
Very easy to create and manage schedules with a few clicks and an easy to use wizard, you can have schedules in seconds. Very easy to manage and maintain, especially in the Web Portal.
Has lots of scheduling methods which means Calabrio will fit most organisations scheduling needs. It has a big focus on employee engagement when it comes to scheduling.
Very good UI experience with a fully web based schedule module, change and modifications take just a few clicks.
Optimization features are strong and allow users to optimise all elements of a schedule, from breaks/lunches all the way to days off, start/stop times and shift duration.
Weaknesses:
Some of the settings can be hard to understand and take a little bit of time to get used to. The user guides are very useful to help understand some of the terminology
High levels of multi-skilling can could be a problem as there is no way to account for skill levels and overflows.
NICE WFM
NICE (WFM) is a system developed over time, with scheduling settings added over the years, creating a wide range of scheduling capabilities. To achieve the goals set in the forecasting process, the platform runs a simulation methodology that considers every possible shift configuration using a vast array of flexible options. These include flexible start and stop times, breaks, lunch periods, roster days off, planned future activities (shrinkage), availability rules (HR policies), preferences, team based (with or with flex), rotating weekly patterns, and variable weekly hours. This approach aims to ensures that the best possible schedules are created to meet business needs while never exceeding the flexible parameters.
The simulation process can cope with either fully or partially blended environments, simulating and forecasting the actual resource blended agents provide to each multi-skilled queue.
Additionally, NICE WFM supports schedule bidding, a feature mainly used in the US. It also offers calendar scheduling, primarily utilised in Eastern Europe.
Strengths
Optimal Scheduling: By simulating with a large number of possible shift configuration with flexible parameters.
Regional Features: Schedule bidding & calendar scheduling.
Blended Environments: Manages both fully and block blended environments.
Weaknesses
Complexity: The extensive features can make the system complex to set up.
Error Clarity: When schedules errors occur, they are not always clearly explained which can make resolution challenging.
Alvaria/Aspect
The Alvaria solution offers flexible scheduling options tailored to your needs. While the user interface may seem dated, the underlying functionality is exceptionally powerful. A key focus is on automation, with the AutoRun feature enabling you to automatically create a forecast, build schedules around it, and publish them for agent visibility.
The platform supports various scheduling methods, What-If scenarios, and multiple rule engines to ensure compliant and equitable shifts. These methods can be used individually or combined to maximise efficiency and meet diverse agent requirements.
Strengths:
Variety of schedule options. From traditional roster-based scheduling and templates to agent preferences and even "Uber Style" bidding, the Alvaria solution offers a scheduling method tailored to suit your business needs.
What-If Scenarios and Excellent reporting. Despite its basic UI, the reporting for schedule creation and testing provides clear and straightforward insights. When combined with the What-If scenarios, it makes Shift Review workshops with operations much easier and more collaborative.
Comprehensive Rules. Scheduling for multiple sites, countries, or contract types is significantly simplified with Work, Labour, and PlugIn rules. These rules can be set at a group level, and groups can be created based on any employee characteristic. This ensures compliance and fairness across your workforce.
Weaknesses:
Dated and limited UI. If you're searching for a solution with sleek charts and dashboards, this might not be the one. Instead, you'll receive practical and informative reports with options to create basic charts within the solution. However, you can easily export the data to create the polished visuals your stakeholders expect.
Comprehensive rules can be complex. The advanced fine-tuning and rule engines offer powerful capabilities but require careful creation, understanding, and application. As you add more rules, they can become quite complex, and the use of reverse logic can feel overwhelming to the average WFM professional.
injixo
injixo offers a broad Workforce Management (WFM) software solution designed to streamline scheduling processes specifically for contact centres. With its mostly modern interface and user-centric approach, injixo aims to optimise workforce efficiency and enhance operational performance. The software provides a variety of scheduling options and tools, allowing organisations to tailor their scheduling practices to meet specific operational needs and employee preferences. By integrating automated scheduling features and self-service capabilities, injixo seeks to create a more flexible and responsive scheduling environment that benefits both managers and employees.
Strengths
Flexible Scheduling Options: injixo allows for the use of fixed schedules, flexible scheduling models, or a combination of both, while also taking into account employee availability and skill sets. This versatility helps accommodate different operational requirements and employee preferences.
User-Friendly Interface: Known for its intuitive interface, injixo is accessible and straightforward, making it suitable for users with limited experience in scheduling. The visual layout makes it easy to spot the required schedule adjustments.
Employee Engagement: injixo includes features that enhance employee engagement by allowing agents to view their schedules, request time off, swap shifts, and set availability preferences through a self-service portal.
Rule Compliance: injixo effectively maintains compliance with many scheduling rules, ensuring that shifts adhere to defined constraints and legal requirements.
Weaknesses
Availability Input and Compliance: Although injixo allows employees to enter their availability in the portal, there is no verification to ensure these entries meet business requirements, leading to potential scheduling conflicts and suboptimal coverage.
Time Off Request System: The time-off request feature, while helpful, lacks sophistication and may not provide the added value expected from a comprehensive WFM solution. The process feels incomplete and could be improved to better support leave management.
Impact of Schedule Changes: It is difficult to see the consequences of schedule changes on the predicted service level. This lack of visibility hinders effective decision-making and impacts service delivery.
Complex Rule Compliance: While injixo excels at maintaining compliance with many rules in existing schedules, some rules are difficult to manage, such as defining the number of late shifts, Saturdays, and Sundays while generating schedules. This can lead to challenges in maintaining fair and compliant schedules.
Outdated Components: The shift center has been in use for over two decades and feels outdated. Although the more recent "Schedules" feature appears more up-to-date, it still lacks some essential functionality.
Capacity Review: Despite having always up-to-date forecasts, injixo lacks a compelling solution for reviewing capacity before generating schedules to see expected coverage. This gap can lead to misaligned staffing levels and unmet service demands as a surprise.
Genesys
Genesys Cloud Workforce Management (WFM) Scheduling helps organisations optimise their workforce by managing agent schedules and staffing levels. With features like real-time adherence monitoring, self-service capabilities, and optimised workforce allocation, Genesys Scheduling helps towards efficient staffing, improved agent productivity, and enhanced customer service. It is a cloud-based solution that offers flexibility, scalability, and real-time visibility into workforce performance for better decision-making and operational efficiency.
Here are the pros and cons of Genesys Scheduling:
Pros:
Workforce Allocation: The scheduling component of Genesys Cloud WFM optimises agent schedules by considering factors such as skill sets, preferences, and availability. This ensures the right agents are assigned to the appropriate tasks, leading to improved productivity and customer service.
Real-Time Adherence Monitoring: Genesys Cloud WFM provides real-time adherence monitoring, allowing supervisors to track agent adherence to schedules. This proactive monitoring helps identify and address deviations from schedules promptly, assisting in optimal agent productivity and customer service levels.
Shift Bidding and Time-Off Management: Genesys Scheduling enables self-service capabilities, allowing agents to bid for shifts or request time-off based on their availability and preferences. This empowers agents and contributes to enhance their work-life balance, leading to increased job satisfaction and engagement.
Flexible and Scalable: Genesys Cloud WFM scheduling is a cloud-based solution, offering flexibility and scalability to align with changing business needs. It can easily adapt to workforce fluctuations, business growth, and evolving scheduling requirements.
Cons:
Complex Implementation: Implementing Genesys Cloud WFM scheduling requires technical expertise and configuration, which is challenging for organisations without dedicated IT resources. Proper planning, training an business process design is essential to ensure a smooth implementation process.
Cost Consideration: The implementation and licensing costs associated with Genesys Cloud WFM scheduling might be a consideration for smaller organisations or those with limited budgets. They should carefully evaluate the return on investment and assess if the benefits outweigh the costs.
User Learning Curve: Genesys Cloud WFM scheduling requires agents and supervisors to learn new processes and workflows. Adequate training and change management strategies are crucial to ensure a smooth transition and user adoption.
Integration Complexity: Integrating Genesys Cloud WFM scheduling with existing telephony, CRM, or other systems might require additional effort and technical configuration. This can impact implementation timelines and ongoing maintenance.
Despite these potential cons, Genesys Cloud WFM scheduling offers numerous benefits, including accurate forecasting, optimised workforce allocation, real-time adherence monitoring, and self-service capabilities that empower agents. With proper planning, training, and a focus on data accuracy, organisations can leverage Genesys Cloud WFM scheduling to enhance their workforce management and improve operational efficiency.
Verint
Verint’s scheduling functionality is crafted to enhance workforce management by offering a seamless transition from manual scheduling to automated, cloud-based solutions. Users can look forward to creating schedules that optimize agent availability, preferences, work rules, and skills while considering holidays and other legal and business constraints.
Verint WFM allows for real-time management of overtime, voluntary time-off, and shift changes. Mobile access through the MyVerint app enables employees to manage their schedules, request time off, and swap shifts conveniently. AI-driven tools like the TimeFlex Bot give agents the power to make immediate schedule adjustments, reducing the need for managerial involvement and fostering greater flexibility.
Moreover, Verint supports the management of hybrid work environments, including in-office and remote employees, with tools for handling staggered start times, office capacity limits, and flexible scheduling. These features collectively help minimize overstaffing and unnecessary overtime, ensuring that customer service levels remain high by maintaining appropriate staffing at all times.
Strengths
Variety of Scheduling Methods and Functionalities: Verint WFM offers a comprehensive suite of scheduling options, allowing for flexibility and customization to meet diverse business needs.
Projected Performance: The tool provides insights and predictions on expected Service Levels allowing users to to make informed staffing decisions and optimize workforce efficiency.
Simulation Capabilities: Verint WFM enables the creation of detailed staffing profiles and simulations. This functionality helps determine the optimal number of agents and shifts needed to meet expected demand, improving operational planning and reducing the risk of over or under-staffing.
Weaknesses
Time-Consuming Schedule Production: Depending on the complexity of the requirements, generating a complete schedule can be time-intensive. The system may require significant processing time to account for all variables and preferences, which can delay schedule finalization.
Complex Setup and Resource Intensive: Setting up Verint WFM to utilize all its features can be a complex and resource-intensive process. It demands considerable initial effort and expertise to configure the system to meet specific organizational needs and to integrate it smoothly with existing workflows.
Scheduling Generation: The system incorporates numerous components, such as employee preferences and specific scheduling rules (e.g., fair share of shifts). This complexity can make it challenging to discern which factors are prioritized during schedule creation, potentially leading to confusion and difficulty in understanding how final schedules are determined.
Summary
Contact centre WFM software scheduling capabilities vary widely, from highly complex systems developed over many years with numerous options, to simpler, more user-friendly solutions. The more advanced systems offer extensive flexibility, accommodating diverse scheduling needs through a vast array of parameters and configurations. These systems can handle intricate scheduling requirements, including blended (full and block) environments and regional-specific features.
On the simpler end, some WFM tools prioritise ease of use and accessibility, making them suitable for smaller operations or those with less complex scheduling demands. Additionally, considering developing in-house solutions in the near future is gaining more consideration as single digital platforms grow in choice, and ease of use is key as a stopgap solution. These tools provide essential scheduling functionalities without the steep learning curve associated with more complex systems.
However, the landscape of contact centre scheduling is evolving. The rise of remote work and deconstructed shifts, which are more acceptable to agents, is changing how schedules are created and managed. Additionally, the potential of AI-driven forecasting and customer contact management is transforming traditional approaches. AI on a single digital platform can predict customer needs more accurately and even anticipate contact before customers reach out, leading to more proactive and dynamic scheduling requirements.
As these trends continue, the need for scheduling in contact centres may shift significantly. WFM solutions will need to adapt to these changes, leveraging AI and advanced analytics to deliver resource align more closely with evolving customer service paradigms. This evolution will ensure that contact centres remain efficient and responsive in a rapidly changing environment.