A leading workforce management (WFM) software solution is a cornerstone of any contact center. However, maintaining a high-level of operations within your center requires more than just a single technology solution. With this said, here are a few of the most common integrations with WFM software integrations to facilitate a modern and streamlined work environment.
Automatic call distribution (ACD) system – Equally as important as a strong WFM software is getting an established ACD system in place and functioning properly. This technology automatically triages calls within your contact center to the correct agent group for quick resolution. As an example, if a customer calls in and needs to talk with the finance team about a mistake on a bill, they will navigate through the ACD system to get in touch with an agent who can solve their problem. This technology can also contain interactive voice response (IVR) capabilities so customers can say who they need to talk with instead of navigating a button prompt process.
-- Why an ACD integration with WFM software make sense
Call volume can vary for each type of problem within a contact center. An ACD system quantifies the amount of calls each department receives and then works with WFM software to ensure, based on historical data, that enough agents are staffed for handling the projected number of calls for each queue in the coming days. It’s a straightforward but critical component for success.
Email and chat system – What differentiates a contact center from a call center is the ability to support customers across multiple channels. Email and chat are the two most popular channels outside of phone and are now an expected support option for many customers, especially with younger generations. With both text-based solutions, solving issues efficiently through only written communication is the end goal.
-- Why an integration with WFM software make sense
Similar to an ACD system, contact volume on each channel is important to measure so staffing needs are met. However, especially with email support, a single agent has multiple conversations happening at once. This means some problems may take days instead of minutes to solve and the connection between issue resolution and a single agent aren’t as clear. WFM software helps to better understand and forecast how many agents are needed daily to support these unique channels. Did your team have a low close rate for emails last week? A WFM software solution may automatically increase the email staff for the following week to help you catch up.
Human resources (HR) system – Managing the staffing and productivity of a workforce can sometimes feel like only half the battle. It’s a reason why companies also leverage an HR system to keep track of work eligibility, performance reviews, time off implementation, salary qualifications, and more.
-- Why an integration with WFM software make sense
A modern WFM software solution may help with monitoring and reducing overtime, but where it stands out is how the technology can completely simplify the time off management process for agents. An integration will pull in hours accrued for each agent from the HR system and enable creative and efficient ways to submit time off. From instant request approvals to bidding, WFM software can streamline and improve the entire time off process.
Payroll system – Obviously an essential piece of technology for any contact center, this solution pays agents and stores their financial information. It’s also an archive for historical earnings information.
-- Why an integration with WFM software make sense
While not quite as common of an integration as the previous three, linking a payroll solution with WFM software has some unique benefits. A major one is specifically for agents working in a contact center with channel-specific wages. For example, if you pay $15/hour for phone agents but only $14/hour for email, WFM software can share information with a payroll system on exactly how many hours an agent worked on each channel during a pay period. It’s a strategy to automate pay based on channels worked and avoid any discrepancies.
Hopefully describing these common WFM software integrations was helpful. Creating connections like these between two systems may have some initial technical hurdles, but once established they can save your contact center both time and money.
