The key issues found in contact centers aren’t easy to fix. They pose real problems and often span across many areas of a company. While they are difficult to solve, workforce management (WFM) solutions can play a key role in resolving these major concerns. Here are four of the top contact center challenges along with strategies for utilizing a WFM software solution to help get them under control.

Challenge 1: Competitive agent recruiting – The rise of work from home (WFH) has provided agents with more choices for employment than ever before. Whether you’re an agent based out of Anchorage or Atlanta, being able to work remotely has substantially improved the overall number of possible career opportunities. However, this also means for the first time many contact centers are in competition not just with their own city but also their own state and country for talent.

How can WFM software help?

Utilizing modern WFM technology correctly can be a new way to set your contact center apart from the pack. When an agent is considering multiple options for the next step in their career, show them how your contact center provides a streamlined and simplified approach to managing employees. Walk them through the agent portal experience provided within WFM software and show them how it helps to avoid scheduling confusion while also simplifying the time off request process.

Challenge 2: Improving agent retention – Hiring a new agent isn’t as easy as it used to be. From recruiters to interviews to onboarding and everything in between, the hiring process gets expensive fast. It’s a reason why more contact center have decided to focus more on creating a high level of satisfaction among their current agent workforce. However, with so many opportunities now out there for qualified agents, this is often easier said than done.

How can WFM software help?

A modern WFM solution improves agent retention by strengthening communication. Having a built-in framework for communicating with agents directly can turn what once were frustrating tasks into simple actions. For example, the technology makes life so much easier for an agent to contact their supervisor with a late check-in. Just a few taps by the agent on a mobile app and everything, including schedule adjustments, are taken care of. The technology is also great for communicating about unplanned events (such as inclement weather) with your entire agent workforce. A WFM software solution helps agents avoid the conversations they don’t want to have and ensures they are involved in the ones that matter.

Challenge 3: Promoting flexible work – With the rise of remote work has come an increase in demand for flexible shifts in a contact center environment. Agents who work remotely have grown to appreciate the ability to spend more time living in the moment and want the freedom to step away from their desk when life calls.

How can WFM software help?

Addressing this challenge hits a sweet spot for WFM technology. Solutions such as shift bidding, split shifts, shift swaps, and more are excellent options for providing agents with schedule flexibility while still getting the job done. The rigid 9 to 5 experience is becoming more and more of a dated business model for some contact centers.

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Challenge 4: Desire for instant results – Agents, especially those from the Gen Z era, are now connected to the smartphone all day. This has driven a fundamental change in the way a contact center manages agents. Waiting until the next day to approve or deny a vacation request for an agent isn’t acceptable anymore. The world moves too fast.

How can WFM software help?

It falls on the shoulders of WFM software to handle in real-time the rapidly changing adjustments to when and how an agent works. For example, through a mobile WFM app, remote agents can accept an overtime shift from anywhere and be working within a few minutes. They can submit a time off request for time off from a doctor’s office and expect to have it approved or denied in a few minutes (sometimes instantly via automation) so they can schedule their next appointment on the spot. Agents now demand answers from their work as quickly as they get them in their personal life. WFM software helps to provide the responses they need in a timely way.

Hopefully these strategies for solving some of the top contact center challenges with workforce management were helpful. At the end of the day, it’s all about leveraging the capabilities of WFM software to build trust with agents by frequently showing respect for their time. Doing this will help you maintain a strong and happy agent workforce.