IEX TotalView true to its name.Have patience with my verbosity Verbosity Clarissa Harlowe longest novel in the English language, total-ling one million words. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 203] Mahabharata epic poem of Ancient India runs to some 200,000 verses. [Hindu Lit. and allow me to preface this month's Technology Highlight. IEX's TotalView Workforce Management Workforce Management (WFM) encompasses all the responsibilities for maintaining a productive and happy workforce. Sometimes referred to as HRMS systems, or even the larger ERP systems (Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP). There are many software vendors within this space. (WFM (1) (Wired For Management) A specification from Intel for a PC that can be centrally managed in a network. It must be DMI compliant, be accessible by a management server prior to booting, contain instrumentation for component discovery and identification and ) software, which actually gives a total view (so it's not only a clever product name), provides a centralized cen·tral·ize v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate. 2. platform for total visibility and optimization of contact centers. Customer Interaction Solutions has been knowledgeable of IEX IEX Ion Exchange (chromatography) IEX Inter-Exchange Carrier and its product(s) for quite some time. Why does this fact matter? Since last year's regeneration of this monthly feature, I've intended to focus on IEX's WFM product early on. But, and here's the thing, it is incredibly comprehensive--emphasis on "incredibly." There is SO much to it, all adding up to deliver the highest-quality customer service. TotalView Overview As mentioned previously, IEX TotalView Workforce Management software provides a centralized platform for optimizing the performance of the contact center. It is designed to assist contact centers in forecasting and planning more accurately and scheduling more effectively. The software supplies real-time information to allow better management of an agent's performance and the center's overall operation. WFM integrates data seamlessly across the enterprise and automates many time-consuming and labor-intensive processes. TotalView Central TotalView Central encompasses the core features of TotalView, providing a solid foundation for effective workforce management in the contact center. The Central foundation includes automated forecasting, planning, scheduling (preference, bidding and management), change manager tools, an administrator, performance manager and the capability to plan and schedule for multiple-site call centers. Each of these tools within TotalView Central aims to enhance a call center's overall achievement of quick and meaningful results. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TotalView Advanced Features Building upon TotalView Central's solid foundation, TotalView's advanced features deliver further performance for contact centers needing solutions to their advanced operational challenges associated with managing multiple agent skills, agent adherence and self-service capabilities, multiple customer contact media and enterprise-level data sharing The ability to share the same data resource with multiple applications or users. It implies that the data are stored in one or more servers in the network and that there is some software locking mechanism that prevents the same set of data from being changed by two people at the same time. and integration. Myriad advanced features include those for each of the following functions: multimedia contact management; multiskill; WebStation; WebStation Plus; Adherence Suite; SmartSync Suite; and vacation and holiday planning. TotalView's multimedia planning and scheduling aims to simplify the task of managing multiple customer contact channels, enabling companies' operations to both provide consistent service and optimize use of resources across channels. The TotalView Multimedia feature offers flexible service levels, channel-appropriate forecasting, multimedia service delivery, active backlog management and multimedia skills scheduling. The TotalView Multiskill feature is a comprehensive solution that provides total visibility into staffing requirements, allowing for production of the best schedules possible for multiskill operations. The TotalView Multiskill process uses built-in simulation technology to create effective agent schedules by simulating ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) A computerized phone system that responds to the caller with a voice menu and connects the call to the appropriate agent. It can also distribute calls equally to agents. and network-level routing rules. The feature, with its set of management tools, also allows for analyzing how changes in contact arrival patterns, agent skills or routing rules will affect staffing requirements. TotalView's Adherence Suite provides real-time and historical adherence features for supervisors to easily monitor and analyze agent activity: * The TotalView Real-Time Adherence feature compares an agent's scheduled activity to current activity, using real-time data Real-time data denotes information that is delivered immediately after collection. There is no delay in the timeliness of the information provided. Some uses of this term confuse it with the term dynamic data. streams from ACDs and media routers to provide up-to-the-moment agent state information. The acquired information enables supervisors to make sure agents keep to their schedules throughout the day. Real-Time Adherence features include the following: automatic refresh (1) To continuously charge a device that cannot hold its content. CRTs must be refreshed, because the phosphors hold their glow for only a few milliseconds. Dynamic RAM chips require refreshing to maintain their charged bit patterns. See vertical scan frequency and redraw. ; supervisor information; schedule access; user-defined colors and thresholds; multiple sorting options; and multisite support. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * The TotalView Historical Adherence feature provides comprehensive historical reports of agent schedule adherence An automated or manual process of ensuring that the number of agents available to handle calls in a call center "adheres" to the projected schedule of agents needed. In most cases, the sequence is (1) An ACD reports the call history. , allowing supervisors and managers to view and document the performance of individual agents or agent groups. Reports show scheduled agent activities alongside actual agent activities. A summary of scheduled time In rallying, the Scheduled Time of any crew is the time, calculated at the beginning of the event, that they should arrive at any given control. It is different from Due Time in that Due Time is dynamic, ie it can change throughout the event as competitors drop time; whereas , available time, and times and percentages in adherence is also included. SmartSync Suite provides an open solution for easier data exchange between TotalView WFM and other systems. SmartSync Suite encompasses two powerful solutions, SmartSync Central and SmartSync Exchange. * SmartSync Central provides standardized standardized pertaining to data that have been submitted to standardization procedures. standardized morbidity rate see morbidity rate. standardized mortality rate see mortality rate. interfaces to more than 25 ACDs and other contact-routing systems for the collection of historical and real-time information on queues and agents. Further, it collects information from multiple sources for the same agent. * SmartSync Exchange extends SmartSync Central's benefits to other contact center applications and systems. Providing full data synchronization Keeping data in two or more computers up-to-date so that each repository contains the identical information. Data in handheld devices and laptops often require synchronization with the data in a desktop machine or server. between systems, SmartSync Exchange simplifies the process of consolidating information within the center. The TotalView Vacation and Holiday Planner feature reduces administration efforts associated with agents' time-off requests and, therefore, ensures the contact center is properly staffed. The feature includes the following: flexible time-off categories; configurable rules; time-off requests; vacation viewer; automated bidding; and wait listing. WebStation gives agents and supervisors Web-browser access for viewing schedules, monitoring performance and automating common contact center tasks. (See below for enhancements in v3.9.) WebStation Plus adds advanced workflow automation See workflow. features to the core WebStation product. (See below for enhancements in v3.9.) Recent Release TotalView Workforce Management system was recently updated in version 3.9, offering skill block scheduling Block scheduling is a type of academic scheduling in which each student has fewer classes per day for a longer period of time. This is intended to result in more time for teaching due to less time wasted due to class switching and preparation. features designed to make easier the management of multichannel Using two or more paths for transmission or processing. It can refer to a variety of architectures including (1) multiple I/O channels between the CPU and peripheral devices, (2) multiple wires in a cable, (3) multiple "logical" channels within a single wire or fiber or (4) multiple contact types and other back-office work. The new version also aims to heighten height·en v. height·ened, height·en·ing, height·ens v.tr. 1. To raise or increase the quantity or degree of; intensify. 2. To make high or higher; raise. v.intr. agent empowerment with new time-off management and schedule preference capabilities. The key advancement to IEX's latest version, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. IEX's product marketing manager Jose Martinez, is the Skill Block Scheduling feature, which automatically designates optimal time slots Continuously repeating interval of time or a time period in which two devices are able to interconnect. for agents to devote to a particular skill, whether it is outbound calling, e-mail, Web chat or other customer contact channel types. As well, centers can also manage offline tasks such as filing, fulfillment and other types of work. During these designated periods, the agent is only considered open to handle a defined subset of contact types; as a result, the center can manage multimedia and offline contact types much more effectively. The new Skill Block Scheduling features aim to ensure that every person in the center is aware of what he or she is supposed to be doing--management, supervisor and agent, purposefully providing better efficiency, as well as a more satisfied workforce because of job variety. The Time Off Manager allows agents to manage sick time, vacation, personal days and other schedule entitlements via any standard Web browser The program that serves as your front end to the Web on the Internet. In order to view a site, you type its address (URL) into the browser's Location field; for example, www.computerlanguage.com, and the home page of that site is downloaded to you. within the WebStation Plus module. This automates the process of managing, tracking, notifying and approving paid time-off. This feature also provides a "wait list" capability for agents' desired days off. Using the standard edition of TotalView WebStation, agents can view their schedules. In addition to that, with TotalView v3.9 agents are also given more influence over their start/stop times, days off, lunch time and break times; they can even view the status of their requests. New WebStation Plus agent preferences allow agents to indicate and input the desired characteristics of their work schedule. Preferences can be entered based on scheduling intervals defined by managers. The WebStation feature now allows companies to specify whether they want agents to logon See login. 1. (jargon) logon - login. 2. (networking) logon - In ACF/VTAM, an unformatted session-initiation request for a session between two logical units. using either their ACD or TotalView identification information. So, if a company employs agents who work from their homes or from somewhere other than the company's primary call center sites, TotalView gives the company the option of enabling agents to view their schedules online without having to login Signing in and gaining access to a network server, Web server or other computer system. The process (the noun) is a "login" or "logon," while the act of doing it (the verb) is to "log in" or to "log on. to the company's call routing system. WebStation Plus has further been enhanced to deliver ranking information to agents prior to schedule bids, so agents don't have to rank all schedules--only the number equal to their ranking. Agent schedule preferences can now be entered based on default information, date range or group. The number of scheduled activities that can be added to the daily work rules has been increased from eight to 20, and forecasts and schedules can now be created and managed for an 18-month period into the future. All aforementioned features and abilities of TotalView Workforce Management are merely key features and abilities. Visit the company's Web site to learn more about IEX WFM, as well as for reference of a fairly comprehensive document aid for potential buyers evaluating workforce management systems: www.iex.com/docs/wfm_eval.doc. By David R. Butcher, Assistant Editor, Customer Inter@ction Solutions |
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