Scheduling on a budget: web-based services for smaller call centers.

It's a fact of life: smaller call centers have smaller budgets that cannot support traditional in-house implementation of workforce management software. But today the benefits of automated agent scheduling are available to operations of any size for a low monthly fee--courtesy of Internet-based subscription services.

These services are usually most cost-effective for contact centers with 80 agents or less. They supply a full-featured online forecasting, scheduling and reporting system--with functionality identical to their offline counterparts--without requiring the call center to purchase, install and/or maintain any software or hardware. Instead, all functions are accessed over the Internet from the service provider's data center.

All the advantages of optimized agent scheduling through installed software apply, ranging from reduced overtime and reduced headcount to less wasted labor expense that stems from overstaffing, less lost business caused by understaffing and reduced call waiting times that can lead to lower telephone bills.

As an additional benefit, optional agent Web portals offered with some of these hosted services enable agents to view their work schedules, request modifications or vacations, sign up for overtime, exchange schedules with other agents and report absences online. Supervisors can approve requests and record exceptions with a click, eliminating hours of scheduling-related phone calls and other overhead every week.

Pay-As-You-Go Savings

To see the difference in cost between an in-house system and a hosted one, let's consider a typical pricing scenario for a 50-agent operation.

A workforce management system installed and licensed for 50 agents and a handful of supervisors typically involves an upfront investment in the neighborhood of $70,000, plus annual maintenance fees and costs associated with internal technical staff required to deploy and maintain the system.

A Web-based workforce management service for the same number of users costs a tiny fraction of that in annual subscription fees--no equipment costs, no maintenance contracts and no technical staffing requirements.

The subscription costs are largely offset by the savings realized through better agent utilization. As a result, smaller call centers that utilize hosted workforce management services can expect to see a return on their investment almost immediately.

Bonus Benefits

While affordability is a key advantage of the Web-based model, it is not the only one. One particularly valuable fringe benefit is the ability to pay for the service out of the operating budget rather than capital funds.

Given limited resources and the difficulty of demonstrating the impact of optimized workforce scheduling on the bottom line in advance, a smaller call center that asks corporate management for $70,000 to implement an installed system has little likelihood for success. But a monthly service can usually be financed out of operating funds, eliminating the need to jump through the hoops required for capital purchases.

Another plus is that the per-user pricing of a subscription service makes it possible to pay only for the number of agents scheduled each month rather than for a fixed number of licenses reflecting peak season capacity. This allows call centers with seasonal staffing fluctuations to save money during low staffing periods.

Deployment At Internet Speed

With another feature, an online workforce management service can be up and running within a week or two, compared to in-house implementations, which often take a month or more. This is due to all necessary hardware already being in place and loaded with the workforce management software at the provider's data center.

Much of the setup process is, therefore, already complete. All that remains is for the service provider to configure the software for the specific subscriber by building a database of staff names and skill groups, identifying the queues to which calls will be routed, and so on.

The only infrastructure requirement on the call center side is to have a broadband connection, enabling supervisors to access the service from their computers via Web browser. For services that offer agent Web portals, agents can access these self-help functions from their own PCs if they are equipped with a high-speed Internet connection, or from a central computer shared by all agents for that purpose.

Different Flavors of "Small"

Some call centers that have opted for an online workforce management service to create and manage agent schedules employ as few as three agents for most of the year but swell to 12 or more users during the holiday season. In this scenario, the value of the service is the ability to accurately forecast call volumes based on past history in order to determine staffing requirements.

Larger "small" call centers dramatically reduce the time required to create agent schedules. They also reap the benefits of forecasting, as well as scheduling optimization that considers variables such as agent lunches, breaks, meetings, vacations and training sessions--in any combination--likewise historical call volumes.

Online services are also useful for outsourcers that service multiple clients. In this scenario, the value is each client can log onto the system to look at his or her own call volume. User access can be restricted to ensure that each client sees only his or her own data.

In all of these scenarios, Web-based workforce management services offer all the benefits of automated agent scheduling without the expense of a full-scale implementation. It's merely another way that the Internet is changing the world of business.

For information and subscriptions, visit www.TMCnet.com or call 203-852-6800.

By Jim Hogan, Pipkins Inc.

Jim Hogan is manager of Customer Care for Pipkins Inc. (www.pipkins.com), a provider of both installed and hosted workforce management software and services.