Decisions - Workforce optimisation - Soup up your staff.

(From Financial Director)

Byline: Elspeth Wales.

One of the ways in which organisations can focus IT investments on their customers is by installing multimillion-pound customer relationship management (CRM) software. However, many CRM systems have proven difficult to deploy, and even slower to deliver return on investment. Organisations are now concentrating on their contact centres, which can account for two-thirds of their costs.

A contact centre agent is a customer's first, and sometimes only, point of contact with a company. If they can operate efficiently, the results should permeate through to the bottom line, and this is where the suite of applications that make up workforce optimisation comes in.

According to Datamonitor analyst David Spindel, workforce optimisation has emerged from the amalgamation of four applications - quality monitoring (QM), workforce management (WFM), e-learning and agent analytics.

QM systems record calls and evaluate agent performance. WFM encompasses various solutions that help to deploy human resources and manage employee performance efficiently.

E-learning provides tailored training by computer, and agent analytics enable companies to identify key performance trends by individuals and groups. Some vendors, such as Blue Pumpkin, also include an activity manager module in their workforce optimisation suites. This collects data on how employees spend their time throughout the day, tracking activity across the phone, email, chat and voice over IP, as well as on research and administrative tasks.