A recent report from their web site.
Bob T.
MarketScope: Workforce Management Software for the Contact Center
01 October 2003
Wendy S. Close, Tom Berg
Document Type: Strategic Analysis Report
Note Number: R-21-0614
Several good options are available for contact-center workforce management software. Ninety-five percent of customers Gartner surveyed reported measurable benefits. This report examines the state of this market.
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Management Summary
Contact center workforce management (WFM) tools are forecasting and scheduling tools; but the need to optimize contact center performance, retain profitable customers and capture revenue opportunities is causing a reassessment of the traditional tools. Examples of needed functionality include more-advanced features for performance management, helping enterprises to map contact center performance to enterprise objectives, and more features for agent performance and incentive management (for example, rewards and recognition, personal development and performance reviews) to improve agent effectiveness.
Most large contact centers (at least 500 seats) have invested in packaged WFM solutions (see "Contact Center WFM Tools Improve Performance," M-19-1788). However, most small (fewer than 100 seats) and many midsize (100 to 500 seats) call centers have not, because WFM solutions can be costly and complex. Because the large-enterprise market for WFM is fairly saturated, the primary buyers of WFM solutions during the next 24 months will be small and midsize contact centers. Therefore, Gartner's analysis includes some small WFM vendors (less than $10 million in revenue, fewer than 50 employees and fewer than 100 customers), because some of these vendors focus on small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs) with fewer resources and less sophisticated contact center WFM needs. These vendors’ options make WFM solutions more feasible for small and midsize contact centers as the solutions are less costly and less complex than solutions from the more established leaders in the market (such as Aspect, Blue Pumpkin, and IEX). However, in a mature niche market such as the contact center WFM market, which is approximately 45 percent saturated in Western Europe and North American, small vendors will be challenged to survive and thrive; thus, they present some viability concerns to customers. Although these vendors are rated as cautions regarding their viability, their overall rating in WFM is promising when considering the needs of SMBs.
Contact center outsourcers, financial services, travel, hospitality, telecommunication providers, retailers and e-commerce companies are some of the most frequent users of contact center WFM software. It is not uncommon for enterprises using WFM solutions to report that they achieved the following:
Reduced the time it takes to create agent schedules by 45 percent to 90 percent
Increased service levels by 10 percent to 13 percent
Decreased payroll costs by 10 percent to 13 percent
Decreased call abandon rates to 3 percent. (Overall call abandonment rates consistently average around 7 percent; however, the best-performing 25 percent of desks average only 3 percent abandonment, according to Gartner Measurement.)
By reconciling staffing requirements with service levels, one enterprise reported reducing overtime hours during the first six months of 2002 by more than half of what it was during the same time the previous year. With potential new laws (such as the “do not call” legislation where consumers can protect themselves from telemarketers by adding their name to list to not be contacted), businesses must get better at handling incoming calls. The primary use of WFM solutions today is for scheduling and forecasting agents to handle incoming interactions. This might be an enterprise's only opportunity to speak with a potential hot prospect. Do not let them hang up after waiting too long for an agent.
On the challenges side, enterprises still complain that the applications can be too difficult to use, and that the users lack the in-house expertise to fully use these solutions.
This MarketScope Strategic Analysis Report provides specific guidance for enterprises that are deploying or have deployed WFM solutions for the contact center and for potential new buyers seeking to purchase solutions. |
