Part two of our three-part series:

Welcome back!

Last week, we discussed the necessity of having properly skilled people in place prior to implementing automated workforce management  (WFM). Often, WFM failure is due to the lack of being properly prepared at the outset! This week we discuss the concept of taking it nice and easy; in other words, don’t bite off more than you can chew and rush through! You don’t want to alienate those whose buy-in you need!

2. Don’t bite off more than you can chew

We all love new projects. But jumping into WFM implementation with both feet is not the way to tackle the issues at hand. Nothing kills a new project faster than those who won’t buy into it at the outset.

A. Introducing new concepts to contact-center staff takes adjustment time as well as time to work out all the kinks. Introduce the idea of scheduling gradually and be sure to have issues worked out prior to going all out.

Roll out new ideas and features one at a time, taking it nice and easy during this process. Don’t, for example, introduce vacation planning to a group of 500 people all at once. Ease into it, starting with one team of “eager” agents and eliminate the bugs, one by one. Then, little by little, introduce the new concept to the rest of the floor, making sure they understand the concepts so have time to digest the novelty and that they can then embrace it.

B. After all features have been introduced, you should count on it taking about 12-18 months to really get rolling. Don’t hurry and push to make it happen all at once.
Slow and steady wins this race!

Next week, we’ll discuss brainstorming the benefits and why management  must be on board. See you then!