Schedule bidding software

[Earl]

Hello,

I thought I would take this opportunity to let you all know of a new software called the Call Center Bid Manager. This software is Great!!!

I have performed many schedule bids in the past and have found that the end results to the shift bids were a lot of disgruntled employees and an unbalance approach to leveraging a balance between the busineess, customer and employee needs. I have used IEX and TCS preference software and found that it did nothing to ease the pain of the shiftbid.

This Call Center Bid Manage software is the answer to all of my prayers. A year ago, my call center agents began a petition to voice their grievances about the shift bid process and was threatening a union that my boss and upper management didn't want to adhere to. Once we implemented this new strategy and software the agents fell in love with it and I have now brought consistency and fairness into my center and have found less attrition and less call ins on Monday and Fridays. You have to see it! I know longer have bids for first come, first serve.

The agents can update their preferences anytime they want and can have as many preferences as they would like to ensure that if a schedule comes open and their ranking is there, they will have the best shot at obtaining a schedule to fit their life style.

Once a person comes off of a current schedule for a new schedule, his/her old schedule becomes open for bidding and the software will go to the top of the list and make the necessary cycles to ensure that everyone in my call center have a shot at the open schedules. Once the software has matched up all schedules, what is left over is offered to the new hiring class before they are hired and everyone is totally happy and thrilled.

One of the other added benefits is that I can run reports now to see exactly what my agents would like to work and I can now run scenarios to see if it fits the needs of the business and customer and ultimately create better schedules that match my environment without a lot of guess work. If you are interested in seeing this..go to WWW.CallCPM.Com


Take care.

[Bender]

I looked at their website but unfortunately I could not view the demo.

Did you opt for the version that runs standalone, network, or intranet/internet?

Our company is currently reviewing Symon and we love the ability to have agents give their prefs through a web based program. However I was wondering how this program is compared to Symon.

Have you seen Symon? And if so, how would you compare them?

[Earl]

Bender,

We chose the network option. I found out about this software from a friend of mine who is responsible for work force Management at his company. As for Symon, I have not seen their tool but I did ask my friend and he stated that he too looked at Symon but after seeing the Call Center Bid Manager, it was more impressive and allowed him to do more with it and that it was cheaper.

Once I Contacted CPM through their website, they followed up with me with a site visit and they gave me a good deal which impressed my boss. Since this has come along, all I do is let the customer service know that there is a shift bid in a few weeks and they just update their preferences and I download the schedules and hit a button. I love it!! My agents love it also. This was a God sent All I can say, is check them out before you decide on anything else.

[sandjtn]

IEX now has a Shift Bidding capabilities in it's newer releases of software. It has pretty robust capabilities in that it can take into account many preferences, skills and can mix and match with thier preference based scheduling. If you haven't seen it, you should check that out as well. It's also a great tool in projecting budgeting for new hires and growth possibilities.

[Earl]

I am currently using IEX and am one of the few people who got the upgrade with the shift bidding module. This module allows you to build schedules around the agents preferences which was never my problem. Ongoing shift bid assignments was my concern. Using this IEX module created a line of angry employees out my door after the shift bid.

The agents were upset with what they recieved and it was difficult to explain how they got the schedules and I am using a seniority based process. I just purchased this software from CPM, Call center performance management after a free trial for 30 days. Once I implemented this solution, I only had 2 out of 600 employees who were experiencing issues with the schedule they received. These two employees have only been with the company for less than 3 months and due to college and child care issues, they found it difficult to work the schedules that were left. With my attrition, we are having another shift bid next month. With this process I can now make the promise to my employees that their schedule will either stay the same or get better....NEVER WORST....

The philosophy that I have for my Work Force Management team is that we never have to do a full blown schedule bid ever again (unless my call arrival patterns change that drastically) In the 10 years I have been working the patterns have basically been the same just more call volume due to growth.

Think about it...Marjority of the schedules will be the same as they are. I now look at the vacated schedules and determine if these schedules should be re-offered or replace. Either way, I get to fill my holes and move people to better shifts. because throwing out all of the schedules and starting over only induces anxiety with the agents. Even though it looks good on paper that I have a body in place, the reality is that the agents end up using calling in sick or using their top time as a result of the schedules that don't fit their lifestyle.

Since I went away from using the IEX schedule bid tool and began using Call Center Bid Manager, I have noticed significant Morale boosting and reduce call ins along with reduction is overtime after I have implemented this tool. Now my agents are thoroughly excited about this process because it has brought fair and consistency to my organization. I swear by it now!! I spoke to a lot of vendors and none of them did the things that this software does. Go to the website and ask them to give you a demo...Trust me it is well worth it. I have been doing workforce management for 15 years and haven't seen anything like this. The URL is WWW.CallCPM.com