Workforce Management

[Gloria E]

I am looking to network with someone who has Blue Pumpkin 4.5 with WFO Suite, Activity Manager, TOM and Planner. If you can help me, I would appreciate it.

We are newly upgraded and are having some difficulty manipulating the system.

[Victoria]

Gloria
Have you spoken to Witness systems Support to arrange some assistance in using the product? Have you had the full training delivered to you from them?
This is a very user friendly application.

You should in the first instance let them know you are having difficulties as I am sure they would be able to assist you.

Sorry it has taken me a while to respond - it has been a while since I last logged into this forum.

Cheers
Victoria

[Bruin1]

Can anyone provide some insight on IEX? I have been charged with building a business case to have this WFM software and havent the foggiest on where to begin. Pleas help?

[Victoria]

Hi there
Thanks for your email.

My suggestion to you would be to get at least 3 vendor's quote (ie IEX and 2 other competitors in the market place) and look at the features and benefits that the WFM software will provide to your call centre.

In order to create a business case - you will need to speak with your Call Centre Manager, Team Leaders, Agents in the centre to ascertain what the requirement is, what the issues are and how will the WFM software solve those problems.

Senior Management will be focussed on Return on Investment (ROI)
Call Centre Manager's focus will be adherence to schedule and effective forecasting and scheduling
Team Leaders focus may be real time monitoring, quality monitoring and coaching.
Agents focus may be to be able to view schedules via the web and request shift swaps/bids and time off.

You will need to understand what the key issues are surrounding your call centre and then draft the business requirements and business case for submission to senior management.

Hope this helps!
Cheers
Victoria Zicopoulos
victoria.zicopoulos@premier.com.au
+61 3 9200 7759

[msalariosa]

Hi! am new here... I just transferred from one Call Center to another... I know Blue Pumpkin and Avaya CMS Reports which was used in the old Call Center that I used to work with. The current center I am working for is using IEX and Aspect which am not familiar with, though some of the interface are the same with BP, I am wondering if anyone has user manuals for IEX and Aspect. When I was on the process of transferring (applying for a new job) I was also asked if I know eWFM. If anyone has user manuals for IEX, Aspect or eWFM, (in PDF format) I would be so grateful... Thanks in advance

p.s. I have the user manuals for BP and Avaya.

[Victoria]

Hello there
I would suggest you ring your IEX support Help Desk and your Aspect Support Help Desk and ask for copies (if you dont already have them in your new organisation).

These documents are supplied by customers who have purchased the software and it would be illegal for others to send you the soft copies as they are proprietary confidential documents to those organisations who have purchased the software.

Also as a reseller of Witness/Blue Pumpkin products and previously Aspect products, you should not really be giving away or emailing manuals out to people outside of your company - this is not ethical or legal.

Suggest you ring your Help Desk people for IEX or Aspect and request copies
or take their courses.

Cheers
Victoria

[shankar879]

Hi,

Am new to eWFM. We are setting up eWFM in our CC. We hav an issue in setting up breaks.

We have 3 breaks (I Break (15 Min)+ Lunch (30 Min) + III Break (15 Min)) for the agents. All three breaks are distributed randomnly. Can these breaks be arranged in order. Eg., Please find the current distribution given below

I Break Lunch
Agent 1 Agent 2
Agent 2 Agent 5
Agent 3 Agent 3
Agent 4 Agent 1
Agent 5 Agent 4


Agent 1 should be the first to get both the breaks etc.,

Can u help??


Cheers !!!

[alopezmoran]

Tell me some diference about eWFM (aspect) vs Blue Pumpkin, as there are advantages with both.

[amadhav]

Does anyone have documentation on Auto run reports? My understanding is that this is just a report scheduling feature of Aspect eWFM.
I am looking for the description of the fields output in two specific reports - Agent Availability and Agent SuperState (or Schedule)

[Kai R.]

Originally Posted by ForceGuy

Irene is a good setup in that startup costs are extremely low and from a financial point of view, that portion of your costs are fixed..also reduces your internal talent/headcount requirement as you won't need a full blown WFM team. ...for full internal flexibility and future growth I'd lean towards your own in house system...Blue Pumpkin and IEX are both excellent. Can't really go wrong using either as your WFM system.

------------------------
forceguy_2@hotmail.com

Hello everyone,

I just had to chime in on this great thread with one bit of info clarifying a point on the Irene WFM system. Based on the information above, one might get the impression that Irene is only available as a hosted solution model. Just to clarify, there are 2 delivery channels for the Irene WFM system, one being Irene Online, which is a completely web based format, and the other being Irene Enterprise, which is a more traditional on-premise delivery accessed over a corporate intranet but still via a web browser. The low startup costs mentioned above are probably a reference to the hosted system as it is based on a monthly fee model. Most of you are probably aware of the various advantages/disadvantages "Hosted vs. Enterprise solutions", but if you would like more information on the topic then please email me at krawson@isc.com for a free copy.

Also, related to the other points on this thread, I have a second report I would be happy to send any interested parties, which is by our algorithm specialist and details how to evaluate the forecasting and scheduling functionality of different WFM systems. Granted, it is coming from us, a WFM vendor, but as others have mentioned here the more information you have for your decision making, the better. Please let me know at krawson@isc.com if you would like a copy of "How to compare WFM systems"

[CBSoothill]

Does anyone have any experience with Genesys WFM. I have been using it for several months now but due to one reason or another was not able to attend the training with Genesys. I have basically solely responsible for all the configuration and setup.

I find a frustraing tool and am not sure that it is the best one for our call center setup.

Our basic set up is as follows. 2 call centers, about 120 agents normally with a seasonal add of about 40 temps in each site from Sept to Dec. We have about 60 clients spread over 9 teams. Each clients volume ranges anywhere from 1 to 350 calls a day depending on the employee base and services we offer. Additionally most of the clients hours of operation are 8-6 but others ranage anywhere from 7-6 or 9-9.

Scheduling is problematic, basically each team supports a certain number of clients, however mainly due to attrition not all CSR's on the team know all the clients. Additionally, we utilize cross-team support as back up as needed. The problem is that becasue Genensys WFM connects directly with Congfiguration Manager the skills are automatically updated. This in theory is a great thing. It means that i don't have to keep manually changing skills in the WFM tool each time someone is trained etc. The problem is that when i run a schedule it looks at who is skilled and at what level at that exact moment in time. So if we have done some 'tweaking' of skills either due to absences or some other event it can really skew the schedule. One way around this to schedule by individual team, that way it basically ignores the CSR's on the other teams. The downside is that the other teams schedules could then be off becuase the CSR's from that team are taking calls for other teams instead of just the ones the schedule was told to look at.

Also, we don't use the time off balance or the budget functions but when i run a forecast scenario i am forced each time to enter the paid hours a day and the hourly amount. Any way of turning that off? It is just extra steps to take.

So, anyone else use Genesys WFM? What is your experience and what have you found to be the best/worst features it has to offer.

[rdaley1971]

I'm not familiar with Genesys as a WFM application, but I am familiar with its functions for call routing and CTI. I am guessing you also use those modules?

If you purchased Genesys a long time ago, it may be worth looking at the market again for new solutions. I think usability is a key factor in any technology. Call centers have turnover, it's the nature of this business. Attrition leads to new people in new positions, both through promotions and through new hires. If your training requirement for your technologies is that extensive, the technology may be cost-prohibitive in the long run.

The usage scenarios you describe are complex due to the diverse skills and low volumes, but not outside the capacity of good WFM software. The hardest part for your staffing is going to be managing the low volume clients, because a single missed call or long queue time can have a greater impact on your stats. Do your service level agreements have a stipulation that they are tied to a forecast?

rick.daley@invisionwfm.com

[johsen]

Hi,
Victoria
Can you explain what is features of using Aspects TCS ver 4.x, eWFM ver 6.0, GMT Planet and Blue Pumpkin.

[Kevinized]

With Presence Management software on each agent's desktop and agents being aware of the minimum agents available to maintain an appropriate service level, I was able to change the habits of a 100 seat call center in an insurance claims and customer service environment.

By programming call overflows, if a service level was not being met, directly to supervisors and managers, I was able to bring and average hold time from over 3 minutes to less than 10 seconds with only 80% of the agents they had.

Those 100 agents had 9 supervisors to do the planning so maybe WFM was not as critical where there is a higher supervisor to agent ratio.

[_Tranquility]

Originally Posted by Victoria

I have had extensive experience using Aspects TCS ver 4.x, eWFM ver 6.0, GMT Planet and now Blue Pumpkin. Any questions
please email.

Hi there Victoria,
I have been reading your post and how you were using GMT Planet, which is what our busy government (WA) owned call centre has just contracted to use in our workplace.
I have read that you have now stopped using GMT WFM and have now moved onto Blue Pumpkin.
Could you please let me know the benefits of changing programs, and what pitfalls for each program are. Additionally what are the KPI indicators and was the level of GOS maintained especially in GMT
Your immediate response will be appreciated.
Cheers
_Tranquility