It`s a management dream to cut down on the time and effort required to carry out a tedious, but vital, task by a few days or even a few hours - and simultaneously enhance service levels.
At NBS Direct, this dream has been realised beyond all expectations: what used to take one person three weeks - manually drawing up the following month`s work schedule for the bank`s 75 call centre agents - now takes three minutes, once all the parameters have been set up.
"And service levels in the call centre have improved," says NBS Direct general manager David Oosthuizen.
This follows the implementation of PrimeTime Enterprise enhanced forecasting and scheduling tools from US-based Blue Pumpkin Software, a leading provider of workforce management solutions by Dimension Data Interactive (DDI).
DDI, the JSE-listed Dimension Data Holdings division which focuses on interactive customer management technologies, is closely involved in the upgrading of NBS Direct`s 90-seat call centre which handles around 120 000 calls a month.
"Before PrimeTime was installed, one person would manually draw up a schedule for agents to staff the call centre from 7am to 9pm on weekdays, and 7am to 6pm on weekends. This might be possible in a small call centre with less than 20 seats, but it was a paper nightmare for us. Now, with operational parameters in place, a month`s schedule is produced at the click of a mouse.
"More importantly, PrimeTime enables us to accurately predict call volumes and schedule agents accordingly. This has helped to improve service to customers by ensuring we have sufficient agents to handle calls during peak periods when we could be dealing with over 4 000 a day. We also avoid having excess agents sitting around doing nothing during quiet periods," Oosthuizen adds.
PrimeTime`s predictions are based on information on call volumes and duration held in the CMS (call management station) database on the call centre`s Lucent switch.
Oosthuizen says NBS Direct opted for Blue Pumpkin`s scheduling solution after considerable evaluation.
"PrimeTime is a sophisticated product which offers all the functionality we currently require, but it`s also relatively easy to use compared to other products of similar sophistication. It took only a couple of day`s training for users to be proficient.
"DDI also installed a pilot system which enabled us to really put the software through its paces over a three month period - and it came through with flying colours. We took ownership of the software early in October 1999," he adds.
According to Warner Molema, Blue Pumpkin product manager at DDI, the PrimeTime line of products is designed to help call centres better manage their workforces. This results in reduced costs associated with overstaffing, increased revenues and improve customer satisfaction.
"Call centre managers are charged with making many strategic decisions. With PrimeTime Enterprise, they have a powerful decision support system. Users can quickly get the data they need to track progress and adherence for individual agents, a group of agents or call centres, to gain a global picture of their operations," he concludes.
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