CRM - April 2008 - (Page 49)

SCOUTING REPORT WFM BENEFITS CONTACT CENTERS LARGE AND SMALL Genesys NICE Left Bank Aspect Envision Telecom. Systems Solutions Verint WFM applications benefit the contact Modules Software Telephony Labs. GMT (IEX) (Monet) Systems center, its agents, and its customers. As FORECASTING Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard productivity tools, WFM applications SCHEDULING Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard minimize idle time and reduce agent waste, inefficiency, and absenteeism. At INTRA-DAY Standard Q3 2008 Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard the same time, WFM can increase REAL-TIME ADHERENCE Optional Optional Standard Standard Optional Standard Optional agent adherence and improve service AGENT SELF-SERVICE Optional Q3 2008 Standard Standard Optional Optional Standard quality by decreasing the rate of abanADMINISTRATIVE Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard donment and the need for “call backs.” REPORTING Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard The skill-based scheduling feature of MULTICHANNEL WFM improves customer satisfaction, FORECASTING Standard Standard Standard Standard Optional Standard Optional ensuring that agents with the right MULTISKILL SUPPORT Standard Standard Standard Standard Optional N/A Standard skill set are available to address inPERFORMANCE quiries in a timely fashion. Staff satisMANAGEMENT Optional N/A N/A Standard Optional N/A N/A faction is another benefit of WFM, LONG-TERM as it removes much of the arbitrariness STRATEGIC PLANNER N/A N/A N/A Standard N/A N/A Optional of manual scheduling, empowering Source: DMG Consulting LLC, December 2007 agents to manage their own schedules and enjoy schedule preferences as a Figure 2: WFM Solution Modules reward for outstanding performance. In very large contact centers, where the penetration rate solution providers: Aspect Software, Envision Telephof these solutions is currently the highest, WFM is essen- ony, Genesys Telecommunication Laboratories, GMT, tial for improving productivity. These applications are NICE Systems’ IEX, Left Bank Solutions’ Monet Softalso becoming increasingly critical for mid-to-large-size, ware, and Verint Systems. The chart indicates which multisite, multiskill, and multichannel environments. The WFM modules are standard, optional, under developoptions for acquiring WFM are more varied than ever, ment, or not included in these suites. (If a module is with new vendors and products from which to choose. standard, this means that when a license is purchased or Enterprises can elect to purchase or host a WFM solution. rented/hosted, the functionality is included at no extra And applications are available to target the specific needs cost. If a module is optional, this means that an end user and budgets of various types and sizes of contact centers. can elect to pay an additional fee for this capability.) The vendors use various strategies to differentiate their offerings and pricing. Some vendors still charge for each WFM FUNCTIONAL BUILDING MODULES All of the leading WFM solutions address both single- module; however, over the last couple of years, many of and multisite environments. The packaging of function- the vendors have started to bundle the majority of their ality varies substantially among the offerings; some ven- WFM functionalities into the standard offering. Vendors dors provide core and supplemental modules, while have apparently found it beneficial to make most of the others sell a license that includes all of their capabilities. capabilities standard instead of making customers decide WFM solutions are generally comprised of the core, exactly what they need and selling it modularly. value-added, and optional modules seen in Figure 1 (see page 48). Increasingly, multichannel and multiskill func- FINAL THOUGHTS tionality are being considered core components, as most The last few years have been turbulent for the contact center WFM market, due to acquisitions, shifting cussizeable contact centers have these requirements. tomer priorities, and market innovation. Customers have emerged as winners, benefiting from the enhanced soluCURRENT WFM SUITES The WFM market is mature, having been around for tions that are being delivered by stronger vendors that are over 20 years. However, these applications are not com- more financially viable. Today, vendors are investing more modities, and product functionality is very different in the future of WFM than they have at any point in the among the solutions. The modules included in WFM history of this technology segment. The result is a marketapplications are similar in concept and name but differ place of applications that are functionally richer and easwidely in detail and execution. This makes it relatively ier to use, with more improvements on the way. easy to compare features across applications. Donna Fluss (donna.fluss@dmgconsult.com) is founder and president of Figure 2 (this page) presents an analysis of functional DMG Consulting LLC (www.dmgconsult.com), the leading provider of contact capabilities from seven leading and contending WFM center and analytics research, market analysis, and consulting. www.destinationCRM.com CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | APRIL 2008 49 http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - April 2008

CRM - April 2008 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point A Tenancy of One’s Own The Rebirth of Taxes destinationCRM Dashboard Labor Disputes Reach The Contract Center The Plight of the Wirelines Required Reading The 2008 Service Awards The 2008 Service Leader Awards Customer Self-Service Microsoft Genesys Oracle eGain Astute Solutions The 2008 Rising Stars The 2008 Service Elite Awar Re:Tooling Scouting Report Pint of View

CRM - April 2008

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