Getting started with Workagenda

Getting Started with Workgenda

?In today’s dynamic business environment, third-party outsourcers like us (Iterum Connections) have proven vital in providing customer experience excellence. We do so by reliably offering clients cost savings and multilingual expertise with our teams of talented agents located offshore.

Still, we understand that maximizing these benefits requires effective workforce management. Agents call in sick, call volumes spike due to the success of a marketing campaign, and so on. Inevitably, these situations occur—and when they do, they can wreak havoc on a customer service operation that has rigidly predetermined workforce schedules or outmoded staffing plans based on Excel.????

We recognize that advanced tools are needed to deliver results in the fast-paced world of 24/7 customer care. That’s why we at Iterum partnered with Workagenda for real-time workforce management at our contact centers in Panama, Colombia and Jamaica.

After a week-long set-up period, Workgenda synced with our secure cloud-based infrastructure. Easy setup quickly gave way to the automatic scheduling of agents. Straightaway Workgenda enhanced Iterum’s operations by optimizing manpower resources.

?As a scheduling tool, Workgenda allows us to accurately forecast call volumes. By drawing on AI that includes algorithms informed by historical data, seasonal peaks and troughs and customer behaviors, Workgenda helps us identify patterns in calls and online contacts. Then, the real-time Workgenda system allows us to forecast fluctuations in contact volumes with several hours’ advance notice.

By scheduling the right number of agents at the right time, fewer internal resources are needed to monitor call volumes and deal with sudden changes in call volumes. This eases the burden on our managers and agents. Under previous scheduling methods, our teams may have had to divert their attention to finding staff on short notice amid call volume spikes. Not anymore.

?It also allows Iterum to create an integrated schedule across contact centers in South America and the Caribbean. All our operations are now harmonized across sites, even though those sites are physically dispersed across different countries.

Crucially, the benefits of optimized workflows flow to our clients and customers.?Call volume peaks are met with more agents, ensuring continuity in service levels. Whereas outdated CX methods typically result in recordings—“We are experiencing higher than normal call volumes…” followed by 20 minutes on hold—by partnering with Workgenda, we adjust smoothly to variations in call volumes.

So, even when volumes surge, Workgenda helps ensure that we are ready and fully equipped to respond and so your customers do not experience an increase in wait times. ?

Beyond adding productivity, Workgenda helps us with recruitment. Workgenda takes into account agents who work from home as well as those in the contact center site. It also incorporates the availability of on-demand agents, better known as “gig workers.” This nets an additional benefit for us at Iterum because it allows us to more easily find agents with unique skills, including multilingual talent, and those who prefer to work on their own terms.??

Driven by advanced AI, Workgenda constantly monitors and can adjust the scheduling of agents to meet our clients’ call volumes. As the benefits of optimized scheduling materialize, Iterum’s clients enjoy higher ROI. The end-user gets shorter wait times and a better CX. ????

?In the next installment in this series, we’ll dive deeper into the performance metrics that Workgenda helps Iterum deliver for its clients and their customers.?