The link between WFM and Elvis....

Over a quarter of a century ago, the industry I work in was revolutionised through the introduction of Workforce Management software.? Prior to the arrival of WFM, everything was done in black and white, using a suite of spreadsheets held together with sticky-back plastic and blu tack.

Massive Impact

I don’t think, in today’s world, we can fully understand the impact that this had at the time.? Think of it this way - you know when you see black and white film of Elvis Presley swivelling his hips and singing ‘All Shook Up’?? Through modern eyes, he just looks like a bloke dancing whilst he sings and plays guitar - it might even look a little tame.? Back in the ‘50’s, though - he must have looked like he had just arrived from Mars!? No-one had ever seen the likes of it before. No wonder he had such a massive cultural impact.

WFM was very much like Elvis Presley in that regard - no, no, come back, it'll all make sense soon - people were aghast at what it could do and the impact it had was tremendous.

Yes, I have just compared WFM to Elvis.? And it felt good, I can tell you.

So, if WFM was so incredible and world-redefining and downright essential, why do most people these days view it like I view Coldplay - it’s something you simply have to live with, there’s nothing you can do about it as it’s not going to go away but you just wish it was better, more interesting and more dynamic?

Well, I hate to say this to you all, but it’s most often user error.

Poor Set Up

A lot of prospects and new customers that we at QStory have been talking to recently seem to have a love / hate relationship with their WFM system - that is, they love to hate it.? ‘It’s good at ‘x’’, they tell us, ‘but we want it to do ‘y’.’? On closer inspection, it seems as though most of the WFM systems have been appallingly badly set up, and have effectively been hamstrung from the very start.? It’s very possible that the system can in fact do ‘y’ as well as ‘x’, but not with the current set up.? Each little error in set up has then been compounded by further, ill-thought-out tweaks and the business is then left with a whole host of little workarounds that are required to try to get things to work.

As a result, a lot of users simply don’t know exactly how good their WFM could actually be and end up harbouring a mass of resentment towards their expensive investment.? And this can affect their view on what is actually possible in Contact Centre planning - they have been so badly limited by their WFM set up that they can no longer visualise the sun-dappled, pleasant uplands that they were promised when they signed their contract.? So when we start to talk to them about incredible ways that QStory’s Intraday Automation Software can help them, they simply can’t imagine that future state - it’s just mind-blowing.

Transformational Next Step

Now, if WFM is Elvis, then QStory is The Beatles - the transformational next step that completely redefines the present and the future.? QStory can transform even the best-set-up WFM systems by offering things that WFM simply cannot do - giving agents access to huge levels of autonomy and self-direction, automating schedule updates and skill changes, automatically managing Real Time Adherence, amongst a host of other things.? To be absolutely clear - we can transform your business regardless of how badly your WFM system is set up.? But can you squeeze any more juice from your existing technology, too?

So, my advice to all Contact Centre planners out there is this - review your WFM set up as soon as you can.? Rip it up and start again - get your configuration to match your current state as accurately as possible, whilst looking to futureproof it against the next possible change.? Talk to your vendors about your problems - get their help in getting your WFM to work FOR you rather than against you.? Experience the awesome power of your WFM tool as intended by their developers and promised by their sales teams.? And then add IDA from QStory to your tech stack and watch your performance and experience sky rocket.

Otherwise you’ll always be living in Heartbreak Hotel.