To deliver the best customer experience and service levels and make optimum use of your company’s finite resources it’s critical that you understand forecasting and scheduling. This has never been more true now that you’re probably trying to juggle home and office workers too.
This intensive two-part virtual training course will help you understand how to approach the various resource planning tasks and gather the information you need. It will also give you a basic foundation in forecasting, scheduling and managing the plan on the day.
Course Description
This course will take you step by step through the process, with helpful hints and exercises to put the theory into practice. From understanding how to produce a forecast, to putting together shift patterns, as well as appreciating the importance of advisors using the right activity codes and working to the plan you have produced.
Topics covered include a resource planner’s perspective on:
- What is needed and how to produce weekly, daily & interval Forecasts
- What to consider when producing a Schedule
- The challenges of managing Real Time
- The importance of tracking and factoring in Shrinkage
- The impact of Average Handle Time, correct use of Aux codes and Adherence on the accuracy of the outputs.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course you will have gained a good understanding of the Resource Planning Function from beginning to end and full circle, including:
- How to produce a forecast and what it is used for
- The challenges of scheduling to meet forecast demand
- The importance of Real Time Management and what it entails
- An appreciation of how advisor behaviours and other factors influence Resource Planning Outputs
Benefits to your business
Without forecasting and scheduling you will probably be under-utilising your company’s resources. Or worse, you won’t have enough people available when you really need them and the customer experience will suffer, potentially leading to lost customers and lost business.
Having a genuine handle on your contact centre’s metrics, such as AHT, talk time, wrap time, occupancy, productivity, and adherence is useful in itself as only by measuring and knowing those numbers can you take steps to improve them – which starts with proper resource management.
Course content
Session 1
- Resource Planning Cycle explained
- Forecasting fundamentals – how to produce a simple forecast
- The importance of demand distribution Profiles
- Shrinkage – what is it and why is it important
- Average Handle Time
- Agent Requirements
Session 2
- Scheduling – the challenges of meeting demand and satisfying Advisor work-life balance
- Building Rotations
- Real Time Management – the challenges of the role and the importance of planning
- Advisor Adherence – why is it important and the impact of non-adherence
- Occupancy – what is it and why is it important.
- Communication with the Operation
About the trainer
Christine Chapman is a seasoned resource planning trainer. Back in 1998 she was promoted at Nationwide Building Society to Resource Planning Manager supporting 450 colleagues in the contact centre. Since then she has gone on to deliver WFM best practice and training projects across the world.
What delegates say
“Overall I really enjoyed the training and I feel like my objectives were fully met. Definitely a worthwhile course for me.”
“I enjoyed the little ‘homework’ tasks that were set. It was an opportunity to practice what we learned during the sessions and helps to understand the topic. It also helped to be given some examples of tools we can use in practice and there was also some really useful online tools that were shared which I can utilise going forward.”
Book your place(s)
Format
Two x 3-hour online sessions on Tuesday & Wednesday using Zoom or Teams.
Who is it for?
Newly appointed members of the planning team, first planner in the centre, Team Leaders who wish to have a more informed discussion with their Resource Planning Team.
Why should you go?
To understand how to develop and produce resource plans to ensure your contact centre makes optimum use of its resources and delivers a great customer experience.
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