Future Workforce Management Standard

• Introduction

1. Workforce Management Standard Introduction This document aims to introduce a new standard for workforce management (WFM) and the approach used to successfully support the future of contact center operations. While all contact centers and WFM teams have variations in how they conduct forecasting, scheduling, and real-time management, this standard seeks to recommend a new approach to a profession that is due for an overhaul. We present why now is the time for change and then outline a future for workforce management leveraging two frameworks:

• GRPI Framework: Goals, Roles, Processes, and Interpersonal Relationships (Beckhard, R. 1972).
• PPT Framework: People, Process, and Technology (Dr. Harold Leavitt, Leavitt’s Diamond Model, Applied Organization Change in Industry - 1964).

In redesigning the future WFM standard, we will recognize two overlapping areas in the above frameworks: process and interpersonal relationships / people. For our use, we will combine these two frameworks into a summary GRPI-T framework:

• Goals
• Roles
• Processes
• Interpersonal Relationships / People
• Technology

We present the future of WFM with this GRPI-T framework in a new light, where employees are prioritized first and how automation technologies can be leveraged to benefit employees. We propose new methods for creating more resilient capacity plans incorporating simulation and variance probabilities into our processes. We offer unique strategies leveraging real-time automation to address variations to our plan. Finally, we propose a new category of goals, roles, and processes for WFM teams, where WFM teams leverage technology and automation to impact employee satisfaction and retention. WFM’s direct involvement with employee satisfaction and retention will introduce a radically different interpersonal relationship with their primary customer, the frontline employee. While we introduce a new approach to WFM, many traditional goals, roles, processes, and relationships remain intact. For example, two conventional goals of 1) meeting service level objectives and 2) optimizing staff to achieve expense targets are still considered critically important. However, by leveraging automation techniques and taking an employee-first stance, this new standard will support achieving traditional goals with a bonus: solving the legacy contact center problem of employee attrition. Attracting, developing, growing, and retaining employees is at the core of the next generation of workforce management principles.