Cost Improvement Programs
Cost Improvement Programs
Forecasting: The functional process that takes historical data and information for use in predicting what might happen in the future.
Forecasting is one of four cornerstones of Workforce Management: Forecasting, Scheduling, Real-Time Activity (RTA) and Business Intelligence.
Requirements: What Do We Need For Effective Forecasting?
Conceptually, forecasting means the same thing to most people: the idea of telling the future based on some existing knowledge. How we work within the WFM model to generate accurate forecasts requires us to base forecasting activity on solid methodology. It's important that we follow common guidelines so that when we aggregate forecasting data to make business decisions, we can do so as accurately as possible. For this reason, we've developed a model with 4 dimensions that defines "World Class Forecasting".
Key concepts behind forecasting include generating and utilizing:
- A set of established roles and responsibilities
- A solid process with clearly defined purpose
- A collaboration mentality, with all other departments within the organization (use of wiki!)
- Clean data, both historical & judgmental derived from collaboration
- Adoption of Data Governance M&Ps to maintain clean data
- Support from call center, regional, division and corporate management
- Technical Tools (WFM Software) and Knowledgeable Resources
