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Call Center Workforce Management Solutions Prove to be Valuable for Novacroft

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor

Call centers exist to provide an interaction point between the company and its customers. If the workforce within that call center is not optimized, the center quickly transforms from a service-based division to one that rapidly drains resources and loses customers. Now obviously the former is preferred over the latter, but it remains crucial to have a call center workforce management solution in place within the organization to continue to drive performance. 

In a recent case study, GMT shared how Novacroft, a U.K.-based contact center with 100 agents, learned to reduce staff costs, improve agent utilization, improve employee satisfaction, increase revenue stream and gain excellent agent feedback with the use of a call center workforce management solution. 

“Novacroft’s competitive ‘edge’ undeniably lies in its people and our relentless focus on team work. Since our inception in 1998, our team ‘ethos’ has been a key focus within the contact centre and we are absolutely committed to creating a working environment that fosters high performing, fulfilled teams,” said Tina Charman, contact center manager, in the case study.

“To underpin excellent customer service, we have built our own dedicated training facility and reinvested 18 percent of our profits annually into staff training. We have also invested in a powerful workforce management solution to deliver performance improvements and improve employee satisfaction” added Charman.

Before partnering with call center workforce management solutions provider, GMT, Novacroft realized inefficiencies in its contact center. Without a call center workforce management solution in place, the center couldn’t effectively handle significant peaks in activity or create schedules that delivered the right work/life balance for employees. And, as the center grew, so did the problems.

In addition, Novacroft also recognized that it wasn’t providing its agents with the visibility and flexibility to ensure a fulfilling workplace experience. Before implementing the call center workforce management system, Novacroft relied on a legacy spreadsheet-based system that was not only time consuming, but also limited flexibility, and prevented efficient schedule changes and planning for breaks and holidays. 

To effectively address these issues, Novacroft needed a call center workforce management solution and turned to GMT Planet. This scalable workforce management solution enabled the organization to optimize their contact center workforce, delivering staffing requirement definition, forecasting capability, comprehensive reporting, optimized scheduling, intra-day management, a Web-based employee module and much more. 

“GMT Planet’s features and functionality are perfectly suited to our business requirements. During our initial assessment of the solution, we were particularly impressed with its powerful, robust and accurate forecasting; easy to follow graphic displays; and the ability to schedule staff intelligently based on availability, skills and proficiency. GMT’s ability to implement, train and support us was another vital consideration, and this, combined with the strength of the solution, gave us the confidence to select them without hesitation” Charman commented.

Through use of the GMT call center workforce management solution, Novacroft has been able to meet its objectives and record a number of early successes, including a 23 percent reduction in staff costs, a 25 percent improvement in agent utilization and optimized employee satisfaction levels – reaching a consistent 98 percent. 

This call center workforce management implementation has had a positive impact on business for Novacroft as well. The company has measured increased revenue and conversation rates, driving an impressive and rapid return on investment.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jamie Epstein