The overall management of a call center is one of the most challenging positions a person can take on in his or her professional career. The good news is that with the right tools in place, such as call center software, those challenges can be overcome and the overall experience can be both rewarding and fun.

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Scheduling is Key in Call Center Software

One area that benefits greatly from call center software is that of scheduling. Proper scheduling within the call center can be one of the biggest headaches – if not nightmares – for the call center manager, especially if that scheduling is taking place through a manual process.

With just a few agent seats to schedule, manual processes can work; but once the center has grown beyond this small number, the challenge of scheduling according to requested shifts, scheduled trainings, anticipated call volumes and established key performance indicators (KPIs), is too much for the manual approach. At this point, it is time to call on call center software.

Call center software when applied to scheduling provides the supervisor/manager with what he or she needs to schedule according to the needs of the center and the budget of the organization. Keep in mind that these individuals also have to manage when agents login, when they log out, when breaks will be taken, who wants to work a flexible shift, who has to be gone on vacation on an anticipated heavy volume day and so on.

Call center software that focuses on scheduling can lend significant value by taking all factors into consideration and producing a schedule that not only meets the needs of the center, but also adheres to requests of individuals, accounts for training and coaching times and considers anticipated volumes – both low and high.

Call Center Software Helps with Volume Changes

If your center is managing 100 agents or more and you manage a number of different campaigns for a number of different clients, your  peaks and valleys in volume can vary nearly every day. The optimal environment is to be busy all the time so you can drive the most revenue. However, a constant focus on the phones all the time for all reps is not conducive to a progressive environment in which your agents can improve and grow in their position.

With call center software, you can maximize the opportunities in the call center when volume is at its heaviest, while also planning for important downtime activities. For instance, your call center agents cannot improve their performance on the phone simply by repeating a poor process. If they are missing key points when interacting with customers, that needs to be addressed and corrected before it can improve.

Scheduling time for addressing issues such as this, as well as ongoing training that only helps the call center agent to improve his or her performance is important in the big picture. And, the agent who is able to take the leadership in his or her own training is more likely to engage more in the position and deliver a better experience for the customer. When call center software is used for scheduling according to the needs of the call center, the outcome is sure to move the center in a positive direction.