All

I have now started the role as mentioned in my previous post.... and need some advice.

They have 83 staff......of which they have 17 different skillset lines incoming...with not all staff trained on the 17 lines..

They currently do not have a manpower plan..and work in a very reactive way....they do not have a workforce management system....therefore nothing is scheduled....staff work set shifts.....therefore nothing is planned effectively..

The further problem / complication is that there is no money in the pot for an expensive system.

What would you advise?...or what would you do?

Thanks

Tim

Tim,
Congrats on the new role.

We it looks like you have your hands full. Here are a few quick thoughts that might help;
1- Move off fixed shifts and headcount based planning. In oreder to effectively plan and manage the center resources you need to plan from the point of few of demand not resources (sounds obvious, but few centers do it). The first step in this process is to move to an FTE based budget process. This will shift the few to hours rather than headcount.
2- Map the desired 17 skill sets use excel or access, test all staff fo each of the skill sets and now you will have an agent skill database. Based upon this you can determine what areas need attention...high volume/demand driven skills should be first on your list as you get the best bang for your buck and over time you will be able upskill all staff to a level of competency in each.
3- Workforce management, employ an erlang plugin for excel and you can build schedules for your staff. Survey sales, marketing and other relevant stakeholders as well as your own historical data to build call patterns and flows. Build a demand forecast that looks out 18 months on a very high level, Create a more detailed 12 month view with demand, and all other activiteis incorporated; training, vacations, sick time, special projects etc. Take this down to the total hor level. Finally build a 6 week detail scheule where you bring the numbers down to an individual basis and produce a schedule.

I hope that I have added some value to this discussion.

If I can be of further assistance please email me directly at ctaylor@thetaylorreachgroup.com .

Best Regards,

Colin

www.thetaylorreachgroup.com

The further problem / complication is that there is no money in the pot for an expensive system. What would you advise?...or what would you do?


Given the way the questioner has put the question and the answer receieved gives I'd advise a bit of caution. There seems to be a ready desire to inplement solutions here before finding out why the situation exists.

There may well be a serious reason why the pattern is as it is, as yet no investigation or analysis has ocurred, perhaps there is a strong union presence, an inability to change working practices or perhaps a benevolent/old fashioned employer work ethic unwiling to impose flexibility on the workforce.

All in all before one sets out for a brave new world one needs to examine what one can change about the existing one and why it is as it is. If the underlying issues are not solvable due to the existing climate then your quest may be fruitless.

There seems to be a ready desire to inplement solutions here before finding out why the situation exists.

Just a note to support this comment - and this is a problem I see every day. Throwing a large amount of money at something does not give results. In almost every case I look at the cheap idea implemented well knocks the socks of the expensive idea.

Regards,
Darryl
www.darrylbeckford.co.uk

The centre mostly works a fixed shift system and yes they are looking to impose change of shifts based on whatever i come up with however at present we need to find out where we are now..if that makes sense...then start looking at identifying opportunities...there is a union however they will be fully consulted.....the staff have contracts which cover all the opening hours..so in my opinion they have had a good thing for a long time.

As you rightly say it does need to be managed more effectively.

Any starters for 10..does anyone know of any excel based worksheets etc that could help me try and unravel what I have got and unlease some potential?.On a further note many thanks for the advice so far.

Thanks

Tim

Tim, dont know if you've got this sorted now since its been a month since your last post. New to this sort of stuff myself but been playing with Erlang for the last couple of days and its a revelation. You can get it as freeware at tucows.com takes a bit of time to set up fully but you can start importing all your previous call stats and this will work out the efficiency of your stadff rotas, best break times according to call volumes etc. Well worth a look, give me a shout if you need anything else.

David,

Yes certainly would appreciate that.

My email address is timharding@hotmail.com

I will then send you my phone number and work email if that would help.

Regards

Tim

What would you advise?...or what would you do? >>>

I've been thinking a bit more about this given the extra info you've added.

>>>are looking to impose change of shifts based on whatever i come up with however at present we need to find out where we are now..if that makes sense...then start looking at identifying opportunities...there is a union however they will be fully consulted.....the staff have contracts which cover all the opening hours..so in my opinion they have had a good thing for a long time.


I'd certainly have a look at implementing some change management best practice.
Given previous answers I would have concerns that more thought needs to be given to potential loss of staff due to change, potential walk out/strike threat, likely costs of replacing staff who may leave. Impact of staff with differing skills sets leaving - which groups are most vulnerable and how easy is it to replace/train staff in more sophisticated groups. Communication planning, impact on morale, training costs and timings, impact on business as usual, impact on customers.

Its easy to examine the technology/resourcing angle however the change will not be accomplished successfully unless the people perspective has also been managed and planned.