ICMI & NICE partner for New Research Highlighting Workforce Management Trends and Downfalls

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) in partnership with NICE, today released the 2017 report, The State of Workforce Management. Workforce management is essential to the foundation of every contact center and can be crucial in determining the quality of service provided. This report dives into how workforce management solutions and strategies are being utilized and the challenges today's organizations are facing when implementing. The State of Workforce Management is comprised of insights from 362 respondents across a diverse sample of contact center industries, sizes and roles to determine where workforce management stands in the industry today. 

For more information and to download the full report, please visit: icmi.com/Resources/Research 

In many cases workforce management can be a true indicator and defining factor in determining how a business will perform. ICMI and NICE's research, utilizing data from a wide variety of contact center professionals, takes a detailed look at trends and explores everything from scheduling, manual labor, automation, workforce management tools, forecasting and more to determine how it's being utilized across the industry landscape. Highlights include:

• Contact Centers Are Stuck on Outdated Solutions: Even with the rise of superior cloud-based solutions, 67% of contact centers use an on premise software (39%) or Excel/spreadsheets (28%) as their workforce management solution.
• Manual Labor is the Biggest Challenge:  The primary challenge found in workforce management processes across all responding organizations is the manual labor involved, which can create a delay in responsiveness. According to the report 71% of all intraday adjustments are handled manually.
• Cloud-based Solutions are Underutilized; Transition to cloud-based software would immensely benefit contact centers by allowing them to work with less system interruption and shift costs from capital to operating expenses. Despite the benefits, only 15% percent of respondents are using cloud-based workforce management software and only 22% of respondents indicated they have plans to move to a cloud-based solution within the next six to 12 months.
• Forecasting isn't Optional: Contact centers' ability to obtain an accurate forecast is pivotal to in providing quality service and meeting consumers anticipated delivery. Yet, 46% of contact centers with fewer than 50 agents don't measure for forecast accuracy, while 40% of contact centers with 50-500 agents don't measure for forecast accuracy.

"Essentially, the tools for today's contact center professionals to succeed are out there, but what organizations are lacking is guidance on the next steps to see those tools through to success," said Justin Robbins, content director, ICMI. "ICMI and NICE partnered to deliver key insights on what organizations might be lacking on their paths to success, in regards to workforce management, and what strategies might be right for them to implement as they take a turn in the right direction based on valuable feedback from their peers."

Additional Key Findings Include:

• Reducing operating costs is the number one current initiative for organizations, with 67% ranking this as the top priority.
• The most important capability of a workforce management system (36%) is the ability to schedule optimally across multiple sites.
• Guaranteed system uptime is the most important benefit of moving WFM to the cloud
• 73% of contact centers don't use a WFM solution for scheduling back office activities
• 51% of contact centers have a dedicated workforce manager or team that's in charge of scheduling

NICE will be hosting a spotlight session, Evolve to a New Approach to Workforce Optimization, at the annual ICMI Contact Center Expo and Conference, taking place May 22-25 on Orlando, FL. Join NICE's Senior Product Marketing Manager, Paul Chance, in this session as he dives into this research and more specifically how organizations can solve challenges when adopting workforce optimization technologies . To learn more about the event, please visit: icmi.com/Contact-Center-Expo-Conference

About ICMI
The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) is the leading global provider of comprehensive resources for customer management professionals -- from frontline agents to executives -- who wish to improve customer experiences and increase efficiencies at every level of the contact center. Since 1985, ICMI has helped more than 50,000 organizations in 167 countries through training, events, consulting, and informational resources. ICMI's experienced and dedicated team of industry insiders, trainers, and consultants are committed to helping you raise the strategic value of your contact center, optimize your operations and improve your customer service. ICMI is organized by UBM plc. UBM is the largest pure-play B2B Events organizer in the world. Our 3,750+ people, based in more than 20 countries, serve more than 50 different sectors. Our deep knowledge and passion for these sectors allow us to create valuable experiences which enable our customers to succeed. Please visit www.ubm.com for the latest news and information about UBM. 

SOURCE International Customer Management Institute (ICMI)

Related Links

http://www.icmi.com