Qmatic and GMT Announce New Partnership to Improve the Customer Experience in the Branch

The sales, marketing and technology partnership will provide a holistic view of branch service delivery and operational efficiency.

News provided by

Qmatic

Mar 22, 2011, 11:35 ET

GOTHENBURG, Sweden and ATLANTA, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Qmatic, world leader in Customer Flow Management (CFM) and GMT Corporation, a global industry leader in enterprise workforce management and performance optimization, today announced a partnership that will provide a holistic view of service delivery and efficiency in face-to-face service environments. This partnership will improve the customer experience in bank branches, hospitals, retail outlets and governmental departments that provide face-to-face service.

No more rear-view-mirror approach

Historically, improving branch service effectiveness was largely a rear-view mirror exercise, analyzing prior events in an attempt to improve future service delivery. Store staffing was an exercise largely based on the number of transactions conducted and not necessarily grounded in the actual number of visitors to a branch. Customers who waited in a queue longer than they desired would sometimes abandon the queue, which meant the total number of visitors to a branch – as opposed to those who remained to conduct a transaction – were not factored into the branch's capacity model or staffing plan. The result is underserved customers, poor customer service and declining customer satisfaction.

The innovative combination of Qmatic's Customer Flow Management and GMT's workforce optimization solutions will provide organizations with real time visibility into branch office efficiency, including staffing, queue wait times and branch traffic. This will enable organizations to make rapid adjustments to ensure its sales and service targets are consistently met. The result is improved branch sales and service performance and superior customer service.

"The partnership with GMT offers new opportunities as well as better service for our clients and their customers. CFM enables branch managers to meet centrally set targets with regards to waiting times and service times. The joint offering with GMT takes CFM to new levels. It will enable our clients to better optimize and utilize their personnel resources, whilst having a complete and holistic overview of their service situation throughout a whole network of branches simultaneously," said Michael Hallen, Chief Executive Officer of Qmatic Group.

Direct effect on the bottom line

"The quality and effectiveness of branch service delivery is directly proportional to the number of skilled staff available to meet the expected customer demand in the branch," explained Simon Angove, Chief Executive Officer of GMT. "GMT's partnership with Qmatic is a new approach that delivers real time service intelligence to branch and regional managers to help them provide better service to their customers when it's needed most. The result is a more effective store operation and more satisfied customers. For example, in today's intensely competitive banking market, satisfied customers have a direct effect on the bottom line."

About Qmatic

Qmatic is the inventor of Customer Flow Management (CFM) and is also the world's largest queue management company. CFM is a methodology for managing customer flow and experience from initial contact through service delivery. Qmatic operates in 122 countries and has 51,800 installations worldwide in the finance, retail, travel, healthcare and public sectors.

A Qmatic system is used, somewhere in the world, 1.8 billion times every year. That equals more than a quarter of the world's population passing through a Qmatic system each year.

Qmatic's systems and the CFM methodology help organisations meet centrally set targets, increase productivity and overall efficiency as well as improving customer and staff experiences.

For more information, please visit www.qmatic.com.

About GMT

GMT Corp. is a leading provider of workforce management and performance optimization solutions enabling companies to improve customer service and sales while decreasing labor expenses. Deployed in contact centers, branch offices or back office departments, GMT's products combine precision forecasting and intelligent scheduling with analytics and performance management tools to deliver a rapid return-on-investment. Products include GMT Planet®, its flagship workforce optimization solution; GMT On-Demand™, its SaaS workforce optimization solution; and SureServices, an award-winning client care methodology. Financial institutions benefitting from GMT's solutions include BB&T, South Carolina Bank and Trust, Elevations Credit Union, American Eagle Federal Credit Union, Mechanics Bank and Bank of the West. The company is privately-held with headquarters in Atlanta and offices in the U.K. and Australia.