In today's fast-paced and ever-evolving customer service environment, ensuring the well-being and job satisfaction of contact center agents is imperative. When agents are engaged, motivated, and equipped with the right tools, they can deliver exceptional customer experiences.
But each agent is different, which means you need more than a one-size-fits-all approach to elevate the agent experience. Remember the classic “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” fairytale? Just as Goldilocks needed to find a porridge that was just right—neither too hot nor too cold—contact centers need to make sure that their workforce management processes and policies are neither too extreme nor too moderate—they need to be just right.
That’s where NICE CXone Workforce Management (WFM) comes in. CXone WFM is a powerful solution that not only optimizes workforce scheduling and management but also places a strong emphasis on enhancing the agent experience in just the right way.
Here’s how CXone WFM embraces the Goldilocks principle to improve the agent experience:
- NICE CXone WFM boasts a user-friendly interface that ensures that agents can quickly and intuitively access the features they need.
The interface is clean and simple, with easy-to-navigate menus and icons. Agents can quickly and easily access all of the information and tools they need to manage their work schedule and balance it with their personal life. The simplicity reduces the learning curve and allows agents to access the features they need without frustration. The interface is designed to be responsive, mobile-friendly, and visually appealing too.
- Empowering agents is key to a positive agent experience, and NICE CXone WFM does that in just the right way using self-service empowerment.
- Agents can perform schedule change requests like submitting for time off and requesting schedule updates such as editing, adding, or removing a schedule activity. Managers receive notification of these requests, which can be reviewed and approved using a simple dashboard.
- CXone WFM allows the contact center to strike a balance between being too rigid and too flexible in scheduling. Agents need some level of flexibility to accommodate personal needs while still meeting business requirements and customer service demands.
- Agents have easy access to CXone WFM using a web-based application or the free mobile app, allowing contact centers to embrace the future of workforce management and modernize the workforce. Agents can use the mobile app to check schedules, submit schedule change edits, receive notifications, submit a trade, request time off, or use the advanced self-service options for time off and extra hours from anywhere. This flexibility supports remote work and mobility, enhancing the agent experience whenever and wherever they are. It also allows your agents to say goodbye to rigid schedules, empowering them to request changes with ease and adapt work to fit their life, not the other way around.
Contact center conditions sometimes dictate more or fewer agents to be staffed just right. An advanced feature available to agents in CXone WFM, self-service gives agents visibility into interval-level time off, extra hours, or self-swap opportunities that can either be immediately auto-approved, without the intervention of a supervisor or sent to a supervisor for approval based on defined net-staffing levels. This increases agents’ scheduling flexibility and provides transparency while ensuring that staffing needs are met. By giving agents the autonomy to control their schedules and request time off, swap shifts, and manage their work-life balance, the contact center can boost agent satisfaction and reduce administrative burdens.
Managers also have the ability in CXone WFM to configure auto-approval of agent schedule update requests based on net-staffing conditions, simplifying the request process. The agent interface is designed to streamline the request process, improve communication, and provide a structured way for agents to manage their schedules.
Imagine that you are an agent in a contact center. You have a schedule that works for you most of the time, but there are a few days each month when you need to exchange shifts with another agent. Or, alternatively, you might have a doctor's appointment or a child's recital on one of your scheduled days. An enhanced trade feature can be particularly useful when agents need to adjust their schedules due to personal commitments or unforeseen circumstances.
The trade feature in CXone WFM makes it easy for an agent to exchange shifts with a co-worker. By using configured parameters, managers can ensure that agents are presented with the appropriate schedules for trade and define whether requests will be auto-approved or require manager approval.
The request management system generates notifications and alerts to keep agents informed about the status of their requests. Agents receive updates on whether their requests have been approved, rejected, or are pending review.
The system also allows agents to participate in shift bidding and define their schedule preferences, giving them more control over their schedules and the opportunity to choose shifts that align with their desired schedule. This promotes a collaborative work environment and accommodates the varied needs of agents.
By applying the Goldilocks principle to the agent experience in NICE CXone WFM, contact centers can create an environment that is neither too extreme nor too moderate—one that’s just right for maximum agent satisfaction, engagement, and performance. This balance helps agents thrive, enhancing overall customer service and increasing business success.