Case Study: Appriss

CUSTOMER PROFILE

THE CHALLENGE

Prior to implementing NICE CXone, Appriss used an internally developed solution to manage its call center. However, it didn’t provide visibility into fluctuating call volumes so the contact center could staff accurately and deliver high service levels.

Additionally, the vast majority of Appriss agents work from home, so it’s important that the system update all agents on schedule changes while encouraging engagement and high performance.

THE SOLUTION

Achieving high service levels with automated scheduling and forecasting

Appriss now uses CXone Workforce Management to create accurate schedules and forecasts, and the resulting business outcomes have been tremendous.

“Our service levels have always been high,” explains Luke. “But they’ve increased even more with CXone Workforce Management, because our agents now have the information they need to adhere to the schedule. Before CXone, I was using Excel to create schedules. It was very challenging to manage day-to-day updates, because I had to notify each agent every time there was a change. Now our agents know when to go on break or take lunch, and they have an easy way to track their adherence.”

“We’ve also been taking more calls without increasing staffing. In October, for instance, we had a higher call volume and our service levels remained at 98%—even with two fewer agents than the previous year. I believe that’s a true by-product of accurate forecasting and schedule adherence.”

OPPORTUNITIES IDENTIFIED

Ensuring schedule adherence even when agents work from home

Since most of the Appriss staff work from home, the ability to monitor adherence to the schedule, even when they’re not in the office, is extremely important.

“Our team is usually in the office one day per week,” says Luke. “Being able to easily track schedule adherence, even if they’re working from home, serves as a pulse check on whether they’re adhering at home as well as they do when they’re in the office. That’s something we couldn’t do until we rolled out CXone Workforce Management.”

Boosting agent engagement and operational efficiency

Before implementing CXone, Appriss used Excel to manually update scorecards for all 55 agents. “It was a monumental task,” says Luke. “I could only manage to update the scorecards on Mondays, but that meant our agents were limited to knowing how they were doing on a weekly basis.”

Now inView Performance Management for CXone gives agents near real-time feedback on their performance metrics and is used to run motivational gamification challenges. “inView Performance Management for CXone gives us almost immediate performance feedback. It’s a top-notch, very flexible tool,” says Luke.

“CXone’s gamification is amazing; we use the challenges to engage our agents. For instance, agents get virtual coins whenever they earn a solid 100 on a quality score. We have large monitors stationed throughout the contact center so everyone can see the winners’ names and their avatars. The agents love it.”

“inView Performance Management for CXone has not only boosted agent engagement, but it’s also increased operational efficiency,” Luke continues. “It frees me up, because I’m no longer manually updating scorecards. It also showcases our contact center’s performance to our executives. It gives them a dollars-and-cents view of the business so they can see that CXone has great value for us.”

CXone helps drive positive culture

Luke enthusiastically recommends CXone to other contact centers, because Appriss has realized so many positive business outcomes from it.

“CXone keeps our agents engaged and informed,” he says. “They’re also motivated and care about our mission. inView Performance Management for CXone and CXone Workforce Management have really helped drive our business toward the positive momentum we want.”