Master Seasonal Service Levels – Just Like This!

Seasonal peaks are clearly marked on the calendar for many contact centre leaders – especially those working in the travel and retail industries – but how well they are handled can make or break the customer experience.

So, what does it really take to thrive – and not just survive – during these peak periods? To find out, we asked our panel of experts to share their top tips and techniques to help you master seasonal service levels in the contact centre.

Here’s what they said…

1. Overflow Extra Work to Teams Outside of the Contact Centre

Why not take advantage of the people and processes you already have in place?

With the right solution, companies can pull back-office teams in to help at peak times. These users would not need to be part of the contact centre but can simply form a group that can be enabled at the click of a button.

For example, let’s take a retail scenario, The contact centre could be overwhelmed with people trying to purchase a great online offer.

Yet the store may be quiet as the offer is restricted to online purchases. By then enabling the store workers with flexible, mobile solutions, they can answer interactions too!

Contributed by: Lisa Orford, VP Product for Contact Centre, 8×8

2. Keep Agent Stress Levels Under Control With Adequate ACW Time and Regular Breaks

Providing adequate after-call work time (ACW) and regular breaks allows agents to regroup, reducing stress and enhancing performance.

Contributed by: Dane Smith, Global Learning and Development Manager, Enghouse Interactive

3. Level Up Your Long-Range Planning – “If You Simply Have the Wrong Number of Employees on the Payroll, You Are in Trouble!”

In the contact centre, forecasting is typically about determining the number of staff required at 15- or 30-minute intervals, a few weeks or months into the future.

By contrast, long-range planning deals with the total number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees you will need in the coming months and years, predicting seasonal peaks.

Even if you are at the top of your game with the rest of the WFM process, if you simply have the wrong number of employees on the payroll, you are in trouble. You can’t hire and train new employees overnight.

Long-range planning includes long-range forecasting, capacity planning, budgeting, recruitment, and training.

The cornerstone of the long-range plan is the long-term forecast. Today’s forecasting tools use AI pattern recognition to identify and predict growth trends and seasonal patterns with uncanny accuracy, multiple years into the future.

Contributed by: Chris Dealy, WFM Evangelist, injixo

4. Never Rush a Solution Into Place! Hastily Implemented Changes Can Cause More Harm Than Good

Start planning for seasonal spikes well in advance. Avoid rushing new touchpoints or solutions into place, as hastily implemented changes can cause more harm than good.

Careful preparation ensures that all systems and processes are robust and ready to handle increased volumes smoothly.

Contributed by: Agam Kohli, Sales Engineering Director, Odigo UK

5. Allow Your Agents to Work Anywhere to Help Out at Peak Times

Implement flexible scheduling and remote work options for your agents to distribute your workload, match your availability to your demand, and reduce overhead costs.

Tools like shift-bidding, shift-swapping, or part-time work can give your agents more control and autonomy over their schedules.

Cloud-based platforms can enable your agents to work from home or anywhere else, providing the flexibility needed to handle peak periods.

Contributed by: Tatiana Polyakova, COO, MiaRec

6. Introduce Annualized Hours to Cover Predictable Seasonal Peaks

In many contact centres, there are predictable seasonal peaks. In these industries, you’d ideally schedule (and pay) agents to work fewer hours in quiet months and more hours in busy months.

That’s typically at odds with agent employment contracts, which guarantee a given number of hours per week at a given hourly rate.

The solution is to introduce annualized hours contracts and scheduling. This gives agents a consistent income, while allowing the business to balance the supply of agents with the seasonal peaks and troughs in customer demand.

It’s vital that agents are engaged in the planning process and have clear advance visibility of their working hours.

Annualized hours do require additional effort for HR, the operations team, and the planning team, but the benefits in a seasonal business are clear.

Contributed by: Chris Dealy, WFM Evangelist, injixo

7. Introduce Callbacks to Reduce Frustration for Callers and Agents

Implementing empathetic callbacks respects callers’ time and reduces frustration for both callers and agents, improving Average Handle Time (AHT) as agents won’t need to apologize for long wait times.

Contributed by: Dane Smith, Global Learning and Development Manager, Enghouse Interactive

8. Take the Manual Guesswork out of Your Forecasting and Scheduling

AI’s ability to monitor 100% of interactions, digital and voice, historically and in real time, coupled with an advanced workforce engagement management system, allows organizations to improve their forecasting and scheduling.

AI removes the manual guesswork when it comes to forecasting and scheduling – identifying complex historical patterns and accurately predicting future staffing requirements.

Additionally, when service levels spike unexpectedly, it can quickly adjust staffing to ensure that the organization can handle the increase in interactions.

Workforce managers have full control over forecasting and scheduling decision-making and can be confident that they can handle any future spikes in service levels.

This not only benefits consumers with consistently great customer service but also helps employees, giving them a more consistent, predictable schedule – even during the busy seasonal periods.

Contributed by: Mitch Todd, Product Marketing Manager, NICE

9. Try Automated FAQs and Booking Systems to Offset Volumes

Implementing simple things like automated FAQs or booking systems for rescheduling of appointments is a simple way to offset volumes – with these 3 steps:

Contributed by: Lisa Orford, VP Product for Contact Centre, 8×8

10. Monitor Real-Time Performance for Continuous Improvement

Monitor real-time performance, track adherence, and gather insights for continuous improvement.

By optimizing scheduling and resource allocation, WFM solutions help maintain high service levels, reduce agent burnout, and enhance overall customer experience during peak periods.

This strategic approach ensures a well-prepared and efficient contact centre.

Contributed by: Dane Smith, Global Learning and Development Manager, Enghouse Interactive

11. Create a Peak-Season Staffing Strategy – Including ‘Gig’ Workers

Once you’ve identified a seasonal peak, you need a plan to staff up to it.

Contributed by: Chris Dealy, WFM Evangelist, injixo

12. Acknowledge the Significant Pressure Agents Experience During Peak Seasons

Last, but not least, contact centre leaders must prioritize employee wellbeing to help agents remain calm and focused, ensuring effective KPI delivery.

Acknowledging the significant pressure agents experience during peak seasons and cultivating an environment where they can express their concerns without fear encourages mental health awareness and support.

Promoting agent wellbeing can greatly enhance their performance during high-call volume periods and help prevent burnout.

Contributed by: Dane Smith, Global Learning and Development Manager, Enghouse Interactive

For more great insights and advice from our panel of experts, read these articles next:

• Ease Agent Stress – With These 15 Top Tips!
• Is AI Really a Game-Changer in Knowledge Management?
• Is Your Scheduling in Need of an Overhaul? Try These 8 Top Tips

Reviewed by: Xander Freeman