Developed in cooperation with one of the biggest  Swedish call-centers

Problems to solve

The scheduling software is run once per month. Stuffing requirements may change from day to day (if not from hour to hour) due to changing volumes of inbound (or outbound) calls. In addition, unscheduled absences due to illness, traffic jams, snowfall, etc. makes it impossible to totally rely on the pre-generated schedule even when the call volume follows the established pattern. Corrections in the schedule are constantly made to cope with fluctuations in volumes of calls and the number of agents not appearing for work. More agents need to be called in to deal with an increase in the volume of calls or increase in the absentees level. Alternatively, lesser number of agents is required when the call volume decreases, or the sick rate due to a seasonable epidemics diminishes.

Effective dealing with fluctuations in the staffing level at a call center requires fast communication channels between agents and managers responsible for operative staffing of the call center.

eForm system

Eform is a web 2.0 system providing efficient channels of communication between three different categories of workers at a call center:

• Central staffing center, aka Control Tower, or just Tower
• Agents
• Coaches (managers)

E-form Functionality

Unscheduled absences are reported by agents to their coaches via direct phone calls. A coach communicates this information to the Tower via eForm with a couple of touches of the keyboard by selecting the agent’s name, time, and reason for an unscheduled absence. While filling the form, the coach has access to the information about previous unscheduled absences of the same agent. Thus, he/she has a possibility to see a pattern of absences and discuss the matter with the agent. The coach has also a possibility to promptly fill an absence form that concerns more than one agent, for example, in case of an unscheduled training session.

As soon as the coach saves the form, it appears in the absentees list at the Tower. A tower worker makes correction to the schedule accordingly, after which the form disappears from the actual list (but remains accessible via the archive search). In case of any unclearness, the tower quickly returns the form to the coach with a comment. The coach corrects the form, after which it again appears in the Tower’s absentees list.

Requests for work/free time/change of pass/etc. are issued by the Tower by filling a request form in which a tower worker picks up a type of the request, date and time it concerns, skills required/excluded. The standard text on how to answer a request of a given type appears automatically, but, if there is a need, the text can be augmented manually.

As soon as a Tower worker saves the request, it automatically appears on all agent workstations. The list of actual requests is also available to agents via Internet at their homes. An agent response to the request by filling some mandatory fields, and, if necessary, adding a comment.

The list of actual requests is shown at the Tower with the number of answers received by the agents. A tower worker processed the responses, satisfying some by changing the respective agent schedules, and rejecting the others by setting the reason for refusal. In case of an unclear answer, the tower worker returns it back to the agent by adding a question to it. When deciding whose responses to satisfy, the tower uses the information on the type of employment, accumulated overtime, skills possessed, etc. that is automatically attached the response. For example, those who have permanent wages and do not have accumulated overtime are preferred when processing requests for extra work, while agents with hour-based wages or accumulated overtime are preferred when processing requests for free time. A tower worker can sort the list of responses according various parameters, alternatively “filter” the list so that only agents with desirable characteristics are presented for processing.

Answers are processed until the needs expressed by the request are satisfied, after which the request is marked by “quota is filled”. Alternatively, if all answers have been processed, the request is marked as “closed”. Closed requests, as well as requests that concern dates that have already passed automatically disappear from the tower list, but they are still accessible through the archive search.

The list of actual requests at an agent workstation reflects the state of his/her responses via special icons. The agent can see whether his/her response has been satisfied, rejected, returned with a question, or not processed before the “the quota filled” marking. In case the request has been satisfied, the agent also sees changes made in his/her personal schedule.

Additional functionality includes the possibility for agents to file reclamations and questions about their schedules, and to inform their availability for the next month schedule.

eForm benefits

• Time saving. Slimmed communication via eForm saves time for all three categories of workers: the Tower, agents and coaches. It takes only several touches of the keyboard to fill and/or process a form. Much of information is added automatically; control routines remove the sources of errors, and thus needs for dialogues aimed at error correction. The user-interface is simple and intuitive, which is important in a situation when new agents are constantly hired.
• Enhanced capability of making right decisions when processing responses for extra work or free time. The tower gets information on employment type and overtime, and a possibility to sort and select responses based on this parameters. Based on this information and capability, they can give priority to the responses that are more advantageous from the economical point of view.

Technical platform

Open source: Linux. Apache, MySQL, Ryby, Ruby-on-Rails, JavaScript, extJS. Installation on a MS Windows server and/or use of a different SQL database is possible

Fully integrated with LDAP. Can be integrated with other business information systems via web-services, direct access to a database, or export/import files.

eForm communication scheme

Screen Shots