Navigating the Expansion of Workforce Management Services
When you achieve success in workforce management and your organization begins to appreciate the value your team brings to the department, requests from other departments for similar services inevitably follow. However, as a workforce management leader, it is crucial to exercise sound judgment and refrain from saying yes to every opportunity for several reasons.
Different contact center departments vary in scale. For example, if the workforce management department achieves a 10% efficiency gain on a $100 million operating labor budget—resulting in an annual savings of $10 million—a smaller contact center with a $5 million operating labor budget should not expect the same absolute efficiency savings. Smaller operations have fewer staffing levers and less flexibility to implement changes. Although efficiency gains are possible, the expectations must be recalibrated. Therefore, when a leader demands a similar impact for their department, it is important to temper expectations to prevent inevitable disappointment and possibly say no to the opportunity.
Furthermore, every contact center department has its own unique culture and leadership style. Achieving significant material changes and efficiency gains requires strong collaboration with the operational leaders of the contact center. If these leaders are interested solely in operational gains without investing time to understand and implement workforce management recommendations, material changes will be elusive. Consequently, as a workforce management leader, you must build relationships and have candid conversations with operational leaders to assess their willingness to implement the necessary changes.
Additionally, every contact center department has varying support requirements. Even when a department is open to change, the level of technical and soft skill proficiency among operational leaders will dictate the amount of support needed. Some may require extensive guidance, while others might need only minimal assistance. If your workforce management team has the capacity to extend support without compromising core operations, the transition can be smoother. However, it is vital to ensure that onboarding new departments does not jeopardize the success of your primary operations—remember, “Don’t cut down the tree that bears the best fruit.”
Finally, contact center departments differ in their perceptions of workforce management services. Opinions range from viewing workforce management as merely an administrative function to recognizing it as a core strategic component of contact center operations. When new opportunities arise, ask the leaders how they envision workforce management contributing to their operations. If a leader is looking for someone to merely perform administrative duties rather than to serve as a strategic partner, it may be best to decline the opportunity until the department is ready to embrace a more strategic approach.
While expanding workforce management services across departments can be appealing, it is essential to assess each opportunity. Factors such as department scale, leadership readiness, support requirements, and differing expectations of workforce management roles must all be considered. By doing so, you ensure that your team’s success is not diluted and that every new initiative is set up for genuine, measurable impact.