WFM Forecasting - Assembled

Intra-day forecasting and real-time analytics for workforce management

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WFM Forecasting

Today, it is more important than ever for companies to make sure they are able to meet all of their customers’ expectations. Customers nowadays are more educated than ever before - and therefore, they are going to think carefully about where they’re deciding to spend their money. And for precisely this reason, if these companies would like to compete in this global era, it is important for them to adapt to these changing expectations. At the same time, companies do not want to pay people to work unnecessary shifts. This is why it is so important for companies to use historical data to predict how many people they're going to need at certain times. This is called WFM forecasting. Short for “workforce management forecasting”, this refers to a critical tool that all companies will need to rely on if they want to staff their positions in an efficient manner.

Forecasting in WFM can be a bit of a challenge. In the past, companies would have to go to their books, take a look at how many calls they received, analyze how many orders were filled, and then take a look at how many people they had working at a specific time. After doing all this, they could finally figure out whether or not they needed to hire more people. But now, thankfully, this process is much easier.

Nowadays, there are advanced software programs that companies can use to help them manage these issues. With advanced software programs, companies simply need to feed the software program the data. Next, the software tool will provide managers and executives with all the data they need to figure out how many people they need to work during a given period of time. This way, they can rise to meet the demands of customers as they increase, rather than having to respond to increased demand after customers have already grown impatient. In this sense, workforce management forecasting is one of the absolute most essential tools you’ll find in most industries today.

Call Center Forecasting and Scheduling

Even though all industries will be able to benefit from workforce management forecasting, one of the biggest industries where this proves to be incredibly important is that of call centers. Today, the vast majority of businesses have call centers. Some businesses have call centers that handle incoming calls from customers related to customer service issues, while in other cases, businesses might have an outgoing call center that handles sales. Regardless, it is extremely important for all businesses to make sure they have enough people on-hand to appropriately staff their phones.

For example: if companies do not have enough people manning their phone lines, then customers are going to end up waiting a long time for their concerns to be answered. They are then going to become impatient, and are likely to take their business elsewhere. On the other hand, businesses also do not want to have too many people working the phones - because if so, then they are simply paying people to sit there and do nothing. This is where call center forecasting is so important.

When looking at call center forecasting formulas, there are several options to choose from. This is why all businesses need to really think about which software program is going to ultimately work best for their industry. That way, they will have reliable call center forecasting and scheduling information that they can then use to ensure that the needs of their customers are being met. Furthermore, they are also able to make sure they are maximizing the time of their employees. In this manner, call center forecasting addresses one of the biggest challenges that call centers face. This software program can help companies figure out exactly how many people they need to man the phones at any given period of time. And finally, call center forecasting programs also help managers. In the past, managers would have to figure out the answers to these questions manually; but now, managers are able to rely on software programs to handle these issues for them - thus freeing up valuable time for them to handle more important issues related to the company.

Call Center Forecasting Tools

When it comes to workforce management forecasting for call centers, there are lots of factors to keep in mind - which is also why it is so crucial to rely on call center forecasting tools. For instance: there are lots of call centers today that are already relying on Microsoft Excel. Using the cells feature, forecasting in Excel can help companies figure out who is working when, how many shifts each person is working, and whether or not they need to get more people to man the phones. On the other hand, though, Microsoft Excel is not as powerful as programs that have been specifically designed to handle call center forecasting. That’s why it is important to take a closer look at how call center programs are able to handle workforce management forecasting for customer service and sales.

The most important way call center forecasting programs work is by looking at past data. The biggest reason why calls might even flow over the course of the year has to do with seasonality. For example, most companies will experience their customer service phone lines heating up during the holidays, because lots of people are looking to purchase gifts for family members and friends, and they want to make sure they know exactly what they are purchasing. By taking a look at past information, call centers are then able to forecast future demand. This way, companies can anticipate their needs at a given point in time, hire more agents to address this need, train them, and have them all ready to go for when demand heats up again.

Workforce Forecasting

When it comes to workforce forecasting, it is also important to look at workforce forecasting models. Workforce forecasting and scheduling go hand-in-hand. Software programs are going to look at historical data and anticipate friends as they come. From there, businesses are able to then hire more people to meet this demand well in advance of the demand actually rising. And so, in this manner, workforce management forecasting models are able to help companies anticipate shifts in demand well in advance.

Although many companies handle workforce forecasting by hand through the use of templates and charts, there are software programs available out there that can help with this issue. Software programs are able to look at historical data, provide estimates of future demand, and make sure that managers have enough people to meet this demand.

Workforce Planning

It is also helpful for everyone to use a workforce planning model, in order to ensure that they have enough people on staff as the company grows. There are lots of positions that are involved in a strategic workforce planning template. Human resources, sales, marketing, and recruiting are all going to be involved in the workforce planning process. Workforce management is a process that includes the entire company.

The business has to make sure they have enough money to hire everyone to fill the necessary positions. Additionally, the various department heads also need to come together and figure out just how many people they need in order to get the job done. And finally, everyone has to come together, develop a workforce planning model, and figure out how they're going to hire the right people to fill these positions. There are software programs that can help automate many of these processes, making it more efficient.

Workforce Scheduling Software

When it comes to workforce scheduling software, there are lots of tools out there you can use. For example, lots of people use Excel to help with workforce scheduling; however, Excel was not explicitly designed for this purpose. Therefore, it is a good idea to invest in programs that have been specifically designed for helping with workforce scheduling.

When looking at a workforce scheduling app or an advanced workforce scheduling example, it’s important to note that these programs are so much more than simply charts and templates. These are advanced programs designed to address the workforce scheduling problem. For instance: many of these software programs can anticipate demand, highlight issues related to shift coverage, track the number of shifts that each employee is working, and alert managers to scheduling changes. Furthermore, many of these programs even have vacation time and sick leave tools built-in. With these measures in place, workforce scheduling tools are able to place more autonomy into the hands of the employees, allowing them to address shift issues amongst themselves, thus freeing up managers and department heads who used to have to handle all of these scheduling concerns as they arose.

Workforce Management Scheduling

When it comes to workforce management scheduling, there are a few concerns that managers need to address. Scheduling in WFM can certainly be a challenge. For example, even some of the WFM scheduling basics are an issue. This includes vacation time, sick leave, and other emerging concerns in which employees might be missing shifts at the last minute. In addition, some industries (such as healthcare) have unique issues that are related to WFM forecasting and scheduling. For example, doctors have limits on the number of hours that they can work consecutively. Furthermore, these fields also have call schedules that have to be addressed. If someone gets called in, they might not be able to take calls again the next night. This often leaves managers trying to find someone to handle this issue at the last minute.

And this is exactly where advanced tools for WFM planning and scheduling can be so incredibly helpful. It is a good idea to leverage the power of automated scheduling programs. Instead of having to handle all of these issues by hand, there are software programs that have been designed to handle schedules in each industry. When managers leverage these tools appropriately, they will be able to free up more of their time, allowing them to focus on growing the business, rather than handling scheduling concerns.