Workforce management leaders are facing the stark reality that continuing with the traditional BPO solution they’ve employed for the past 40 years for capacity planning is no longer working.
The traditional sources of talent and workforce strategies aren’t up to today’s challenges. Despite investments in technology, systems, and people, many Brands find themselves falling short—either in terms of locating, scheduling, or motivating qualified talent.
Weighing remote versus in-office for business
After workers pivoted and proved successful at working from home, a workplace insights firm analyzed some 4,000 sources on agile work arrangements to determine key findings for senior executives.
Four out of five workers consider telework a top job perk. Workforce satisfaction with remote work is high. Mandates around returning to the workplace lead most Americans to re-evaluate work-life balance, and many are finding rigid in-office hours are unbearable. The eight-hour shifts in a contact center, with restrictions around breaks and days off, further alienates a segment of experienced customer care workers.
The locations of brick-and-mortar buildings can limit the pool of available workers who could access your operations. If your workplace isn’t accessible by public transportation or far from a large pool of candidates, recruiting is complicated. Your company likely needs employees with a range of qualifications, proficiency in other languages, and specialized skill sets. Access to the most qualified workers shouldn’t be hindered by your address.
When it comes to commuting, two-thirds of employees report they would quit their job if another opportunity would ease that burden
With today’s tight talent pool, many executives are beginning to recognize the high potential for increased attrition when disallowing or devaluing flexible work arrangements. Losing a valued employee can cost an employer up to $30,000 while recruiting and training a new hire costs thousands.
Solutions to outperform
Precise planning for contact volume is both a science and art. Contact center leaders have many areas to monitor and forecast to successfully schedule and plan for seasonable peaks and unexpected influxes of contact volume.
Traditional BPOs have limited capability to flex intraday or seasonally, which requires overstaffing for peak hours. Gig-CX can help organizations flex capacity in real-time, up or down, based on volume, delivering the exact capacity needed in every half hour. Gig-CX solutions also can flex intraday or seasonally to significantly reduce underutilization and excess staffing.
The depth and breadth of Gig-CX agents not only allows for on-demand intraday flex and scheduling capacity in smaller increments, but it means that workers can be sourced to match their experience and passion with your Brand’s lines of business and special areas of focus around your needs. Gig-CX workers are particularly adept at using their talents, soft skills, and Brand affinities in customer interactions.
Don’t believe us? The results speak for themselves.
One roadside assistance service engages Arise to manage the volatility in call patterns due to weather events and the busy summer travel months. Motorists love the quick response times to aid them with navigation or when they’re stranded–a fact that is reflected in a number one ranking in customer service satisfaction.
#1 CSAT ranking of driver assistance program that relies on Gig-CX Service Partners on the Arise® Platform.
Utilization expands customer focus without a big price tag
Gig-CX agents are scheduling their working hours around all the demands in their lives. This increased flexibility enables them to focus completely on your Brand’s customers during hours scheduled and enhances engagement.
There’s no comparison between Gig-CX agents and traditional contact center workers—up to 90% of their paid time is focused on serving customers whereas a traditional BPO teleworker’s utilization sits at just 65%.
Workforce management leaders benefit from not only matching capacity to demand but also enormous improvements in productivity for cost containment. More often, top-performing Brands are looking to a Gig-CX partner like Arise to reap the benefits of higher utilization rates, faster response times, and superior customer service satisfaction scores.
Capacity flex in the gig economy
Knowledgeable, digitally connected, and self-starting Gig-CX workers are drawn to alternative work arrangements and innovations of flexible work. During critical periods of uncertainty over the past two years, Arise successfully leveraged its expertise for numerous clients operating across ten key sectors. Today, these clients continue to benefit from Arise’s 30 years of experience and it’s vast network of Service Partners.
We stand ready with access to the knowledge, technology infrastructure, talent, workforce management tools, operational excellence, and measurement models needed to support you too. Please schedule an appointment to learn more about how Arise can deliver results for your organization.
