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Learn Workforce Management Essentials applicable to any contact centre!
Why invest in WFM training in your call centre?
One of the biggest expenses for most businesses is labour. And when it comes to the call centre, in particular, labour costs are typically the largest percentage of your costs.
Whilst there is (and will increasingly be) software and systems that can automate some customer enquiries, the majority of call centre and retail work is resource-intensive, and that comes with a high price tag.
Aligning your most valuable resources (employees) with customer demand provides a host of benefits.
The most obvious is cost (you need less labour to achieve the same if not better result), but there are also positive benefits to Employee Engagement and Customer Experience. They, in turn, reduce costs by lowering turnover, increasing customer retention, etc.
By understanding and applying WFM principles, you’ll improve the outcomes for your customers, business and employees.
What you’ll learn
The August 2024 WFM Essentials training course teaches the essentials of workforce management for those working directly in workforce management in a contact centre or retail environment.
Across six modules (refer below), you’ll learn how to forecast, schedule and manage staff, as well as contingency planning and communication skills.
And this course isn’t just a bunch of theory – you get the benefit of decades of experience running WFM teams packed into three days of high-powered learning.
Who should do this course?
The August 2024 WFM Essentials training course is specifically designed for the call centre/contact centre and retail environment.
Typical roles include:
- Workforce Management Managers
- Workforce Planners
- Schedulers
- Real-time analysts
- Contact Centre Managers
- Contact Centre Team Leaders
- Learning & Development
August 2024 WFM Essentials Course Outline
3 Days of Live, Facilitated Learning
The August 2024 WFM Essentials training course has been designed specifically for employees wanting to learn the essentials of Workforce Management in a contact centre or retail environment.
The course includes six modules listed below, delivered over three days (online) and facilitated by the Workforce Optimisation experts in Australia, CallDesign.
MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
The course begins with an overview of WFM’s what and why. Workforce management is vital for getting the right staff in the right place at the right time, with the best possible tools.
However, the myriad of factors included within the broader WFM spectrum can be a puzzle to solve alone, especially in fast-paced operational environments.
We explore the various components of WFM and discuss some of the common workforce planning tasks and team structures. In short, this module sets the stage for the entire three-day course.
We will cover:
- Introduction to Workforce Management
- WFM team structures
MODULE 2: FORECASTING AND PLANNING
Solid forecasting and planning underpin all best-in-class efforts to ensure staff can cope with demand, and a business does not creak at its seams.
Forecasting has numerous practical applications. It’ll help you compare historical patterns with “what-if” scenarios to estimate shrinkage, plan budgets and predict the number of contacts.
Accurate forecasting will also help paint a complete picture of upcoming staffing requirements.
We explore the formulas and techniques used to analyse contact arrival patterns, calculating workload and planning for the future.
We will cover:
- Time series analysis
- Erlang C
- Shrinkage
- Attrition
MODULE 3: SCHEDULING
Forecasting is important, but without a schedule to implement these insights, businesses are still just hoping for the best. With thousands, if not millions of dollars on the line, getting your schedules right can make the difference between success and failure.
Effective scheduling helps ensure the right people are in the right place at the right time and can help reduce stress for the staff themselves.
This module examines the various scheduling components and flexibility options often provided to staff working in contact centres, branches, or retail environments.
We will cover:
- Scheduling considerations
- Scheduling components
- Schedule creation
MODULE 4: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
After you’ve created schedules (i.e rosters), ideally you want to ensure staff adhere to them. Even in a small business environment with just a handful of staff, a lack of performance oversight could mean you’re missing service level targets when you don’t need to.
By monitoring performance, however, you can help find the staff who are out of adherence or underperforming and address these issues with targeted change.
In this module, we explore the processes required to manage and monitor your staff’s performance throughout the day.
We will cover:
- Monitoring daily performance
- Managing adherence and attendance
- Measuring the WFM team’s performance
MODULE 5: REAL TIME MANAGEMENT
You have the plan. Now it’s time to monitor the day and take action if necessary. Real-time management helps to preserve and improve your service quality and customer experience at the intra-day level.
When things don’t go to plan, which levers should you pull to achieve your required outcome?
A clearly defined real-time management plan will help you determine the best course of action when things don’t go as you expect.
We explore rules and conditions that can be used to manage the changes and impacts on demand and staff at an intra-day level.
We will cover:
- Exception management
- Contingency planning
- Continuous Improvement cycle
MODULE 6: COMMUNICATION
Do you think you’re an effective communicator? You may need to think again. According to a Wrike work management survey, 46 per cent of employees leave meetings not knowing what to do next.
Additionally, CareerBuilder found that a quarter of workers find emails to be a time waster, and a similar number felt the same about meetings. Basically, you may think you’re communicating effectively, but your staff might not agree.
So, this August 2024 WFM Essentials course concludes with a module on better communication, focusing on how to effectively communicate with peers and manage conflict.
We will cover:
- Effective communication
- Creating a clear message
- Choosing the correct medium
- Dealing with conflict
Built for Online/Virtual Training
This August 2024 WFM Essentials course has been specifically designed to be delivered online/virtually (using Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc) over three days.
Plenty of breaks are scheduled to enable you to stay focused and attend to any urgent matters.
The course is available for public or private delivery with the differences explained below.
Course Dates and Times
The August 2024 WFM Essentials training course is delivered online and facilitated by the team at CallDesign.
The training dates and times are as follows:
- Tuesday 6th August to Thursday 8th August 2024
- 09:00 to 17:00 AEST (Melbourne, Australia)
- Breaks are included throughout the day
- Delivered online
Dates don’t suit?
Click here for other available dates or contact us about conducting a private training session just for your team that provides maximum flexibility with the dates, times and duration of the training.
About Call Design
For over 20 years, Call Design has been providing Workforce Optimisation solutions for businesses as well as consulting, training, and a range of other services to improve the efficiencies of contact centres and back-office operations.
Their consultants are experts on WFM best practices. They’ve been leaders in the Australian contact centre, retail, and back-office industries since 1999 and have a reputation for delivering high-quality solutions, so we are thrilled to partner with them to deliver WFM courses.
Call Design is an Accredited Trainer Provider with the Australian Customer Experience Professionals Association (ACXPA), so you can be assured the training is of an exceptional standard, and the content is tailored for Australian employees.
About CX Skills
CX Skills is a specialist training business that only delivers customer service, customer experience (CX), contact centre, workforce optimisation (WFM/WFO) and workplace wellness courses designed and facilitated exclusively by industry professionals.
We're the official training partner of the Australian Customer Experience Professionals Association (ACXPA), and we are proudly Australian-owned and operated.
We’re grateful to have been trusted by hundreds of customers, and we’re proud of the amazing customer testimonials we’ve received, so you can rest assured that when you book a training course with CX Skills, your training is in good hands.
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We're grateful to the following companies who have trusted CX Skills with their training. View our full customer list here >
Pricing and Payment Options
The three-day August 2024 WFM Essentials training course facilitated live by CallDesign is $2,797.00 AUD ex GST per employee.
Tickets can be purchased instantly with a credit card, or you can request an invoice at checkout.
The price includes:
- Three full days of live virtual/online facilitated training by CallDesign
- Course workbook (delivered electronically)
Available Discounts
- Save 15% when booking for two or more staff in the same transaction (note: the discount will be applied on the final checkout page, and no other discounts apply).
- ACXPA Members save 25% off all CX Skills courses for 12 months. Learn More >
- Want to train your whole team or clinic? We offer volume discounts for training large teams. Contact us for customised pricing and availability.
Want to Save 25% off ALL CX Skills Courses and gain access to industry best practices?
Members of the Australian Customer Experience Professionals Association (ACXPA) save a massive 25% off ALL CX Skills courses for a full 12 months!
With annual memberships starting from just $35 per employee, it can be a great way to save money immediately on your training, plus, you'll gain access to a vast array of best-practice resources to improve your customer experience.
