Serco Improves Agent Schedule Flexibility and Reduces Attrition with Verint TimeFlex Bot
Multinational company’s use of the Verint TimeFlex Bot to enable schedule flexibility has been a game-changer for employees and managers.
Results
Reduced workforce planner workload by 30%.
Lowered attrition, driving down costs for the company and its client base.
Improved agent empowerment and job satisfaction.
About Serco
Serco partners with federal and state governments to deliver essential community services in Australia. Like many organizations, ensuring optimal contact center coverage for its clients and their customers is a top priority at the company. Likewise, as part of its effort to drive staffing efficiency, agent retention is a key workforce management goal.
Opportunity
Previously, when Serco agents sought schedule flexibility, they had to submit schedule change requests which workforce management teams had to manually assess to identify other agents to cover shifts. This micro workflow was extremely costly. Additionally, due to the manual and time-consuming nature of the process, requests were simply denied in many cases.
Given its adverse impact on agent satisfaction and retention, Serco sought to transform agents’ schedule flexibility experience. By automating the process, its goal was to provide agents with the means to achieve greater work-life balance while also reducing costs.
Solution
Serco implemented Verint TimeFlex Bot to help supercharge its contact center scheduling. Part of the Verint Open Platform, the solution empowers agents with real-time schedule flexibility while removing the cost and friction of manual approvals.
Verint TimeFlex Bot automatically calculates the expected impact of shift changes based on forecasted volumes, capacity, and performance targets. Every 15-minute interval is assigned a “FlexCoin” value based on this calculation. Agents earn FlexCoins when they make a change that is beneficial to the business, such as moving their schedules into understaffed intervals. Agents can then spend their FlexCoins to gain additional schedule flexibility and create the work/life balance they need.
With visibility into shift availability and existing coverage, Serco’s agents can make unlimited schedule change requests. At the same time, with Verint TimeFlex Bot automatically calculating the effect of shift changes, Serco can ensure that the sum of all agent-initiated changes is balanced with the needs of the organization—benefiting employees, the business, and customer experience alike.
Benefits
The introduction of Verint TimeFlex Bot has led to a significant drop in attrition. On top of this, the benefits of the solution can be seen across Serco’s contact center operations.
Improved Agent Schedule Flexibility and Empowerment
Balancing their personal needs with the needs of the company and its client base, Serco’s agents can more effectively build out their optimal work schedules. Plus, Serco has observed a clear correlation between Verint TimeFlex Bot usage and retention. Agents who use the solution are more likely to stay with the company.
The introduction of Verint TimeFlex Bot had the added benefit of increasing agent visibility into where and when the organization is short-handed. This has helped not only educate agents on business nuances and realities, but it’s empowered them to take on an ownership spirit.
Improved Supervisor Capacity and Synergy
Serco has reduced scheduling inefficiency by up to four percent. In turn, workforce planner workload was decreased by 30 percent, freeing up time for higher-value work. The schedule efficiency gains also drove considerable improvement in the management of over- and understaffed intervals, reducing labor costs while maintaining performance.
Given the overall efficiency and performance gains, Serco’s clients and their customers are assured of receiving the highest level of service from experienced agents.
With Verint TimeFlex Bot, Serco is transforming from a “command-and-control” approach to scheduling to one that underscores agent empowerment to raise retention and job satisfaction. Further, by increasing CX automation and gamification across its scheduling operations, the organization can forge a new era of synergy and teamwork among its agents and supervisors.
“The scheduling efficiency and flexibility we gained with Verint TimeFlex Bot enables us to differentiate Serco in the market on multiple levels. Empowering our employees to manage their own schedules creates a win-win situation for everyone. Our employees are more satisfied. As a result, they stay with the company and provide better customer service. Plus, higher retention means lower costs for the company, which we can then pass onto our clients.”
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