2016 global workforce optimization solutions company … · 2016 global workforce optimization...

2016 GlobalWorkforce Optimization Solutions

Company of the Year Award

2016

BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH

© Frost & Sullivan 2016 2 “We Accelerate Growth”

Contents

Background and Company Performance ........................................................................ 3

Industry Challenges .............................................................................................. 3

Visionary Innovation & Performance and Customer Impact ........................................ 3

Conclusion........................................................................................................... 7

Significance of Company of the Year ............................................................................. 8

.......................................................................................................................... 8

Key Benchmarking Criteria .................................................................................... 8

Best Practice Award Analysis for Aspect ........................................................................ 9

Decision Support Scorecard ................................................................................... 9

Visionary Innovation & Performance ..................................................................... 10

Customer Impact ............................................................................................... 10

Decision Support Matrix ...................................................................................... 11

The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards ..................... 12

Research Methodology ........................................................................................ 12

Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices ................................................................................................................. 13

About Frost & Sullivan .............................................................................................. 14



Background and Company Performance

Industry Challenges

Analytics is an integral part of customer contact today. It is central to the process of

effectively managing applications within the contact center as well as live agents. Data

related to performance and workforce management can be the difference between agent

satisfaction and defection – and also between customer satisfaction and churn. Still,

workforce optimization (WFO) is relatively new in the contact center. It developed from

various related segments of customer contact – call recording and quality monitoring

(QM), performance management (PM), workforce management (WFM), and analytics. WFO

tools allow contact center managers to closely monitor and measure the effectiveness of

their staff, from an overall perspective down to a single interaction between an agent and

a customer. This solution allows for accurate staff planning. While WFO aims to get the

most out of an often fickle and transient workforce, it is also meant to increase

performance in the back office. Above all, Frost & Sullivan points out that WFO should

improve agent engagement, empowerment, and satisfaction - and ultimately lead to

increased client satisfaction and an improved Customer Experience.

Yet Frost & Sullivan notes that WFO suppliers have faced numerous significant challenges.

Longstanding providers have been faced with the choice of integrating premise-based

system silos of core WFO components, or starting from scratch to create suites of

integrated applications. Adoption of these suites took off slowly due to the steadfast

belief that call recording systems should remain on-premise for reasons related to

customer security, cost, etc. Meanwhile, providers of cloud-based solutions needed to

develop WFO cloud-based applications as feature rich as their premise-based

counterparts.

Suppliers have also had to evolve their solutions to match the needs of a changing

consumer landscape that favors self-help over live assistance - and that is increasingly

tech-savvy, social, and mobile. This new consumer also represents the next generation of

contact center agents and supervisors.

Finally, suppliers have had to market to a sometimes daunting competitor – the contact

center owner who would rather not change and prefers to stay married to spreadsheets

and the onerous, manual manipulation of schedules and data.

Visionary Innovation & Performance and Customer Impact

Aspect Software provides a complete suite of contact center solutions, available in the

cloud, on-premise, or as a managed service. These solutions cover all components of the

contact center – from core routing functions, self-service, outbound dialing, and workforce

optimization.



Visionary Scenarios Through Mega Trends

At Aspect Software, a guiding tenant within R&D for WFO is addressing the changing

dynamics of the workforce. While the complete portfolio of Aspect products addresses the

changing consumer base, it is not lost on Aspect’s R&D staff that younger consumers are

also the new generation of workers. Aspect clearly factors both realities in the design of

its products.

Much has been written about “Millennials as Consumers.” They like to self-help and prefer

self-service to live agent assistance. They research before they buy - and are therefore

typically more informed than prior generations before their inquiries get to the contact

center. Millenials live on social networks and are mobile. And they tend to aim for a better

work-life balance.

Frost & Sullivan notes that Aspect addresses all of these trends in unique ways. Perhaps

the best example is the recent introduction of Aspect Mila, a self-service chatbot for the

workforce. Bots themselves are an emerging trend within customer service, but until now

were directed at self-service for customers - not supervisors and agents. Mila is an

automated assistant specifically designed to assist supervisors to more easily manage

their centers, and empower agents to manage work from anywhere.

In designing Mila, Aspect targeted the expectations that make up today’s agent – “know

me, make it mobile, let me do it, make it social, fit into my life, save me time, make me

smarter, help me discover.” Mila combines self-service and natural language text

communications to provide an intuitive, conversational interface to WFO applications,

enabling agents to complete work tasks while mobile or from their desktop. For instance,

agents can request time off, view their schedules, request schedule changes, inquire into

the balance of their paid time off (PTO) hours, and view bulletin board messages. Mila

allows agents to manage their schedules, including calling in sick. It also has automated

WFM scheduling rules that can approve scheduling requests in real-time, and can trigger

automated tasks to keep operations running smoothly. Mila also provides supervisors with

mobile access to contact center statistics - such as number of agents out of adherence,

current call volumes, average handle time, service level, etc.

Frost & Sullivan also feels that it’s worth noting that gamification is now a part of Aspect’s

portfolio as well, helping to provide a deeper level of engagement and connection with

existing Customer Engagement functionalities.

Addressing Unmet Needs

Frost & Sullivan recognizes that Mila is a perfect example of how Aspect is at the forefront

of WFO innovation – improving functionality of its existing products to directly address the

unmet needs of customers, as well as developing innovative new products that anticipate

client needs.



One of the hallmarks of Aspect’s WFO suite is the depth of functionality it provides

compared to the rest of the competition - particularly in the realm of flexibility and ease-

of-use. For instance, when the company decided to revamp its agent and supervisor

desktops, it brought in a premiere UI design firm, Frog, to completely overhaul

functionality across applications, not just change the look and feel of the product, as some

others have done. The result is a modern, widget-based UI that is both intuitive and easily

customizable for a business.

Agent engagement and empowerment are key differentiators in design. In addition to

gamification and Mila, its core WFO applications are designed to give agents more control

over their schedules. For instance, consider sophisticated, yet easy-to-use scheduling

functionality. Rather than just allow the agent to pick the start time for shifts and

preferred days of the week to work, agents can put in additional preferences such as shift

length and end time, allowing them the ability, for example, to take a shortened lunch

break so they can pick up their kids.

Aspect is API driven and provides simple customization for businesses without having to

adjust the company’s core product. This addresses an issue that plagues the WFO market

– the vast amount of customization and changes customers request to help run their

centers. Aspect’s use of APIs has enabled it to be quite flexible in answering the needs of

customers. For instance, in working with German companies, which are subject to myriad

rules and regulations around work equity, Aspect can easily customize business rules -

such as being flexible on shift requirements, not just by country, but by individual

company.

Price/Performance Value

The depth of functionality in the WFO suite, coupled with the benefits it offers, provide a

strong ROI for customers. Aspect has introduced solutions that reduce TCO as well. For

example, the product supports software-based recording of customer interactions, so that

hardware boards are no longer required, and there is no need for recording servers when

integrated with UIP, which reduces TCO. In addition, for PCI compliance AES 256-bit data

encryption is included in its bundles, for secure transmission of all audio and screen data

over the network, and a “SecureAgent” feature is available for intelligent pause/resume of

voice and screen recordings. This increases security, but also reduces potential costs due

to security risks.

Another clear differentiator is the product’s ability to accurately predict staffing

requirements through a method of calibration. The solution also allows supervisors to

create multiple trial schedules without copying databases to a separate system. As just

one example, a supervisor can create scenarios for split shifts, or a change in length of

shifts and days, to see what would be the effect of changing agents or groups from 5 days

a week, 8 hours a day, to four days a week, 10 hours a day. It gives supervisors the

ability do very granular simulations, which can drive ROI by quickly picking the best



approach for a given situation, reducing time and effort for the supervisor and increasing

employee satisfaction, which ultimately reduces costly churn.

Customer Purchase Experience

WFO is just one component of a comprehensive portfolio of customer functionality. As one

of the most well-established solution providers, Aspect offers customers a complete range

of capabilities, available on-premise, in the cloud, or as SaaS deployments.

It’s also the depth of functionality that is quite attractive to customers. The WFO suite

provides one of the richest feature sets in the industry, but is also flexible in its design,

with the tools that allow customers to quickly and easily modify parameters in each

application area, reducing reliance on professional services.

Several years ago, Aspect introduced “scrum development”, tighter defect classifications,

and a heavy focus on test automation. Customers are now experiencing the highest levels

of quality in Aspect history. Meanwhile, the company is in its fourth year of its initiative to

revamp customer service, and it truly shows. An independent audit of service and support

demonstrates that the company is now five times faster at resolving issues and three

times faster than the technology industry average - with 70% more cases closed than

before. In Aspect’s own case closure surveys, it scored a customer rating of 5.5 out of 6

overall.

Customer Ownership Experience

Aspect customers truly benefit from consistent product enhancements across all product

areas. Indeed, Aspect recently moved to an Agile development process, enabling it to

release feature enhancements to products without waiting for long release cycles, while

still keeping up with quarterly releases of major feature enhancements and new products.

In 2015, the company introduced 40-plus new features or products, with a healthy

product roadmap.

This is especially true within its WFO portfolio. For example, the initial release of Mila

utilizes core features of a mobile workforce assistant; by the end of 2016, it will be

expanded to utilize Facebook Messenger as an endpoint as well. This also gives Aspect

customers another rich channel of customer interaction.

The customer ownership experience is further enhanced due to Aspect refreshing its

customer support and professional services – a process started in 2012. The company

has created centers of excellence for customer support, with customer support managers

who start at the sale and stay involved after implementation. Aspect also has created best

practices in numerous areas of professional services including product implementation,

technology customization, feature optimization/adoption, and others. It provides staff



augmentation and managed services. In addition, the company performs regular business

reviews and health checks.

Financial Performance

Aspect is growing across all of its product lines. The 100% increase in 2016 WFO first half

product bookings year-over-year is particularly notable, with strong growth around the

globe, particularly in the UK, Australia, Japan, and India.

The company’s recurring revenue stream (67% of total revenue) also impresses Frost &

Sullivan, along with a 95% customer retention rate (cloud revenue and on-premise

maintenance). Aspect’s retention rate for cloud is almost 99%, and the company started

the year with a $100 million backlog in cloud bookings. This shows a strong movement

away from reliance on legacy hardware for revenue, which is something that all traditional

on-premise contact center providers have been challenged with. However, during 2015,

the company’s premise business experienced a 64% year-over-year increase in UIP v7.x

installed systems; and quality monitoring grew 112%.

Finally, while many software companies have pulled back in R&D spending, Aspect reports

more than $41M in annual R&D investment.

Conclusion

Aspect’s broad range of contact center solutions, including its impressive and deep WFO

capabilities, backed by excellent customer support services, has greatly increased

adoption of its WFO applications. This and its continuous track record of leading innovation

are just some of the reasons that Frost & Sullivan is proud to present Aspect with the

2016 Global Company of the Year Award.



Significance of Company of the Year

To receive the Frost & Sullivan Global Company of the Year Award requires a company to

demonstrate excellence in growth, innovation, and leadership. This kind of excellence

typically translates into superior performance in three key areas: demand generation,

brand development, and competitive positioning. These areas serve as the foundation of a

company’s future success and prepare it to deliver on the two criteria that define the

Company of the Year Award (Visionary Innovation & Performance and Customer Impact).

Key Benchmarking Criteria

For the Global Company of the Year Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts independently

evaluated two key factors—Visionary Innovation & Performance and Customer Impact—

according to the criteria identified below.



Visionary Innovation & Performance

Criterion 1: Addressing Unmet Needs

Criterion 2: Visionary Scenarios Through Mega Trends

Criterion 3: Implementation Best Practices

Criterion 4: Blue Ocean Strategy

Criterion 5: Financial Performance

Customer Impact

Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value

Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience

Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience

Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience

Criterion 5: Brand Equity

Best Practice Award Analysis for Aspect

Decision Support Scorecard

To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business performance

categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision Support Scorecard. This tool

allows our research and consulting teams to objectively analyze performance, according to

the key benchmarking criteria listed in the previous section, and to assign ratings on that

basis. The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows for nuances in performance evaluation;

ratings guidelines are illustrated below.

RATINGS GUIDELINES

The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by Visionary Innovation & Performance and

Customer Impact (i.e., the overarching categories for all 10 benchmarking criteria; the

definitions for each criteria are provided beneath the scorecard). The research team

confirms the veracity of this weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis, which

confirms that small changes to the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a

significant change in the overall relative rankings of the companies.

The results of this analysis are shown below. To remain unbiased and to protect the

interests of all organizations reviewed, we have chosen to refer to the other key players

as Competitor 2 and Competitor 3.



Measurement of 1–10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent)

Company of the Year

Visionary

Innovation &

Performance

Customer

Impact Average Rating

Aspect 9 10 9.5

Competitor 2 8 8 8.0

Competitor 3 7 7 7.0


Criterion 1: Addressing Unmet Needs

Requirement: Implementing a robust process to continuously unearth customers’ unmet

or under-served needs, and creating the products or solutions to address them effectively

Criterion 2: Visionary Scenarios Through Mega Trends

Requirement: Incorporating long-range, macro-level scenarios into the innovation

strategy, thereby enabling “first to market” growth opportunities solutions

Criterion 4: Implementation of Best Practices

Requirement: Best-in-class strategy implementation characterized by processes, tools, or

activities that generate a consistent and repeatable level of success.

Criterion 3: Blue Ocean Strategy

Requirement: Strategic focus in creating a leadership position in a potentially

“uncontested” market space, manifested by stiff barriers to entry for competitors

Criterion 5: Financial Performance

Requirement: Strong overall business performance in terms of revenues, revenue growth,

operating margin and other key financial metrics

Customer Impact

Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value

Requirement: Products or services offer the best value for the price, compared to similar

offerings in the market

Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience

Requirement: Customers feel like they are buying the most optimal solution that

addresses both their unique needs and their unique constraints

Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience

Requirement: Customers are proud to own the company’s product or service, and have a

positive experience throughout the life of the product or service

Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience

Requirement: Customer service is accessible, fast, stress-free, and of high quality



Criterion 5: Brand Equity

Requirement: Customers have a positive view of the brand and exhibit high brand loyalty

Decision Support Matrix

Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support Scorecard,

analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown below, enabling them to

visualize which companies are truly breakthrough and which ones are not yet operating at

best-in-class levels.

High

Low

Low High

Cu

sto

mer I

mp

act


Aspect

Competitor 2

Competitor 3



The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best

Practices Awards

Research Methodology

Frost & Sullivan’s 360-degree research

methodology represents the analytical

rigor of our research process. It offers a

360-degree-view of industry challenges,

trends, and issues by integrating all 7 of

Frost & Sullivan's research methodologies.

Too often, companies make important

growth decisions based on a narrow

understanding of their environment,

leading to errors of both omission and

commission. Successful growth strategies

are founded on a thorough understanding

of market, technical, economic, financial,

customer, best practices, and demographic

analyses. The integration of these research

disciplines into the 360-degree research

methodology provides an evaluation

platform for benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at best-

in-class levels.

360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN

THE CHAOS



Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching,

Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices

Frost & Sullivan Awards follow a 10-step process to evaluate Award candidates and assess

their fit with select best practice criteria. The reputation and integrity of the Awards are

based on close adherence to this process.

STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT

1 Monitor, target, and screen

Identify Award recipient candidates from around the globe

Conduct in-depth industry research

Identify emerging sectors Scan multiple geographies

Pipeline of candidates who potentially meet all best-practice criteria

2 Perform 360-degree research

Perform comprehensive, 360-degree research on all candidates in the pipeline

Interview thought leaders and industry practitioners

Assess candidates’ fit with best-practice criteria

Rank all candidates

Matrix positioning all candidates’ performance relative to one another

3

Invite thought leadership in best practices

Perform in-depth examination of all candidates

Confirm best-practice criteria Examine eligibility of all

candidates Identify any information gaps

Detailed profiles of all ranked candidates

4

Initiate research director review

Conduct an unbiased evaluation of all candidate profiles

Brainstorm ranking options Invite multiple perspectives

on candidates’ performance Update candidate profiles

Final prioritization of all eligible candidates and companion best-practice positioning paper

5

Assemble panel of industry experts

Present findings to an expert panel of industry thought leaders

Share findings Strengthen cases for

candidate eligibility Prioritize candidates

Refined list of prioritized Award candidates

6

Conduct global industry review

Build consensus on Award candidates’ eligibility

Hold global team meeting to review all candidates

Pressure-test fit with criteria Confirm inclusion of all

eligible candidates

Final list of eligible Award candidates, representing success stories worldwide

7 Perform quality check

Develop official Award consideration materials

Perform final performance benchmarking activities

Write nominations Perform quality review

High-quality, accurate, and creative presentation of nominees’ successes

8

Reconnect with panel of industry experts

Finalize the selection of the best-practice Award recipient

Review analysis with panel Build consensus Select winner

Decision on which company performs best against all best-practice criteria

9 Communicate recognition

Inform Award recipient of Award recognition

Present Award to the CEO Inspire the organization for

continued success Celebrate the recipient’s

performance

Announcement of Award and plan for how recipient can use the Award to enhance the brand

10 Take strategic action

Upon licensing, company may share Award news with stakeholders and customers

Coordinate media outreach Design a marketing plan Assess Award’s role in future

strategic planning

Widespread awareness of recipient’s Award status among investors, media personnel, and employees



About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth

and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's

Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined

research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation

of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages almost 50 years of experience in

partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment

community from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit

http://www.frost.com.

http://www.frost.com/

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