the impact of new technology on the role of the forecaster
DESCRIPTION
Tools like CenterBridge are sufficiently different from our old forecasting spreadsheets to prompt more than a few changes in our processes. No longer forced to be as linear as we used to be, we can solve problems in more holistic ways, sometimes from multiple angles. All of this adds up to analytical capability that can make the executive team impressed with Workforce Management, but are there implications for existing staff members? This presentation describes the experience of an early CenterBridge user as she implemented the software, and as she checked in with each user ten years later.TRANSCRIPT
The Impact of New Technology on the Role of
the ForecasterMichele Borboa
Contact Center Resources
Experience with multiple implementations An unintended discovery Adaptation/change Not solely about technology Not about ROI A story about people
Grow Smart…a story about people
Story begins 2002 – needed to manage our trending Multiple business units in Travel, Real Estate verticals Approximately 10,000 agents across North America,
UK 12-15 sites depending on how counted IEX TotalView in most BU’s for scheduling, real-time Home grown spreadsheet tools
Workload forecasting Variable labor, telecom planning
Background
Focus on finding, scrubbing, formatting and entering ‘the right’ data.
Primary output was annual plan plus periodic updates (frequency depended on business unit)
Iterations were relatively time-consuming. Limited ‘what if’ analysis due to time
constraints
Old Environment
Data Forecast‘the old model’
No longer focused as much on tactical data entry, more on the analytics
Multiple ways to solve any given problem or scenario
Strategic modules present opportunities well beyond the main functionality
CenterBridge Environment
CenterBridge
Data
Data
Data
Plans Solution
Process Comparison
Request occurs in staff meeting or originates from Finance/exec team.
RPM* takes request and turns it around by next meeting or throws it back over transom a few days later.
RPM takes CTB into staff meeting for real-time decision making whenever possible.
Other requests are turned around in fraction of time and with more inter-departmental teamwork.
Old Environment New Environment
*Resource Planning & Management
Skill Requirements
Detail orientation Data extraction/data
entry Math facility Excel knowledge Quantitative analysis
Detail orientation Data interpretation Comfort with analytics More sophisticated
use of statistics Unafraid to ‘play’ Drawing conclusions
and making recommendations
Old Environment New Environment
Skills Continuum
Degree in IndustrialEngineering or
Operations Research
Self-taught Some courses over the years
Would every one of our existing staff members be a suitable skill match in the CenterBridge environment?
Staff Assessment
High
Low
Low High
Skill/Qualifications
Resi
lien
ce t
o C
hang
e
X
Change resilience is a factor to the extent that the implementation is used as a spring board for process change. (“Don’t pave the cow paths.” Re-Engineering the Corporation)
CenterBridge affords RPM the ability to improve its communications with execs and non-RPMers, so some form of communication skills should not be overlooked.
Staff Assessment (cont.)
Intentional Training, coaching and development Attendance at User Group meetings Organization design solutions that make sense
with CenterBridge that may not have made sense before
Unintentional Self-deselection Re-structurings caused ‘organic’ role changes Natural attrition (internal and external)
Various Interventions
Staff Assessment – Alternate View
High
Low
Low High
Skill/Qualifications
Resi
lien
ce t
o C
hang
e
2 1
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The Impact of Other New Technology
Originally developed after WWII Introduced commercially in 1955, and as a
countertop model in 1967 as the Amana Radarange First thing ever cooked: popcorn! We spend a lot of money for very fancy microwave
ovens and then all we ever use is the popcorn button. If we don’t update our processes, or learn the complete feature functionality (even Defrost) when attending user group meetings, we sub-optimize our investment.
The Microwave Oven Example
Would have been nice if we had been smart enough to anticipate this issue in advance but might not have handled it all that differently if we had.
Change resilience, openness to new processes are critical success factors in new environment because new tools/capabilities can change everything.
A CenterBridge environment offers more options and flexibility than the previous environment, even if that does involve some staff changes.
Lessons Learned
