Call center -- Workforce Optimization (WFO)
Gold Award:
Workforce optimization software: Impact 360 Workforce Optimization
Workforce optimization (WFO) software continues to be a vital part of the call center, helping managers prioritize and optimize their centers, staff and resources.
While the results were close, Melville, N.Y.-based Verint Witness Actionable Solutions stood out again as the clear winner for the 2009 CRM Products of the Year Award – for the fifth year in a row. Our judges awarded top prize to Verint’s latest version of its Impact 360 Workforce Optimization software, citing its “best of breed” capabilities and praising the functions delivered in its all-in-one suite.
“No discussion of 'best of breed' call center suites can take place without Verint. By combining established best-of-breed capabilities for QM [quality management] recording, e-learning, etc., into a single suite, they have become the default solution for large enterprises,” said one judge.
The workforce optimization software has options for the enterprise and for small and medium-sized businesses, working from the call center and extending to remote office and branch and back-office operations. It includes features for quality monitoring and recording, workforce management, speech and data analytics, customer feedback surveys, performance management, eLearning and coaching.
The latest version, according to Verint’s submission materials, is on a “new level,” with enhancements in workforce management and speech analytics functionality and capabilities. New features include a way for agents to monitor their own daily adherence to schedules, a capability for managers to schedule shifts and breaks down to the minute, and integrated dashboards that allow users to aggregate information from different Impact 360 functions.
“[The product has] excellent scalability, impressive internal expertise on best practices, and a progressive leadership team not afraid to try something new,” one of the judges said.
According to Verint’s submission form, many of its customers are pleased with the expanded speech analytics that Impact 360 offers. Verint said organizations like the way the speech analytics function allows them to leverage the voice of the customer and turn it into smarter governance models for capturing, validating and pursing opportunities, as well as identifying the root problems that cause customers to call in the first place.
Pricing for Impact 360 Workforce Optimization is generally based on the number of agent seats, with discounts applying as seat-number volumes increase. As an example, the starting price for the next-generation Impact 360 Workforce Optimization suite is approximately $725 per seat. At an additional cost, customers can add on other features, among them voice recording, monitoring, screen capture and quality monitoring.