Contental Airlines may be one of the few airlines that still serve complimentary in-flight meals, but executives there know that without great service, there won't be anyone in the seats to eat them in the first place. During his speech at Call Center Week Jim Thistle, senior director, international reservations and revenue programs, for Continential, gave some insight into what service delivery was like at the airline before and after implementing workforce management.
Here’s an overview:
+ Before workforce management (WFM)
no staffing considerations for peaks/valleys (60 million calls with peaks in Jun-Aug, Jan, and Oct)
a lack of team meetings and communication
a painful 6-8 week budgeting process
recruited full-time staff only—regardless of skill set
missed attendance was treated the same for every type (being late was as bad as missing a full day)
there was 1 leader for every 25 agents
no communications from marketing
+ Attrition was on the rise due to
a lack of scheduling flexibility, mandatory overtime during peaks
better pay/benefits elsewhere
lack of a career path/development opportunities
+ The inexperience level as a result of this was driving a poor customer experience
+After WFM
focus on quality service
improved productivity, consistency, and sales effectiveness
maximized the value of training dollars
increase in morale
changed approach to staffing: increased part-time staff, reduced overtime, introduced creative scheduling like relief shifts, time off w/o pay, and a flex program
launched recognition programs, including a perfect attendance program and Super Agent perks
reduced attrition to less than 5 percent annually
now can “trickle” hire instead of mass hire, so managers can spend time managing instead of interviewing
more experienced agents equal an increase in sales conversions of 14 to 17 percent
contact center is a profit center
managers do management consulting and training for other firms
