IEX offers a variety of pre-conference activities to our attendees in the form of workshops. Some of these workshops address popular subjects. Others offer a chance to attend a core of classes ahead of the main conference.
All of the pre-conference workshops are held at the Hyatt Regency Dallas on the afternoon of May 12th, 2008. Register for them at the bottom of this page. You must be a registered attendee of the 2008 TotalView User Conference to attend these workshops.
Workshop A: Agent/Supervisor Self-Service Through WebStation & WebStation Plus
Monday, May 12, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (No Cost)
Improve communication with your agents and streamline tasks through the use of WebStation and WebStation Plus. Join this session to see how to put tools in the hands of your agents and supervisors to turbo-charge the management of schedule preferences, time off requests, dissemination of information to agents, and the request/approval process for schedule changes. WebStation automates these tasks, creating a win-win environment for all.
Discussion in this workshop will focus on:
- WebStation and WebStation Plus Overview
- Process Monitor
- Supervisor WebStation
- Home Page
- Reports
- ScheduleViewer
- StatsViewer
- ActivityTracker
- Agent WebStation
- Home Page
- ScheduleViewer
- StatsViewer
- Schedule Trades
- Schedule Bidding
- Schedule Change Requests
- Time Off Manager
- SchedulePreferences
- TotalView eTrainer
- Recommended deployment process and technical considerations
- Q&A and networking
Workshop B: TotalView Software Essentials
Monday, May 12, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. (No Cost)
This workshop includes three sessions and an open forum that are also available during the main conference. Attending this pre-conference session will allow you the opportunity to attend more sessions during the main conference.
Forecasting Algorithms
Explore the TotalView forecasting algorithm and see how it uses historical data to predict the future using trends, seasonality, week-of-month and other distribution patterns. Learn how to plan for business changes such as customer mailings, promotions, and holidays or special events.
Schedule Generation
No two TotalView users follow the exact same scheduling methodology. Each customer creates a process of scheduling which best matches the culture of each contact center. This session surveys the three main methods of schedule generation in TotalView: AAA, Schedule Bidding, APA. Variations of each method will be highlighted to help you consider possible changes to your methodology to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the schedules.
Short Cuts & Job Aids
Here's a chance to get a quick lesson on quick keys, screen navigation, report generation, and general information gathering short cuts and job aids.
General Networking and Q&A
Spend the remainder of the session in open discussion with your peers and IEX professionals about topics of your choice.
Workshop C: Outbound Contact Center Management
Monday, May 12, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. (No Cost)
IEX is excited about our partnership with Austin Logistics, a leading provider of software and solutions that include list management and campaign management tools. Running side-by-side and integrated with TotalView, these solutions are essential for best in class outbound management. If your outbound challenges include “My calling list has 10,000 numbers - who should I call first?” and “How many agents are available to build today’s campaign?” then you need to see how automation and advanced modeling techniques can jump start your center. Austin Logistics’ predictive decision solutions help you take the right customer action, at the right time, for the right response.
This workshop will focus on the value provided by:
- TotalView WFM – tools such as RTA, WebStation, and Skill Plan Block Scheduling all have their place in outbound operations; apply the tools and WFM methods and procedures to gain efficiencies and effectiveness in your outbound operations;
- CallTech™- reach more right party contacts when they are available and willing to make a promise-to-pay or purchase.
- OnQ ™- automate and centralize campaign and policy management, ensuring call rule compliance, and meet your goals and quotas while responding to staffing fluctuations.
- ActionSelect - drive optimal account level treatment decisions using action scores, optimization and simulation.
In addition, Austin Logistics will introduce you to the following solutions that enhance your inbound and outbound operations:
- EarlyDetection System™ - accelerate new account risk assessment, proactively identify delinquency risk, fraud, and revenue potential – months ahead of traditional approaches.
- NFSGuard® - NSFGuard facilitates the intricate balance between customer satisfaction and the risk that the check payment or deposit received from your customer will not clear.
- Veleo™ - add real-time predictive intelligence, value-driven queuing and dynamic re-sequencing to your existing pre-agent routing systems.
Workshop D: InSight Performance Manager
Monday, May 12 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. or 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. (No Cost)
Looking for ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your contact center? Want to transform your operation from a cost center into a strategic resource? Performance management is a high impact solution for companies seeking ways to boost the productivity and profitability of their contact centers. Discover the benefits of performance management:
- Develop a culture of high performance and accountability
- Get timely and trustworthy performance information
- Reward employees promptly and accurately
- And much more…
Provide your contact center with a unified view of its operational metrics, thereby helping everyone gain a clear understanding of performance goals and results. Using InSight, agents can easily see how they are performing to objectives such as average handle time (AHT) and adherence goals. Management can quickly see what is happening across a broad range of key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify and resolve problems before they escalate. Supervisors can use InSight to improve mentoring and agent recognition while workforce planners benefit from the root-cause analysis capabilities through full-featured analytical reporting. This 1½ -hour workshop will introduce you to InSight Performance Manager to show you:
- The predefined set of KPIs and standard dashboards and reports
- How to include additional metrics from another contact center system such as quality monitoring, eLearning, human resources or other solutions
- The ability to use industry standard tools to create additional Reports and Dashboards
- Built-in support for multisite management
- The migration path for customers looking to purchase now, but expand later to the power of the full Performix solution (which provides enhanced analytics, personalized dashboards, integrated workflow, additional data integration, and advanced coaching and employee performance management tools)
Workshop E: Workforce Management Certification Workshop
Monday, May 12, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. (No Cost)
The Society of Workforce Planning Professionals (SWPP) has created a certification program designed specifically for workforce management professionals. The certification program is open to anyone in the industry. This workshop gives information on the certification preparation and process to attain the title of Certified Workforce Planning Professional (CWPP): What is CWPP Certification all about? What will it do for you in the workforce management field? What are the requirements for certification? How do you prepare? These and other questions are answered by SWPP representatives.
Workshop F: SWPP Meet
Monday, May 12, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Networking is an important part of everyone's professional development. And nowhere is it more critical than in the rapidly changing world of contact centers and workforce management trends and technologies. You won't want to miss the SWPP Meet. Spend two hours with your workforce planning peers and discuss the issues of utmost concern to you. Learn from other people who do the same thing you do. Workforce planners in call centers of all types and sizes have their own tricks and techniques. Maybe you have some that others haven't used - and vice versa.
Struggling with how to incorporate email handling with your incoming calls? Confused about how to incorporate the latest marketing campaign into your forecast? Bring these and other questions to the meeting and see how your peers are dealing with the same situations. Learn from their mistakes as well as their successes and bring back a wealth of new knowledge to apply in your own center.
Workshop G: Strategic Planning for Call Centers
Monday, May 12,
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. (No Cost)
As more and more forward thinking contact center organizations invest in tools and technologies to advance their strategic decision-making capabilities, there is increased industry attention on the strategic planning life cycle. Optimizing each linked component of the planning cycle - from forecasting to hiring and overtime planning, what-if scenario analysis, budgeting and variance analysis, and then back to forecasting - will have significant benefits to the organization. Leading contact center professionals are expanding and improving each step in the planning process. By revamping this process, decision-making will be improved throughout the organization, thus enhancing its financial and operational performance, and delivering better and more consistent service at the lowest possible cost. A solid plan reduces unexpected service failures and an accurate planning process allows management to make the explicit trade-offs between service and costs.
Workshop H: Introduction to Centerbridge
Monday, May 12, 4:00 -
5:00 p.m. (No Cost)
CenterBridge is a tool for performance forecasting, resource planning, budgeting and analysis for large and complex customer contact center organizations. Powered by advanced, patent-pending simulation and optimization technology, CenterBridge will help:
- Reduce the time spent on forecasting, planning, budgeting, and analysis by 50% or more
- Quickly answer difficult “what-if” analysis and planning questions
- Improve the quality and speed of your technology and training investment decisions and thus the productivity of your capital expenditure budget
- Reduce staffing costs by 3% to 5% through more accurate long-term requirements generation, and more efficient hiring, overtime, leave, and right-sizing plans
You’ll discover how the use of simulation technology will enable you to grow your capabilities beyond staff planning to the answering of strategic business questions such as “Should I consolidate call centers?” and “Will a new call center technology really bring value?”