All operations have the same problem… They all have times when they are busy and times when they are slack. Feast or Famine. It is the way of the world: If you sell Christmas crackers it will always be busy in October If you run a gym you will always have a rush in January […]
Rule 3: There is Always More Work than People
The rules so far: Prioritise the work Don’t make your customer wait This would be OK but for Rule 3 which states that: There is always more work than people. This rule can be expressed in many ways: You never have enough time There is always more you could do You never have enough money Demand […]
A Stitch in Time…
Running a customer service centre is hard It is a constant battle, trying to minimise cost and maximise customer service. But we all know the game, we get employed to play it: Squeeze your head count down as far as you dare Ride the variations in customer demand Manage the backlog Set up a turnaround […]
Call Centre Forecasts: Don’t Waste Your Time
Every call centre has them; bad days. Call volumes are higher than expected and staff don’t show up. The result is a mile long queue of frustrated customers; a group of deeply fed up agents and a set of supervisors running around futilely trying to “manage” the situation. A bad day. The post-mortem If the […]
Surge Planning: I Hate the Snow
It was cold this morning Freezing It is going to snow, maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon Snow is a mixed blessing, great for sledging but for some of us, it’s a work disaster Pipes freeze People fall Cars won’t start Boilers fail If you happen to be in the game of mending pipes […]