Workforce Optimization (WFO) is delivering significant value to companies that are trying to improve both agent and customer experience, while making contact center operations more efficient.
WFO is a set of applications, data, and analytics to continuously improve the efficiency of the contact center staff and overall operations. Tools in this category include quality management, call/screen recording, Voice of the Customer survey platforms, analytics (agent, desktop, predictive, sentiment, and speech), performance management and workforce management.
When companies use WFO, they discovered measurable improvements in their business metrics. In our CX and Workforce Optimization: 2021-22 research study, we identified a “success group.” Those in the success group had to have improvements in at least two of the following business metrics:
- Revenue increased by at least 41.7%
- Costs decreased by at least 3.1%
- Customer ratings improved by at least 54%
- Employee satisfaction improved by at least 62.7%
- Agent productivity improved by at least 46.6%
We also asked research participants to rate their WFO providers using a 1- to 4-scale, where 4 = Excellent, 3 = Good, 2 = Just OK, and 1 = Poor.
They rated their providers in the following areas:
- Technical features of the service
- Response time to problems and questions
- Reliability of the service
- Effectiveness at improving agent experience
- Ability to help with your CX initiatives
- Analytics capabilities
- AI capabilities
Identifying Top Providers
By evaluating vendors based on both business success and customer ratings, Metrigy was able to identify providers that are delivering across the board. They are helping their customers improve their business metrics through the use of their products and services—the ultimate goal of any technology strategy. And, overall sentiment among the customers is high.
We issue a MetriStar Top Provider award to those who achieve success in both business success and customer sentiment. Five9 won the MetriStar Top Provider for Workforce Optimization 2021—and the key standout is that it had the highest percentage of its customers (75%) in the research success group. Big areas of improvement for Five9 customers were in cost savings (13.8%), customer ratings improvement (70%), and agent efficiency (55%).
Five9 customers also saw improvements in the other business metrics, but those cited are significant. Cost savings is far better than the average—and it show that by using WFO to analyze and optimize performance, cost savings is following. Most important to me is always customer ratings. If customers are happy, other metrics fall into place. For example, happy customers provide high ratings and also may refer their friends. In the end, that results in more business and increased revenue.
WFO is key to keeping customers satisfied, by leveraging Voice of the Customer surveys provide direct feedback from customers. Five9 offers a VoC survey tool; not all contact center providers do, so this is a differentiator. In addition, quality management, call/screen recording, and a variety of analytics (agent, desktop, predictive, sentiment, etc.) helps give supervisors data to coach and improve agents—ultimately keeping customer—and agent—satisfaction high.
Five9 also performed well in customer sentiment, with its top areas “effectiveness at improving agent experience,” and “AI capabilities.” WFO is vital to improving agent experience, though not every vendor executes well on this area. Five9’s Workforce Optimization suite includes a growing set of applications, including workforce, quality, and performance management, call/screen recording, surveys, and analytics.
In addition, Five9 is focusing heavily on AI in all of its contact center products, led by Jonathan Rosenberg, CTO and Head of AI. Moving forward, Five9 will help companies augment their human workforce with a digital workforce that can serve customers, coach agents, ensure quality, and provide insight.
Based on the metrics and feedback from 524 organizations participating in the research, Five9 is well-positioned for organizations’ WFO requirements.
