Carlson Marketing Group Case Study

The Carlson Marketing Group (CMG) understands that in today's increasingly complex marketplace, one thing is clear: Relationships always drive business results. To simplify business processes and boost customer satisfaction, CMG successfully transitioned from a single site to a global multisite environment using the IEX® TotalView®Workforce Management system from IEX Corporation, a subsidiary of NICE Systems Ltd.

"TotalView was the cornerstone of this transition," said Senior CMG Workforce Manager Adam Cincoski. "It enabled us to smoothly consolidate 15 contact centers while significantly lowering costs and improving overall performance." Before migrating to TotalView, CMG's customers were supported by small, dedicated contact center teams that worked independently of each other. Each of the disparate contact centers created their own fixed schedules based on general service level performance and agent input. There was no real scientific process behind it. All of that changed with the innovative features offered by TotalView.

Multiskill Scheduling
CMG looked to the TotalView Multiskill feature to help them schedule agents with the right skills to handle customer inquiries at the initial point of contact. "Without TotalView in place, it would have been impossible for us to fully cross-utilize agents from CMG's 15 client-based contact centers," Cincoski said. Cincoski estimates that effective scheduling of multiskilled agents has helped CMG increase overall staff efficiency by more than 15 percent.

"We now answer more calls, with less people, while creating a higher level of client satisfaction," he said. TotalView Multiskill ensures agents with the appropriate training are in place to handle calls in CMG's operation. This enables CMG to ensure adequate coverage is maintained for each of the company's clients. "TotalView enables us to get the right people, in the right place, at the right time," Cincoski said.

Real-Time Adherence
The TotalView Real-Time Adherence feature also played a key role in CMG's ability to improve staff performance.

Real-Time Adherence enables CMG managers to monitor agent performance and promptly react to schedule adherence issues. Using this feature, managers can determine at a glance which agents are not keeping to their schedules and can address the matter immediately.

"We're working smarter, not harder," Cincoski said. CMG said it has improved schedule adherence by about 4 percent per week since it began using Real-Time Adherence. This equates to an estimated savings of more than $16,000 per month.

"The staff is optimistic and full of life, and the clients are pleased with our service levels," Cincoski said. CMG could not measure adherence prior to installing TotalView. Now, after implementing the Real-Time Adherence module from IEX, the CMG contact centers consistently meet an 85 percent adherence goal. "By moving beyond the historical viewpoint, contact center managers can proactively improve performance to achieve the highest levels of effectiveness," Cincoski said.

WebStation™
Adding the TotalView WebStation feature is another key step taken by CMG to help improve operations. "It's a great tool for helping agents keep on task and motivating them to perform," Cincoski said. WebStation guides CMG agents through their day. Agents can see when it is time for them to take a break, go to lunch and work on other projects. With WebStation, agents have a clear picture of what they should be doing and when they should be doing it. The feature also provides agents access to their current performance statistics, helping them to identify needed areas of improvement.

"Many of our agents now vie to have the best stats of the day, which has helped build friendly competition and camaraderie that drives the group," Cincoski said. A Powerful Combination Prior to implementing TotalView, CMG's average speed of answer (ASA) was 66 seconds and service levels were falling short of contracted goals. CMG had a 7 percent call abandon rate. Now CMG's ASA averages 25 seconds and the call abandon rate is a mere 1 percent. And it has consistently exceeded service levels for the past two years.

"The key features of TotalView have combined to generate greater customer satisfaction in all of our contact centers," Cincoski said. Now CMG is in the process of combining its workforce management organization with the Carlson Leisure Group. As part of this consolidation, the TotalView system is deployed in its Boise and St. Louis offices.

"By educating the staff and senior management about the impact of adherence on the overall contact center's success, we know we will continue to not only reach, but exceed our performance goals while keeping employee morale high," Cincoski said.

Carlson Marketing Group credits TotalView® with:

• Annual savings of nearly $200,000
• 15 percent increase in staff efficiency
• 62 percent improvement in ASA
• 85 percent decrease in abandonment rate