Generating a schedule for Operations queues

The following are the main differentiating features in the workflow for generating a schedule for Operations queues:

• Set up a root queue Entity that represents demand in WFM. Queues help predict workload by multiplying the volume of customer interactions by their expected handling time., from which work items are distributed to extra queues according to defined requirements.

• Activities are based on the Operations media, and Work Queue Hopping is enabled.

• Shifts are based on the None activity Core component of both schedules and time records in Workforce Management (WFM). When an employee performs any kind of work, activities specify the scheduled work and capture employee adherence to their schedule., and are linked to shift Work period in WFM that has a definite length. events based on Operations-based activities.

• All Linked Queue Forecasting (LQF) Feature in WFM where queues are linked together, and work is distributed among them according to defined requirements. scheduling periods must be skill Defined level of knowledge that an employee needs in order to handle a defined workload in WFM.-based. All source and target queues in a chain are linked to a single campaign Collection of scheduling periods in WFM, which are defined time periods where specific employees target specific workloads.. You can also link work queues not involved in the Linked Queue Forecasting (LQF) chain to the scheduling period.

• The forecast is created based on the root queue, and deadline goals are defined (as an alternative to service level Set percentage of interactions in WFM that are handled in a defined unit of time.).

• After the schedule is generated, you can track and update the status of work items, and view work history.

Work queue hopping

Work queue hopping is when employees are scheduled to work on different work queues at different times, rather than working on several work queues concurrently. Queue hopping is especially useful in an Operations environment. Typically, one entire shift consists of several shift events. Each shift event Time period in WFM when employees are scheduled for specific activities, other than the main shift activity. Shift events can either be productive or unproductive, and can be associated with activities such as Phone, Email, Break and Lunch. can involve performing an activity linked to a different queue.

Example: Queue hopping in an Operations environment

Within one 8-hour shift, employee John Green has four shift events:

• For the first shift event, from 9:00-10:00, John is scheduled to perform the activity, Check processing, which is linked to the queue, OpsA.

• From 10:00-12:00, John is scheduled to perform the activity, Mortgage statements, which are linked to the queue, OpsB.

• From 1:00-3:00, John is scheduled to perform the activity, Filing, which is linked to the queue, OpsC.

• From 3:00-5:00, John is scheduled to perform the queue, Financials, which is linked to the queue, OpsD.

Shifts and Shift events for Operations

In an Operations environment, the activity of the shift itself does not define the work done during the shift. The work is done in smaller blocks of time defined by the shift events. Therefore, the activity of the shift is set to None. The activities of the shift events are set to specific Operations activities that need to be performed during the shift. Queue hopping is enabled for all Operations activities.

Example: Creating shifts and shift events for Operations

For example, a shift called Ops_shift1 is eight hours in duration and associated with the activity, None.

The following shift events are linked to Ops_shift1:

• Ops_filing based on the Filing activity

• Ops_mortgage based on the Mortgage statements activity

• Ops_checks_proc based on the Check processing activity

Employees assigned to this shift are scheduled for these shift events during the shift.

Deadline goals for Operations

Deadline goals and not service levels define Operations queues. Financial documents, for example, need to be processed within a specified time (a specific number of hours, days or weeks). For this reason, the percentage of work that needs to be completed is always set to 100%. The time period by which the work needs to be completed is defined based on the requirements of the organization.

Example: Deadline goals

• There is a work item arriving between 6:00 AM - 3:30 PM today that an employee must complete by 5:15 PM today.

• There is a work item arriving between 3:30 PM today - 6:00 AM tomorrow that an employee must complete by 10:00 AM tomorrow.

Deadline goals similar to ASA

Deadline goals function similarly to Average Speed to Answer (ASA) Average amount of time in WFM by which an employee must respond to a customer interaction or work unit., in terms of implications on FTE Requirements and the scheduling engine:

• Deadline goals do not impact employee requirements.

• The scheduling engine predicts employee requirements based on deadline goals.

• The scheduling engine schedules employees to meet deadline goals.

Tracking work items for Operations

For tracking work items, you can:

• Add new items that recently arrived and are ready to be worked on

• Indicate which items are checked out and currently being worked on

• Indicate which items are checked in and done

Operations adapters

Specific adapters import Operations data and volume from an external source into the WFM application. You can view and use the imported data through the user interface in the same way as events entered through the user interface.