Leveraging the Latest CX Technology to Build High Performing Teams 

As an award-winning customer experience provider, we are always searching for innovative technologies that not only help us build high performing teams but drive real results for our clients.  By centralizing all our performance management tools into one cohesive system that allows for real-time interaction between coaches and agents, advanced analytics, microlearning, and superior performance visibility, we have empowered our teams, boosted engagement, promoted accountability and agency for performance improvements, and have given supervisors the ability to truly tailor the employee experience to each agent’s performance goals. The resulting gains in productivity have been impressive, demonstrated by two key accounts where Quality Scores exceeded client expectations within only a few months of active engagement with our new iFOMS performance management system.  

Challenges 

In many cases, multiple tools, systems, and software applications are used in contact center performance management, but if not streamlined efficiently, it can hinder supervisors’ ability to address coaching issues in real-time or to spot wider patterns that could affect team performance. We seized the opportunity to centralize all performance management tools into one, easy-to-use interface, eliminating the need to consult various programs, which would allow a better overview of both short and long-term performance trends. By merging all our performance monitoring and learning tools into one seamless system, we could not only boost the efficiency and effectiveness of our Quality Assurance teams, but coaches could also take necessary interventions during a customer call, not after – resulting in a superior customer experience. Additionally, an integrated system, with all data collection and reporting combined into one, would allow us to identify any low-performing agents more quickly, and to find the root causes of agent challenges, so supervisors can deliver helpful and actionable feedback that reduces agents’ speed-to-proficiency.  

Solutions 

Enter iFOMS (itel Floor Operations Management System), which was launched just over a year ago by our Operational Excellence team. Using an industry-leading platform as framework, we adapted the system’s customizable features to create our own coaching loop adaptation that caters to each stage in our unique coaching process. This empowered leaders to readily address improvement areas through real-time coaching, off-floor direct feedback sessions, quartile management and AI-enhanced performance alerts. We then tailored the iFOMS interface to each client account and their specific KPI requirements for each business unit, using a customized theme unique to each client’s color palette specifications. A phased rollout plan then introduced the new platform to agents and supervisory teams, while we created excitement and anticipation around the launch by directing an awareness campaign toward frontline users.  

System features include: 

• Easy-to-view dashboards that show both team, and individual performance data, in real-time. 
• Analytics that allow supervisors/trainers to better identify problematic trends or patterns. 
• A customized learning library where agents can access, and supervisors can assign, specific training modules that contain behavioral and procedural knowledge. 
• AI (Artificial Intelligence) -driven system can deliver performance alerts and automatically assign individualized training modules and micro-learnings to agents.  
• Supervisors can use the platform to monitor learning completion rates, to ensure that agents are actively working towards improvement goals.  
• All-in-one interface allows us to measure performance targets against learning uptake, so we can see tangible results from our assigned training, quality coaching, and coaching mechanisms.  
• Offers a fun, gamified experience – virtual games and interactive team leaderboards are based on KPI target attainment, which encourage friendly competition and allows agents to track their own progression. 
• The ability to recognize and reward individuals for high performance. Supervisors can award special badges or points for exemplary work. Points can be redeemed in upcoming virtual store. 
• A virtual messaging system, where employees can send positive messages to other team members whose performance they consider exceptional.  

Outcomes  

Soon after the rollout, agent uptake and daily engagement rates steadily increased, as measured by daily logins and interactions with the various tools within the system. The most notable outcomes came from two key client accounts, one for a prominent financial services company, and another, for a large, U.S.-based retailer. Within just eight months of the launch, daily login rates from agents reached an average of 99.1% and user engagement rates rose to an average of 92%. The most popular engagement activity was sending congratulatory messages between colleagues and supervisors, with a total of 7,526 messages sent within the same 8-month period. We also saw exceptional engagement with our integrated learning library, with a total of 5,739 activities completed in the platform, such as games and microlearning modules, and a stellar 98.6% learning success rate. 

We at once noticed a direct correlation between high login and engagement rates and team performance, with those agents who displayed higher engagement rates often scoring in the top KPI quartile. During the same period, Quality Targets, which is a similar measure to Customer Satisfaction scores (CSAT), rose from an average of 87% against an 85% client target, to an impressive benchmark score of 91%, averaging around 89% for the entire 8-month period.  

We also witnessed impressive before and after results from our retailer client. Prior to their launch on iFOMS, Quality Scores measured an average of 91.92% against a client target of 90% and remained at that level throughout the year. Within just a month of iFOMS’ launch, scores were up almost 2 percentage points. Within five months, Quality scores had reached an average of 95% against the 90% client target, the highest performance score ever achieved for this account. 

A Performance Advantage with iFOMS 

Since iFOMS’ implementation, clients have seen significant improvements in KPI scores, thanks to this new solution that creates a more streamlined way for agents and supervisors to monitor and measure their performance levels. With a centralized space for performance monitoring and management, and specialized gamification features that engage our workforce in new and creative ways, we can drive high performance not just in everyday customer interactions, but also drive a mindset of continuous improvement that empowers our teams to take accountability and agency for their own performance. 

Want to learn how we can build and optimize your CX teams for high performance results? Contact Us.