In my last blog I wrote about attrition and different ways to analyse this in order to get a better understanding of why people are leaving. It's also important to work with your HR team to get some overall feedback on what people have been saying their reasons for leaving are in their exit interviews. This can help you understand if attrition is related to scheduling in any way. Communication between Workforce Planning and HR is therefore essential.

As a Workforce Planner part of your role should be to advise HR on the type of shift required so that new hires are recruited when and where the business actually needs them. It's also a good idea to provide HR with information around the benefits of different shift options so they can provide this information to candidates. When candidates go through the interview phase it is important that they understand the type of shift they will be working, the annual leave policies (they may need to work on public holidays) and what breaks, training, coaching etc they will typically have in their schedule before accepting the position.

During the induction training, someone from Workforce Planning should conduct a session on Workforce Planning explaining what it is and the processes for applying for leave, swapping shifts, adhering to schedules etc. They should also conduct a Power of One activity to help make this easier for new hires to understand. Make sure you provide your agents with some documentation around your scheduling guidelines and frequently asked questions so that they can also refer to this later if necessary.

Approximately one month after being on the phones it's a good idea to schedule a feedback session with the new hires and key members of the leadership team, including HR. In this meeting, feedback can be gathered on their experience to date, including the recruitment process, training, and integration to the phones. Any further scheduling related questions or concerns can also be answered at this time and you can use the information gathered in this session to improve many of your processes and hopefully help to reduce attrition in the future.

I wanted to make sure that all Nice Customers are aware of their ANZ Customer Conference next week, 25th October at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney. This is a free event for all users of Nice products (including IEX and QM) and is a great way for you to find out about all the latest enhancements to their product range as well as ask questions about how you could improve the way you use some of the tools you have already implemented. It’s also a great way to network and meet other Nice users . For more information download the flyer here.

And now to the latest news off the press in terms of Workforce Management acquisitions is that Noble Systems Corporation, have announced the acquisition of locally owned Open Wave. The transaction includes all assets and intellectual property.

"Acquiring Open Wave's talent and technologies will enable us to offer the most dynamic and responsive WFM product in the global marketplace," said James K. Noble, Jr, President and CEO of Noble Systems. "We welcome Open Wave clients and partners from Australia and around the world and look forward to continued growth and success under the Noble Systems brand."

Noble Systems will offer Open Wave's ShiftTrack WFM platform to deliver enhanced scheduling, forecasting, resource management capabilities and more. The move also bolsters Noble Systems' presence in Australia, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. With an existing location in Sydney already in place, Noble Systems' employee and infrastructure footprint in Australia will more than double in size due to the transaction. Noble Systems will also take over Open Wave's EMEA headquarters in London and significant UK client roster with brands including National Express, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, TD Waterhouse and more.

With Open Wave, Noble Systems will add significant depth to its global WFM team, gaining more than 100 active client sites and a robust suite of offerings refined over the company's 20-year history of world-class service and industry-leading innovation. Over the coming months, Noble WFM and Open Wave clients will be notified of Noble Systems' global WFM roadmap, product upgrades and new features available as a result of the transaction.

"Noble Systems is the innovative, fast-growing, financially secure partner we needed to take Open Wave's groundbreaking WFM technologies to a broader global marketplace," said Nick Wagner, former Chief Technology Officer of Open Wave. "We look forward to joining a winning team and providing a seamless transition for our valuable staff and clientele."

Moving forward, Noble Systems' global WFM development will be led by Wagner. Noble Systems will maintain existing Open Wave office locations in Melbourne, London and Singapore and seeks to retain all current personnel. In addition to intellectual property and assets, Noble Systems will assume stewardship of Open Wave’s global client base of firms including Unisys, Qantas Holidays, Avon and many more.

Noble Systems Corporation is a contact center technology solutions provider based in Atlanta, GA. Noble solutions include advanced ACD and predictive dialing; unified contact processing for voice, email, and web; and integrated IVR, digital recording, messaging, quality control/monitoring systems, scripting, and real-time reporting and management tools.

I wonder who will be next…..

This week I was in Brisbane for the WFO Network Group where we spent the afternoon sharing different Workforce Planning ideas. We were about half way through the session when I suddenly spotted Marko Sekulic's T-shirt. Marko works for Suncorp where, a few years ago, they created a Workforce Planning T-shirt (in Black or Blue) for members of the Team. Brilliant! Check out Marko modeling the T-shirt below. Apparently there's a new version coming out soon so I've asked the team to send me a picture through when it's ready.

The Suncorp team also have a team calendar. If you'd like to create one for your organisation the Suncorp team recommend this website www.vistaprint.com.au.

Love it. Thanks for the photos!

Deadline Friday 5th August 2011

Don't miss your chance to contribute to the Workforce Management Market Report for the region - Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Philippines. Following the demand for the results of last year's Asia-Pacific Workforce Management study, we are pleased to offer Workforce Managers/Planners and Contact Centre, Back Office or Branch Managers the opportunity to participate in the 2011 survey.

The 2011 Workforce Management Market Report will provide detailed information to enable you to better manage your contact centre, back office or branch by comparing your workforce management performance against the industry as a whole, and where possible the results will be compared to results from the 2010.

The report will include key information about the following:

• Current market size and projected growth
• Current and projected use of technology
• Anticipated technology purchases and spend
• Key Performance Indicators used for Resource Planners
• Key Human Resource statistics
• Forecasting trends
• Scheduling trends
• Day to day Management trends
• Key Challenges for Resource Planners

Begin Survey Here

Well what a busy couple of weeks. We have been working on the exciting launch of our new name and I am sure you have been busy as we get to the end of another Financial year, which is a busy time for everyone...Honestly where did those last 12 months go?

We thought a good way to start this Financial year is by giving you all the opportunity to test your WFM knowledge with a quick quiz.

Have a go and email your response to Ronene and we will let you know how you went.....Good luck.

Download the quiz questions here.