Navy Federal Credit Union Installs Pipkins’ Maxima Advantage To Automate Agent Scheduling for 10 Call Centers
ST. LOUIS, MO (June 18, 2001) – Virginia-based Navy Federal Credit Union, the world’s largest credit union, has installed Pipkins’ Maxima Advantage workforce management software to provide sophisticated forecasting and staff scheduling technology for the 500 agents in its 10 call centers which handle an estimated 600,000 calls monthly.
The software will enable Navy Federal to accurately and efficiently calculate future staffing demands based on anticipated skills-based routed call volumes; implement skills-based routing into the forecasting and scheduling system; and generate staff schedules reflecting seasonal changes, day-to-day variations in peak load, and special promotions that will increase incoming calls. Maxima Advantage replaces a manual system that was limited to scheduling static shifts and unable to handle fluctuating call volumes, differences in agent skills, agent schedule preferences, or the sheer size of the workforce.
“Navy Federal’s call centers have grown, credit union membership has increased to over two million, we’ve expanded our products and services, and now have two 24-hour facilities – we needed to better automate the process of scheduling our agents,” said Dee Kirby, Operations Call Center Analyst, of Navy Federal. “Pipkins’ software met our scalability and ease of maintenance requirements, in addition to offering forecasting models and the ability to accommodate maximum flexibility in work shifts.”
Pipkins’ software also provides an integrated solution for allocating staff to handle e-mail traffic the credit union receives through Navy Federal Online Account Access – its Web-based banking platform. Credit union members have begun to migrate towards Navy Federal’s new Web site for inquiries related to their accounts and to the organization’s various savings and loans products and services. The credit union currently receives 14,400 member e-mail inquiries monthly through this secure channel.
Added Kirby, “with Maxima Advantage, we can configure e-mail as a distinct skill (queue), and we didn’t have to modify the way we operate.”
“Our selection by Navy Federal expands our presence in the financial services sector and showcases our ability to meet the needs of large, distributed call center operations,” said Tim Venturella, Vice President of Pipkins.
About Maxima Advantage
Maxima Advantage is a sophisticated workforce management solution for determining expected call center workload and allocating the resources needed to complete the work. The cornerstone of the system is the forecasting module, which is powered by Pipkins’ proprietary Merlang® optimization algorithm. Merlang, a modified version of the popular Erlang algorithm, takes into account both busies and abandoned calls, thus negating the overstaffing bias inherent in the Erlang algorithm.
The system calculates staffing requirements based on the forecasted call volumes, handling times, and user-defined service levels such as tolerance for percentage of calls abandoned, percentage of busies, and mean time to answer. A flexible, rules-driven scheduler provides the optimal lowest-cost schedule based on factors such as hours of availability, agent preferences, skill groups, and other user-defined parameters. The system includes a full complement of reports designed for all levels of management as well as the ability to create your own custom reports. Available Options include Real-Time Adherence, Internet Portal (WAVE – Web Agent Viewing and Empowerment), Multi-media Portals, Wireless Client.
About Navy Federal Credit Union
Navy Federal is the world’s largest credit union, with more than two million members and over $12 billion in assets. Headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, Navy Federal operates 92 member service centers and 241 proprietary “No Surcharge” ATMs worldwide. The credit union primarily serves military and civilian personnel of the Navy and Marine Corps and their families. For more information, visit www.navyfcu.org.
About Pipkins Inc.
Pipkins, Inc. (PIPKINS), founded in 1984, is the leading supplier of workforce management software and services to the call center industry. Its Maxima Advantage product enables managers to solve the complicated operational issues in today’s multi-faceted call center environment. It offers a rich and robust feature set, as well as an open design that allows for the complete integration of emerging CRM technology. PIPKINS’ systems forecast and schedule more than 100,000 agents in over 300 locations across all industries worldwide. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, visit www.pipkins.com.