Pipkins, Inc. is ending 2007 with two new features which have significantly enhanced the ability of supervisors to track agent monitoring with one-click and at-a-glance ease.
An important addition to the Real Time Adherence module called RTA PLUS, is a new graphic edition of the agent adherence module that eliminates the need for contact center supervisors to sit at their desks studying text-based adherence reports. The new control panel indicates agent status via easy-to-see color-coded boxes arranged in a grid similar to a seating chart. This visual grid places agents in permanently assigned squares that change color in real time to indicate agent status, enabling at-a-glance monitoring from anywhere on the floor. The PLUS edition allows users to log changes such as sick days or early releases with a single click from the same control panel. Supervisors can log changes such as sick days or early releases, view agent schedules, and send popup and email messages with a click from the same grid without navigating to different screens. Reports such as staffing effect summaries, adherence summaries for individual agents or the entire staff, and scheduled and actual activity summary graphs are available from the same control screen. What this feature does for agent adherence is revolutionary and will change the way supervisors monitor agents in the future. There are more planned upgrades to this product in 2008.
Large squares and icons representing each agent change color in real time to indicate agent status, with agents always in the same location on the grid for instant visual identification. The size of the squares and the head-and-torso icons make the colors of it easy to see, even at a distance.
Pipkins also introduced remote agent monitoring via the Apple iPhone, which is an industry-first tool and the first iPhone enterprise application. This gives supervisors equipped with iPhones the ability to check agent status at a glance and modify schedules with a click while in meetings or off-site, allowing adherence violations to be quickly detected and corrected even from hundreds of miles away. The new option leverages the iPhone’s extra-bright 3.5″ wide screen display and touch controls to deliver remote browser-based access to the full functionality of Pipkins’ Real-Time Agent Adherence PLUS module, including both the graphic interface and the one-click update capabilities. Pipkins’ iPhone-based remote access feature is the contact center industry’s first handheld real-time adherence monitoring solution.
The iPhone is an ideal platform for displaying and interacting with the PLUS real-time adherence control panel. It can display the graphical layout in the proper horizontal orientation as well as color-coding for identifying out-of-compliance agents, drill down to the fine details in highly readable text, and allow supervisors to access information or make schedule changes simply by touching a finger to the screen.
As a result of these new features, supervisors now have two choices for remote agent monitoring: they can use their PCs when possible and their iPhones when their PCs are not available. This adds powerful new tools to keep contact centers running smoothly.
Vantage Point Real-Time Agent Adherence PLUS is an optional upgrade to the adherence module of Pipkins’ Vantage Point workforce management software. Both the PLUS edition and iPhone support are available immediately.
About Pipkins
Pipkins Inc., founded in 1983, is the leading supplier of workforce management software and services to the call center industry. Its Vantage Point product enables managers to solve the complicated operational issues in today’s multi-faceted call center environment. 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