SUMMER 2020 ROUNDUP

When last we spoke, my family and I had come home from a road trip to Orlando, Florida to visit Disney World. The trip was a success, but when we returned home we found a world closed up and locked down as a result of the burgeoning pandemic. Since then, as humans do, we’ve learned to adapt. Leaving the house means we now remember our wallet, keys, phone… and masks! Following the rules allowed us to have more summer than we expected. Neighborhood swimming pools reopened, restaurant patrons were welcomed back (though sometimes only for outdoor seating), and Major League Baseball finally got started for an abbreviated season.

Before we all started working from home, we had the opportunity to attend the CCW Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. In fact, one of our favorite things to do is attend these events and meet you all face-to-face and make new connections. While it has been deemed safe to return to somewhat normal activity, the upcoming conferences we had planned to attend – CCW in Las Vegas, and ICMI in Dallas – have been canceled in order to err on the side of caution and maintain safety. However, these conferences do have an online option, so we hope to run into you virtually.

 

NEW FACES AT PIPKINS

We have a couple new people on the team! Daniel Clark has joined our development team. His addition to the team is valuable and his knowledge will certainly come in handy. He has been working in IT for seven years. He loves learning new things and staying current on new technologies. Daniel is a father of four: Cadence is the princess of the bunch; Isaac is all about Transformers; Trinity is a social butterfly; and Geneivie likes to be the outsider. I’d also like to add that he, like me, studies Mandarin Chinese, 所以我们都可以练习中文。

 

David Borden has joined our customer care department. He hails from Albany, New York by way of Knoxville, Tennessee. He has a background in call center operations management for five years, workforce management for five years, and has eight years of management experience. He is very outgoing and eager to meet our customers. He enjoys video games, building computers, sports (he played basketball, baseball, and football in high                                               school), and recently fitness.

 

A special new addition to the Pipkins team is actually an addition to the Pipkins Family! Let’s congratulate Dr. Pipkins on the first female in the family in almost 70 years. Thomas and Ally Pipkins welcomed Claire Alexandra to the Pipkins team on August 24. Claire joins big brother William as the all-male Pipkins dynasty has officially ended.

 

WEBSITE REDESIGN

Visitors to our website, www.pipkins.com, may see some slight changes in how information is presented. While keeping with our theme, we have taken steps to better organize high-level items in a more contextual manner. Now you find product information based on the type of solution you are looking for instead of searching through a product name list. Our goal is to provide more intuitive traffic flow that directs visitors to the topics of interest based on needs.

Although a minor change, we hope this update will provide a more lucid experience for both new and existing customers. We are also planning future improvements to the site for a phase II revamp. This is to include better access to important documentation, updated blog access, and quick links to new video content. We hope everyone enjoys the new layout and we are always open to suggestions! Let us know what you want to see added or changed on the Pipkins.com site.

 

EXPANDING FORECASTING OPTIONS

Historically, Pipkins has provided an all-in-one suite for workforce management. Over the years we have worked to vertically integrate systems that Pipkins WFM uses to work its magic. Our Cloud ACD option and Back-Office task tracking tools allow Pipkins to be deployed as an All-in-One contact center solution fully independent of other systems. This is incredibly useful for some businesses, as it limits the number of tools and integrations required to manage their operations. At the same time, Pipkins values our long-held capability to integrate with any system, anywhere. Not all businesses need the same things and Pipkins wants to be able to provide our expert tools wherever needed.

We have found that there is a growing niche of businesses that outsource their entire operations to BPOs or other agencies. In many cases these businesses do not have a call center themselves, and if they do it may only be the upper levels of escalation. The BPO handles all the scheduling, policies, and staff management of general agents while the client business simply provides forecasts and requirements.

To better help support these customers, Pipkins has developed a new model for those interested only in forecasting and requirements generation. This means no agents in system, no intraday, no real time, just the industry-leading forecast accuracy and Merlang requirements generation that Pipkins is known for. With this product model, clients can enjoy all the power of Pipkins data analysis and export results to their vendors without having to pay for or manage individual agents.

At Pipkins, we are committed providing customized solutions tailor made for our clientele. Sometimes that means less is more!

 

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Our biggest bit of news is that we are unveiling a series of webinars which will review the manifold sides of workforce management. Each webinar will cover a focused operational point of the Pipkins platform in a way useful for both current customers and future prospects. Have you ever wondered if you are making the most out of the Pipkins WFM platform? This series is designed to guide new Pipkins users through the process while also filling knowledge gaps for those with more experience.

 

The first installment will be discussing the art of scheduling and will feature the expertise of Customer Care Director, Jim Hogan. This one hour session will go over the basics of scheduling as well as exploring some more advanced platform features.

Have you ever wondered how Pipkins scheduling optimizes intraday events? Do you want to know how to make the most out of scenarios or rosters? Is your team in need of a quick refresher on scheduling systems? If so, then you should drop by.

Click the link below to sign up. Only 250 seats are available so don’t wait!

Sept 29 2:00-3:00 PM CST

Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7648081246427284752

While we have a list of subjects we will be exploring using the webinar series, we’d also like to hear from you. Please, reach out to us and let us know on what you’d like to see a broader discussion. If there is something you are curious about and think others might want to learn, shoot us an email and we might cover it in a future session!

 

It’s been a slow cycle this time around because we are all coming back from a short period of uncertainty. We were strong before the lockdown, but the overlooked quality of starting over is that we come back stronger. Join us virtually for our series of webinars and find out how Pipkins can improve your workforce management needs, and we’ll see you all in 2021.