Teleopti announced today that National Express, the largest operator of coach services in the UK, is using its workforce management (WFM) solution to create schedules for over 160 frontline employees, working complex shift patterns in its customer service center. The National Express contact center supports ticket sales and assistance to customers of its bus and coach services every day of the year. The customer service teams also manage online queries. The customer service center handles between 1800 and 2000 calls a day, increasing to 2500 at peak times holiday times or in bad weather. Teleopti’s cloud-based, automated WFM solution enables managers to adjust schedules quickly and easily to meet customer demand.

Golam Rabbani, Performance Manager at National Express, explained, “We looked at several web-based WFM applications and sought recommendations for a new software solution. The feedback on Teleopti WFM was very positive. It has already proven beneficial by enabling us to speed up the scheduling process and build forecasts based on actual call data.

“The biggest difference since using Teleopti WFM is that our staff can see their own shifts on their mobile devices, using Teleopti MyTime. Employees can request shift changes easily without having to get managers involved. Plus as a cloud-based solution it gives us the ability to accommodate peaks in demand by allowing us to contact people if remote working is required.”

Since implementing Telepti’s WFM solution National Express has increased visibility of shift patterns for staff, enabling them to take control of their working hours. Linked to automatically updated call data, it also provides a quick view of incoming calls against the forecast. Shifts can be quickly revised to meet increased customer demand as a result of bad weather, breakdowns or traffic problems.

The weekly resource forecast in Teleopti WFM also enables overtime requests to be planned more cost efficiently. Managers are using metrics from the solution to manage call rates and employee breaks, to monitor adherence to working time legislation while ensuring that service levels are maintained.

Nick Smith, UK Business Manager at Teleopti concluded, “For companies like National Express where the contact center is the hub of operations, a high degree of flexibility is required to ensure staff availability to respond to customer demand.

Teleopti’s cloud-based technology supports automated shift creation, while having the flexibility to make changes if necessary. The ability to build strong forecasts using historical data means it becomes easier to maintain consistent service levels and therefore keep passengers on the move.”