Eliminate time wasters in the service center – here’s how!

Category: FAQ
Excerpt: Find out how you can eliminate typical time wasters such as manual planning, inefficient communication and unexpected shift changes in the service center with modern WFM software – for more efficiency and better service quality.

The biggest time wasters in the day-to-day business of service centers

According to estimates, full-time employees in Germany spend more than one working day per week on inefficient activities at work (source StepStone 2024). In terms of service centers, this means that a large proportion of working time is spent on non-customer-oriented tasks such as manual planning, data entry or internal communication. This time could be better invested in customer care in order to improve service quality and increase customer satisfaction.

Below we highlight the biggest time wasters in the day-to-day business of service centers and explain how modern workforce management (WFM) systems such as opcycWFM can help to eliminate them:

Manual resource planning

Creating duty rosters manually is time-consuming and prone to errors. Unforeseen changes, such as sick leave or sudden fluctuations in demand, make planning even more difficult.

WFM software automates duty scheduling based on historical data and real-time information. This significantly reduces the planning effort and minimizes errors.

Inefficient communication

Misunderstandings and delays in internal communication lead to inefficiencies and frustration among employees.

opcycWFM integrates an employee portal that enables the exchange of information in real time. Employees can initiate shift requests, vacation requests and important notifications directly via the self-service functions, which increases transparency and efficiency.

Unexpected shift changes

Short-term changes to the duty roster can disrupt operations and affect employee satisfaction.

WFM software makes it possible to react quickly to unforeseen events by automatically identifying available employees and reallocating shifts. This ensures that existing resources are allocated to the expected service volume in the best possible way.

Lack of real-time data analysis

Without up-to-date data, it is difficult to make informed decisions and react to changes in workload.

opcycWFM provides real-time analysis of key performance indicators, staffing requirements and customer requests. This enables proactive management and the adjustment of resources in real time.

High absenteeism and fluctuation

Frequent absences and high staff turnover put a strain on resources and impair service quality.

Flexible shift schedules and consideration of individual preferences help to reduce absenteeism.

Lack of integration of systems

The use of different, unconnected systems leads to data islands and increases the administrative workload.

opcycWFM consolidates various functions such as time recording, duty scheduling and performance analysis in one platform. This reduces administrative effort and improves data integrity.

Inefficient vacation and absence management

The manual processing of vacation requests or sick notes is also often time-consuming and error-prone. Conflicts in vacation planning can also lead to dissatisfaction within the team.

With opcycWFM, employees can easily submit vacation requests and absences via the self-service portal. They can see directly whether their desired period is available – this makes planning easier and avoids unnecessary requests. Team leaders and shift managers use the leave monitor to maintain an overview and can approve requests quickly and transparently.

Insufficient consideration of skills

In many service centers, employees are deployed regardless of their specific skills, which can impair efficiency and service quality.

opcycWFM records and manages the qualifications and skills of employees. The software automatically takes this data into account during scheduling so that the right people are assigned to the right tasks. This increases productivity and ensures that customer inquiries are handled competently.

High administrative effort for the documentation of working hours

Manual time recording and checking of working hours costs valuable time and often leads to discrepancies in invoicing.

With automated time recording, working times are recorded precisely in opcycWFM and compared directly with the shift schedules. This reduces administrative work and minimizes errors in payroll accounting.

Difficulties in complying with legal requirements

Service centers are often faced with the challenge of complying with complex labor law requirements, for example with regard to rest periods, overtime or shift regulations.

opcycWFM integrates legal requirements directly into the planning algorithms, enabling the software to warn of potential violations.

High level of effort involved in creating reports and analyses

Creating reports on performance and efficiency often requires manual data collection from various sources, which is error-prone and time-consuming.

With opcycWFM, reports and analyses can be created automatically. Our software offers detailed dashboards and real-time key figures that facilitate management decisions and highlight optimization potential.

Conclusion

The multitude of time wasters in the daily routine of service centers requires modern solutions in order to work more efficiently and productively. A comprehensive WFM suite like opcycWFM not only offers tools for automation and optimization, but also the flexibility to adapt to individual challenges. With functions such as automated resource planning, real-time analyses and integrated employee management, service centers can be sustainably relieved and put on the road to success. Our Oki digital guide will be happy to demonstrate what this looks like in practice in a non-binding on-demand product demo.