Iterative Contact List Optimization via WFM-CLM Integration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current Campaign and List Management (CLM) systems fail to consider skills-based agent availability and do not optimize contact lists as staffing changes occur, leading to discrepancies between predicted and actual agent availability during outbound communication campaigns.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an iterative scheduling and campaign management process that uses coarse agent availability data from Workforce Management (WFM) systems to generate and optimize contact lists, with periodic updates to reflect changing multi-skilled agent schedules, ensuring accurate 'best time-to-call' sequencing based on actual staffing levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If historical connect patterns are used to determine best time-to-call sequence, then the CLM system can generate an initial contact list order, but the accuracy of agent availability prediction deteriorates because it does not reflect actual future staffing levels
Solution Approach 1:
The WFM system performs preliminary scheduling of multi-skilled agents before the CLM system generates the optimized contact list. This preliminary action provides forward-looking staffing information that reflects actual future agent availability rather than relying on historical patterns, thereby improving prediction accuracy while preventing loss of skills-based availability information
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where the CLM system receives agent schedule information from the WFM system, generates an optimized contact list, and the process is repeated iteratively. This feedback mechanism ensures that the contact list is continuously refined based on actual staffing levels and agent skills, resolving the contradiction between initial list generation and accurate availability prediction
2Productivity
If the CLM system operates independently without integrating WFM data, then the system complexity is reduced, but the campaign efficiency deteriorates due to mismatches between predicted and actual agent availability
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains functional segmentation between the WFM system and CLM system while establishing controlled integration points. The WFM system handles workforce scheduling and the CLM system handles contact list optimization, with data exchange through defined interfaces. This segmentation preserves system modularity and manages complexity while enabling the productivity improvements from integrated data
Solution Approach 2:
The iterative process creates a universal framework that can accommodate different WFM and CLM system configurations. The system accepts various input formats from WFM systems (agent schedules, staffing levels) and produces optimized contact lists that work across different campaign types, thereby improving campaign efficiency without requiring complex custom integrations for each scenario
3Reliability
If the contact list is generated once without updates, then the processing time is reduced, but the relevance of the contact list deteriorates as staffing changes occur during the campaign
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic re-optimization of the contact list at scheduled intervals during the campaign execution. Rather than continuous updates that would consume excessive processing time, the CLM system receives periodic intraday updates from the WFM system and re-optimizes the contact list at appropriate intervals, maintaining reliability while managing time consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The contact list optimization transitions from a static one-time process to a dynamic iterative process that adapts to changing staffing conditions. The system automatically re-optimizes the contact list when triggered by staffing changes or time intervals, ensuring the contact list remains relevant and accurate throughout the campaign without requiring manual intervention or excessive processing time
Data Source
AI summary
An iterative scheduling and campaign management process uses a WFM system and a CLM system. These systems may be independent or consolidated. In a first step of the process, the WFM system provides the CLM system coarse agent availability data. The coarse agent availability data is used by the CLM system to generate a first list order for a given outbound contact list, which contact list is then provided back to the WFM system. In a second step of the process, the WFM uses the first list order to facilitate a multi-skilled agent scheduling routine. The resulting set of multi-skilled agent schedules (or staffing level data derived from those schedules) is then provided by the WFM system to the CLM system. The CLM system then uses the multi-skilled agent schedules (or staffing level data) to create a second list order for the given outbound contact list. This list may be considered an optimized list given the agent schedule data provided by the WFM system. The outbound campaign is then initiated. Thereafter, and periodically during the outbound campaign, the WFM system provides the CLM system intraday (or intra-campaign) updates to the multi-skilled agent schedules and, in response, the CLM creates at least one re-optimized list order for the contact list based on the intraday data update received from the WFM system. The process can then be repeated iteratively throughout the campaign.