Forecasting and Capacity Planning Leader

Your role and responsibilities

The Contact Center Workforce Leader is responsible for support of Contact Center operational functions that include forecasting, scheduling, and management of intra-day performance and service for a multi-site, multi-skilled 24 x 7 Contact Center operations. The workforce consists of agent groups responsible for handling front and back-office operations, including inbound and outbound communications via phone, email, chat, and ticket management. Implements best practices in workforce management to ensure consistent procedures and data-driven, timely decisions. Workforce Management activities are performed to maximize efficiency while meeting requirements for the organization's vision, mission and customer strategies. Knowledgeable of emerging industry trends.

KEY DUTIES:

• Leads the Contact Center planning and staffing process. Analyzes contact volumes and patterns. Ensures contact center and staffing models include accurate, updated information. Captures, stores, and reports on historical statistics (service level, occupancy, forecast accuracy, etc.) and provides root-cause analysis and business impact analysis for all performance variances. Identifies contact volume trends and averages on a monthly, quarterly, and seasonal basis. Reports the workload trends and staffing requirements to management and executive leadership teams. Utilizes workforce management software and various internal data sources to accurately forecast contacts - both short and long-term - and determine staffing requirements. Establishes and maintains communication channels regarding events that impact contact workload. Communicates necessary adjustments to workforce requirements based on dynamic forecasts; re-forecasts when necessary.
• Accountable for timely delivery of agent schedules developed by Workforce Analysts. Oversees proactive scheduling of discretionary activities such as training, meetings, and overtime. Ensures schedules make effective use of resources while meeting service objectives and scheduling accuracy goals.

• Oversees and maintains the company specific (WFM) Platform utilized for forecasting, scheduling, tracking, monitoring and reporting the daily/monthly call center statistics to include volumes, schedule adherence and service level achievement.
• Oversees intra-day staffing and service, including analysis of real-time workload and call routing to manage performance to service level requirements. Responsible for development, implementation, and recurring review/update of the communication and execution strategies to utilize when staffing issues are identified and adjustments are required. Analyzes and addresses escalated service delivery issues when needed between Contact Center Managers and Workforce Analysts.
• Works in partnership with Contact Center Management, Quality, Training, and Operational teams to coordinate the hiring and training of new employees, as well as the ongoing development and multi-skill training for existing employees. Coordinates with Workforce Analysts, peer groups, and Contact Center Managers across sites to identify opportunities for service improvements and business optimization.
• Effectively leads professional staff to ensure efficient utilization and development of resources. Provides appropriate training and development opportunities. Responsible for increasing awareness about Workforce Management and providing ongoing education to staff throughout the enterprise Contact Centers to ensure appropriate knowledge levels regarding general workforce management practices, including the effective use of workforce planning and adherence tools.
• Leverage industry leading processes and technology to drive workforce decision-making that will enhance the overall customer experience.

Required education

Bachelor's Degree

Preferred education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

SKILLS and CORE COMPETENCIES

• Strong understanding of Call Center technology to include WFM solutions, IVR's, ACD's, ACD reporting, GENAI and contact routing strategies.

• Self-motivated and must excel in a minimally managed, high profile position. Ability to work independently with efficient time management skills, adapt to changing priorities, meet deadlines and work well under pressure.

• Advanced mathematical skills, knowledge of and ability to calculate statistics. Strong analytical and problem solving skills, with the ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions. Strong attention to detail

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate and interact with all levels of personnel within the organization, including presenting information and responding to questions from groups of managers, senior leadership, and executive levels.

• Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships.

• Ability to lead, coach, and develop staff. Ability to exercise initiative and judgment as well as make decisions within the scope of assigned authority

• Ability to manage multiple programs/projects simultaneously. Experience handling multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced environment as an individual contributor or team member

• Proficient in MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint

• GEN/AI capabilities and knowledge

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor's Degree with 10+ years of Contact Center Workforce Management experience. 10+ years of experience in Contact Center Operations

• Extensive experience in using workforce management software solutions

• Extensive experience with forecasting, capacity planning and statistical analysis.

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM Consulting is IBM's consulting and global professional services business, with market leading capabilities in business and technology transformation. With deep expertise in many industries, we offer strategy, experience, technology, and operations services to many of the most innovative and valuable companies in the world. Our people are focused on accelerating our clients' businesses through the power of collaboration. We believe in the power of technology responsibly used to help people, partners and the planet.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM's greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we're also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 50 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it's time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

For additional information about location requirements, please discuss with the recruiter following submission of your application.