A Workforce Management Analyst is a professional who plays a crucial role in optimizing the productivity and efficiency of a company's workforce. They are responsible for analyzing and forecasting workforce needs, developing staffing plans, and ensuring that the right resources are allocated at the right time. In this blog post, we describe the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for Workforce Management Analysts.

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Main Responsibilities of a Workforce Management Analyst

The following list describes the typical responsibilities of a Workforce Management Analyst:

Administer

Administer the shift and vacation bids.

Analyze

• Analyze actual results and connect them with the original plan.

• Analyze Adhoc requests that influence supply and demand after schedules have been posted.

• Analyze contact volume patterns by product, language, queues, time zone and agents' skillsets.

• Analyze data and trends and create forecasts and staffing plans.

• Analyze historical data and trends to forecast future workforce needs.

Apply

Apply company policies and procedures to resolve a variety of issues.

Assess

• Assess and communicate Service Level impacts of all activities.

• Assess headcount reporting from Operations team and recommend hiring plans, including vendors.

Assist with

• Assist / backup Team members when necessary.

• Assist Senior Leadership with the assessment and selection of technologies as needed and required.

Build

Build productive internal / external working relationships.

Capture

Capture, store, and report on historical statistics.

Collaborate with

• Collaborate with finance teams to align workforce costs with budgets.

• Collaborate with hiring managers to ensure timely recruitment and onboarding.

• Collaborate with HR and operations teams to implement workforce strategies.

• Collaborate with Operations to continuously improve processe.

• Collaborate with our Payroll department to facilitate and monitor payroll exceptions.

Communicate

• Communicate hiring recommendations with various stakeholder groups at a weekly team meeting.

• Communicate identified intraday risks to management and other intraday analyst.

• Communicate short-term staffing conditions and provide solid mitigation plans.

• Communicate workforce-related insights and recommendations to stakeholders.

Complete

Complete analysis and project work relating to WFM to provide insight into business solutions.

Conduct

• Conduct post-mortem analysis of WFM metrics and extract learning's.

• Conduct regular audits to ensure data accuracy and compliance.

• Conduct regular capacity planning to align workforce resources with demand.

• Conduct root cause analysis to identify and address workforce-related issues.

• Conduct short and long term forecasting.

• Conduct training sessions on workforce management processes and tools.

Contact

Contact staff and update the schedule when additional shifts and / or overtime are required.

Coordinate

• Coordinate the implementation of products / services and operational solutions.

• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless workforce operations.

• Coordinate with finance, HR, and IT / Development to ensure accurate budget forecasts.

• Coordinate with IT teams for system integrations and data management.

Create

Create staffing models and schedules to optimize resource allocation.

Curate

Curate and maintain all telephony and routing records pertaining to routing, IVR and CTI.

Deliver

Deliver various reporting on a daily, weekly and monthly bases.

Design

Design and implement workforce management policies and procedures.

Develop

• Develop ad hoc and timely reports to management.

• Develop and communicate recommendations for improvements of operational processes.

• Develop and maintain daily, weekly, and monthly reports with MS Excel, Access, Oracle and SQL.

• Develop and maintain workforce management documentation and guidelines.

• Develop, manage, and drive the implementation of workforce analytics for the call center.

• Develop special forecasts to assist in creating project staffing plans and ongoing plans.

• Develop workforce planning strategies to meet business objectives.

Discuss

Discuss out of office employees, where help is necessary, staffing needs, and projected results.

Engage

Engage in business initiatives to ensure the impact of changes will be measurable.

Ensure

• Ensure data integrity within WFM system.

• Ensure developed schedules are in compliance with the collective agreement specific to the program.

• Ensure schedules are generated in a timely manner to maximize effective allocation of resources.

Establish

• Establish and nurture positive relationships with Delivery and Support Services teams.

• Establish a robust schedule which facilitates meetings, training, and events.

Evaluate

• Evaluate and optimize workforce management processes for efficiency.

• Evaluate department processes, and recommend best practices to support the business.

Execute

Execute with discipline and pride.

Exercise

Exercise judgment within defined procedures and practices to determine appropriate action.

Facilitate

Facilitate site weekly and monthly WFM production meetings.

Fill

• Fill overtime and undertime availability.

• Fill weekly Schedule Rosters for Phone and Web Sales / Service Representatives.

Foster

Foster a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Generate

• Generate daily, monthly and weekly reports on a timely manner ensuring integrity of data is upheld.

• Generate reports and dashboards to provide insights on workforce metrics.

Identify

• Identify, analyze, and interpret trends or patterns in complex data sets.

• Identify and address staffing gaps or surpluses.

• Identify areas of improvement, assess impacts to CVI / EVI, and propose recommendations.

• Identify operational issues and prepare recommendations to improve call center efficiency.

• Identify opportunities for process improvement and automation.

• Identify trends and provide solutions to remediate any queue issues.

Incorporate

Incorporate historical / seasonal trending information and new initiatives.

Increase

Increase staffing levels or modify call routing to increase service levels.

Interface

Interface and assist the Shared Services and Operations team in the build of Capacity Plans.

Interpret

Interpret call handling efficiency and volume to develop call / staff forecasting and scheduling.

Lead

• Lead and manage team of Workforce Analysts to ensure success of Global Product Support organization.

• Lead staff in accordance with policies and procedures.

Maintain

• Maintain and document library of invoices and resolve all issues.

• Maintain and document Workforce Management Standard Operating Procedures.

• Maintain Payroll Process and submit for Final sign off with written audit summary to Sr Manager.

• Maintain staff & capacity plans for multiple departments.

Manage

• Manage and audit associate allocation changes in scheduling on a monthly or adhoc basis.

• Manage and maintain data cleanup / reconciliation of records.

• Manage and resolve scheduling conflicts or staffing issues.

• Manage as required any deadlines / expectations across all departments and communicate roadblocks.

• Manage intraday staffing levels.

Monitor

• Monitor and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess workforce performance.

• Monitor and Control the WFM Inbox and Sharepoint site (48 hr SLA).

• Monitor call center agents phone statuses in real time to ensure adherence to their schedules.

• Monitor daily call volumes, service levels and other key metrics.

• Monitor inbound call volume and distribution of calls to staff.

• Monitor real-time ACD agent work state reports.

• Monitor real-time Adherence Alerts.

• Monitor trends of turnover to use data for future forecasts.

Participate in

• Participate in projects (national or regional).

• Participate in strategic workforce planning meetings and discussions.

Perform

• Perform day-of Realtime management duties as it pertains to contact center performance.

• Perform internal audit and prepare all invoices and determine quality improvement processes.

• Perform real time schedule adherence and call queue monitoring.

Present

Present results to Operations teams on operational performance.

Produce

Produce staff schedules leveraging resources to achieve maximized business objectives.

Provide

• Provide ad-hoc analysis on WFM related topics and provide recommendations based on findings.

• Provide recommendations for training and development programs.

• Provide recommendations to improve call center processes as needed.

• Provide scheduling with the forecasting information required to generate schedules.

• Provide support and input for future Collective Agreement negotiations.

• Provide support during times of crisis or emergency, ensuring business continuity.

• Provide various weekly and monthly WFM reports.

Recommend

• Recommend and initiate process improvements.

• Recommend schedule and shift changes as well as developing and conducting shift bids as necessary.

Schedule

• Schedule all offline activities (trainings, meetings, coaching, etc).

• Schedule may rotate to cover all contact center hours of operation including weekends and holidays.

Stay updated on

• Stay updated on industry trends and best practices in workforce management.

• Stay updated on labor laws and regulations affecting workforce management.

Support

• Support the implementation of workforce analytics and reporting systems.

• Support the processing of quarterly KPI target setting.

• Support workforce forecasting and budgeting initiatives.

Take

Take ownership of the what and the how.

Trend

Trend visits volume patterns and adjusts staffing levels accordingly.

Utilize

• Utilize workforce management software and tools to track and manage employee data.

• Utilize workforce management software to forecast contact volume and schedule staff.

Work with

• Work closely with the other customer facing teams to improve customer processes and tools.

• Work with management to prioritize business and information needs.

Most In-demand Hard Skills

The following list describes the most required technical skills of a Workforce Management Analyst:

1. Advanced proficiency in workforce management software (e.g., Kronos, Workday).

2. Expertise in data analysis and statistical modeling.

3. Proficiency in Excel or other spreadsheet software for data manipulation and analysis.

4. Knowledge of forecasting techniques and workforce modeling.

5. Strong understanding of key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics.

6. Experience in workforce capacity planning and scheduling.

7. Familiarity with call center operations and workforce management practices.

8. Proficiency in database management and SQL querying.

9. Knowledge of statistical software (e.g., R, Python) for advanced analytics.

10. Understanding of labor regulations and compliance requirements.

Most In-demand Soft Skills

The following list describes the most required soft skills of a Workforce Management Analyst:

1. Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.

2. Strong attention to detail and accuracy.

3. Effective communication and presentation skills.

4. Ability to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams.

5. Flexibility and adaptability in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

6. Strong organizational and time management skills.

7. Ability to handle multiple priorities and meet deadlines.

8. Critical thinking and decision-making abilities.

9. Proactive and self-motivated approach to work.

10. Strong interpersonal skills for building relationships with stakeholders.

Conclusion

A Workforce Management Analyst plays a vital role in optimizing workforce productivity and ensuring efficient resource allocation. They are responsible for a wide range of tasks, from analyzing data and forecasting needs to implementing workforce strategies and driving process improvements. To excel in this role, individuals must possess a combination of technical skills such as proficiency in workforce management software and data analysis, as well as soft skills such as analytical thinking, communication, and adaptability.