P&O sets sail with workforce system

Ferry operator looks to 30 per cent efficiency gains

P&O Ferries says it will increase call centre efficiency by up to 30 per cent using a workforce management system.

The passenger fleet operator is also hoping to improve staff work/life balance.

The Teleopti CCC system, supplied by telecommunications provider Datapulse, went live this month to improve mmanagement of P&O's call centre rostering.

Mark Hollingdale, contact centre operations manager at P&O Ferries, expects a six to nine month return on investment from the system.

‘Within the industry we are facing a lot of competition, competing with other ferry companies, the Eurotunnel and low-cost airlines, so we need to be focused on keeping costs down, but also keeping the best possible people we can,’ he said.

Accurate handling and management of call volumes is achieved at P&O’s three contact centre sites in Dover, Calais, and Rotterdam, by cutting out time-consuming manual processes.

Scheduling under the new system allows the right person to be put in the right place at the right time, while giving agents more say about when they work.

‘The system can break down what each agent is capable of and place them in a schedule for the optimum time when they are most effective, so we get the best possible match of staff to the number of calls we are expecting,’ said Hollingdale.

A web-based module, MyTime, allows agents to enter their work time preferences.

‘Call centres get a lot of bad press because of staff churn but we are focused on creating a good company culture. Teleopti has given our agents more flexibility and influence over how they work which improves their work/life balance,’ he said.

Customer service has also improved as the system ‘allows us to maintain an equal level of service throughout the day,’ said Hollingdale.

Forecasting accuracy has increased as the new system can analyse historical data accounting for seasonal variations and perform trend analysis. It allows P &O to budget resources and plan for future recruitments, training and holidays.

‘Our previous workforce management tool could only forecast a certain amount of calls over a short time using historic data. Now we can forecast up to two years ahead,’ said Hollingdale.