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The Call Center Scheduler (CCS), which has been in development at the IBM Haifa Research Labs (HRL) since 1996, is a roster planning and management tool that runs on Windows and NT operating systems. CCS is used in information call centers with a high volume of incoming calls, each demanding a skilled agent response.
CCS generates optimal periodic schedules for these call center agents while maintaining the required level of service. The schedules optimally utilize the agents' skills while taking into account their work preferences such as which days they would like to work and which shifts they want to cover. The manager of the call center creates an optimal working schedule by entering the skills and preferences of the agents into the CCS program.
CCS allows the manager to prepare a full weekly schedule for a 250-agent center in under four hours, compared to four or five days without the CCS tool. The majority of code, and all of the Graphic User Interface (GUI) and reports are written in MS-Access and Visual Basic.
Currently, CCS is used in seven of Israel's Information call centers and HRL is currently negotiating with investors to bring the CCS product to the international marketplace.
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