For the past decade or more, the main focus of customer experience improvement programs has been firmly on the front office. Many organisations have fallen into the trap of underestimating the influence that the back office has on the customer experience, and the result is that the majority of new investment has been targeted towards the front office, which is a serious oversight. As operational practices have evolved, most organisations have come to realise the true value of bringing the back office into line front office operations, and to integrate the two entities more closely.
Streamlining back office operations
Back office operation challenges differ more markedly from front office. However regardless of industry the back office share common operational problems. With the intelligent application of back office optimisation organisations can reap significant rewards, regardless of sector and the wider commercial environment.
Back office optimisation solutions streamline operations around:
Resourcing
Forecasting
Performance management
Workforce Management
Effective workforce management is the cornerstone that underpins each of the individual optimisation tools. It provides an overarching framework that includes SLAs, forecasts, schedules and key performance indicators for individuals and teams. It gives managers the ability to flex inputs to determine the operational impact of changes to business volumes, and it facilitates long term capacity planning and resource modelling.
Task Allocation
Task allocation tools give managers the ability to align inputs and workflows with production deadlines so that workloads can be assigned at the right time, to the right teams with the right skills. This ensures optimal efficiency in task allocation and prevents any bias in task selection driven by individual preferences.
Performance Management
Performance Management tools monitor the time to complete individual tasks at an individual and team level, enabling managers to track and compare actual performance against target performance. This brings greater transparency around performance levels and enables managers to identify under performing individuals and teams and to make informed decisions around task allocation. This valuable insight gives managers the ability to highlight training requirements, identify under performing individuals and teams, and to clearly focus on opportunities for improvement in efficiency and quality.
Quality control
Quality control tools give managers visibility of current performance versus historical performance, and enables them to compare output against internal policies and procedures to ensure compliance. Managers can evaluate performance in real time or make longer term assessments against a range of historical indicators.
Analytical tools
Analytical tools enable managers to interrogate real time, historical and future back office data in order to accurately assess the efficiency of processes and procedures. This enables organisations to gain intense clarity through the entire hierarchy regardless of site or location to identify risk issues and opportunities for continuous improvement.
