Workforce management solutions aren’t one-size-fits-all. Organizations across different industries need customizable and scalable solutions, making vendors with deep industry and WFM knowledge essential.
When choosing a workforce management vendor, it’s important to think beyond the software platform. Industry knowledge and expertise are just as valuable when discussing the unique needs of sectors like healthcare, financial services, retail, utilities, and business process outsourcing (BPO).
Let's explore why industry expertise matters when evaluating WFM vendors, and why specialized solutions often serve organizations better than generalized WFM platforms found in CCaaS bundles.
The complexity of modern WFM
A business’s needs will vary on many factors, including but not limited to industry sector and organizational size. Organizations with complex workforce management requirements often discover that platforms like all-in-one CCaaS solutions lack the flexibility and customization needed to address their specific needs.
Different industries have unique business requirements, including:
- Scheduling requirements. Complex scheduling policies across large-scale operations and BPOs with several clients require adaptable WFM solutions.
- Compliance regulations. Sectors like healthcare and finance have strict compliance regulations compared to other industries.
- Industry-specific workflows. Operational processes vary significantly by sector, and rigid workforce platforms often can't accommodate these needs.
Comprehensive industry expertise can address complex WFM challenges with adaptable solutions. With decades of experience, Aspect solutions have addressed the growing dynamic needs of businesses across varied industries.
Where all-one-solutions fall short
All-in-one CCaaS vendors are often CX providers first, with WFM and WEM taking a secondary seat in the platform. These platforms typically offer simplified and limited workforce management capabilities. For businesses in specialized industries, this secondary approach to workforce solutions often falls short.
A one-size-fits-all approach creates blind spots around industry-specific nuances like compliance needs and scheduling requirements. While this simplified version of workforce management might work for businesses with basic needs, organizations with complex requirements often face extended implementation times and heightened customization costs later down the line when adapting the system to meet their industry-specific demands.
The value of industry-specific expertise
As a specialized workforce vendor, Aspect has extensive expertise in creating solutions that are industry-specific for various sectors. Customizable and flexible workforce solutions can provide the following benefits for complex organizations:
- Optimized for your industry. Aspect's knowledge base encompasses a deep understanding of industry requirements across healthcare, finance, and utilities sectors, delivering specialized workforce features tailored to each field.
- Complex scheduling support. BPO organizations need robust scheduling models, while healthcare organizations must comply with strict labor laws and union rules—Aspect provides solutions that navigate the intricacies of these specialized environments.
- Built-in compliance frameworks. Compliance is essential in healthcare and finance, and workforce tools must simplify alignment with evolving regulations. Aspect workforce solutions offer built-in regulatory compliance tools that support effective financial audit tracking and HIPAA-compliant scheduling.
- Faster time-to-value. CCaaS-bundled workforce solutions often require extensive customization to meet the needs of complex, compliance-heavy industries. Organizations can reduce customization costs and speed up implementation by choosing specialized workforce solutions designed for flexibility and growth.
The impact of specialized workforce solutions
NRTC, a BPO organization, provides contact center services for 330 companies and handles more that 1.5 million customer interactions annually. NRTC needed a powerful workforce management solution to manage agent scheduling. Each agent could represent upwards of 40 companies, and as employees left, NRTC needed to ensure each company had contact center coverage. Aspect Workforce made it possible for NRTC to streamline forecasted demand and schedules across its contact center. Read more about how Aspect saved NRTC time and money.
“Our previous workforce solution was more expensive and delivered far less functionality. Aspect Workforce meets our needs and is allowing us to run our business efficiently and effectively,” - Rich King, Chief Operating Officer, NRTC
Best Egg, a financial technology platform, experienced exponential contact center growth, growing from 150 agents in 2019 to over 400 employees in 2021. With this rapid growth, Best Egg needed a workforce solution that could scale effectively, providing managers with optimized scheduling capabilities while empowering employees to better manage their work-life balance. Keep reading to learn how Aspect’s flexible workforce options improved Best Egg operations.
“Compared to the other systems I’ve used, it has been far easier to work with Aspect. The platform, configuration, reporting, security options, and deciding access levels is much easier to set up and modify than in other systems.” – Director, Forecasting and Analysis, Best Egg
Better industry expertise, better workforce outcomes
Selecting an effective workforce management solution goes beyond comparing features—it requires evaluating vendor expertise and its relevance to your industry. It also requires evaluating whether a generalized workforce platform will meet your business needs or if a specialized workforce platform would be a better fit.
Consider whether bundled CCaaS-workforce solutions unify your frontline and back-office operations, meet your industry's specific needs, handle complex forecasting and reporting requirements, and improve workdays for your most valuable resource—your employees.
