One thing I’ve learned as a product manager in the software industry is how absolutely critical it is to have test groups for your products, internally and externally as a beta group. The primary purpose of these test groups is to identify any defects or issues that would otherwise be a negative experience to our users. Part Four of a Five Part Series:
- Get Organized
- Ask Your Agents
- Share Your Strategy
- Test It
- Give It Time
We do our best to identify all the possible scenarios for how a user will use our product. However, when we turn our product over to the testers, undoubtedly, they come back with a number of scenarios that we didn’t think of. This is a rewarding, albeit frustrating, experience that allows us to hammer out the details that we didn’t see before (as well as to fix any defects).
When you’re ready (or when you think you’re ready) to roll out your new workforce management process, that’s when it’s time to Test It. Hopefully by now you’ve been able to identify good candidates within your contact center to participate in a test group for your new workforce processes. Candidates in your test group should have similar qualities to those you selected for your workforce strategy committee, but should be employees that have been outside the planning process. A fresh pair of eyes can do wonders.
Benefits of running a test group are:
- You will get the chance to iron out most of the kinks before launching to your entire center
- You will be better prepared to handle the reactions of your center
- You will have even more advocates to help implement the new processes
- Most importantly, you will be more likely to succeed in the launch and sustainability of the schedule process changes
I suggest allotting six to twelve weeks for your test group to work within the new scheduling processes. You can also incrementally add more testers while making tweaks and adjustments along the way.
