Pipkins App Lets Call Centers Manage Schedules Online

Pipkins has begun offering an online, do-it-yourself agent schedule viewing and modification system for contact centers. The company says that its WebAccess system frees supervisors from the need to print and distribute agent work schedules, eliminates administrative phone calls, and gives agents control over routine scheduling tasks.

WebAccess is available as an optional module both for Pipkins' Vantage Point workforce management software and for the company's WorkforceScheduling.com, a subscription service for smaller call centers.

WebAccess lets agents view their work schedules, request modifications or vacations, sign up for overtime, exchange schedules with other agents, and report absences over the corporate network or over the Internet. The system features electronic bulletin boards and messaging systems that agents can use to post trade requests and to facilitate agent-to-agent and agent-to-supervisor communication.

Supervisors can approve or deny requests, make schedule changes, and record exceptions with a click. They can also manage the entire vacation planning process online, including establishing and managing vacation limits, wait lists, and blackout and non-operational days. Supervisors can import vacation limits and accrual hours from Excel spreadsheets. The vacation planner interfaces with the contact center's payroll system.