Talkdesk Adds AI to Contact Center Workforce Management

Talkdesk, a cloud contact center software provider, today announced Talkdesk Workforce Management, a cloud-native and 100 percent microservices architecture fully unified with its contact center as a service (CCaaS) platform. 

"Unlike legacy solutions focused on optimizing outdated processes, Talkdesk Workforce Management will redefine agent involvement and personal ownership within their roles," said Tiago Paiva, CEO of Talkdesk, in a statement. "As legacy, first-generation cloud providers scramble to migrate from monolithic, cluster-based models to microservices, Talkdesk will stay ahead and deliver greater value for our customers, faster."

"While we've seen several companies enter the contact center as a service market with shiny new microservices-based solutions, workforce management (WFM) has, for the most part, been addressing the move to the cloud with variants of premises-based applications. It is exciting to see Talkdesk take on the challenge of throwing the proverbial Erlang C book out the window to build a true cloud-native, single platform, artificial intelligence (AI)-to-the-core, WFM application," said Sheila McGee-Smith, founder and principal analyst at McGee-Smith Analytics.

Talkdesk Workforce Management will allow users to do the following:

• Eliminate manual intraday analysis to determine optimal staffing levels. Powered by Talkdesk iQ, Talkdesk Workforce Management uses AI to present recommended staffing adjustments in real time. An intuitive interface allows users to accept or decline changes with the click of a button. 
• Simplify and automate agent schedule changes with self-service shift swaps and time-off requests accessible from agent desktops or mobile devices. Administrators can require management approval or automate the process if the change fits within predefined parameters. 
• Predict and plan for hiring needs with early notifications, visibility, and long-term forecasting. With this new AI-infused WFM solution, Talkdesk customers can receive advanced notifications when staffing levels are expected to drop below acceptable thresholds, calculate how many agents will be needed, determine start dates, and predict when new agents will reach optimal proficiency levels. 

"After completing hundreds of customer interviews, we consistently heard that the majority of WFM products require the administration team to work for the software instead of the software working for the team," Paiva said. "This is the overarching theme we aim to resolve as we launch and expand Talkdesk Workforce Management. In the end, it's all about freeing time to improve the customer experience."