What is workforce management (WFM)? [2025] | Puzzel

According to a study by Hubspot, 90% of CX leaders agree: customer expectations are at an all-time high. Contact centres serve as vital hubs for customer interactions. Whether it's resolving queries, providing support, or handling sales, the efficiency and effectiveness of these operations directly impact customer satisfaction and business success. To meet these demands and ensure smooth operations, forward-thinking organisations turn to workforce management (WFM) solutions. 

Let’s explore what workforce management is, why it is important, and how a workforce management platform can increase productivity, automate processes and boost agent efficiency.  

What is workforce management?

At its core, workforce management (WFM) helps organisations simplify resource planning and ensure efficient processes for managers, leaders, and employees. Instead of spending hours on complex spreadsheets and manually updating them as inconveniences happen, a workforce management platform streamlines the process, saving both time and money. 

Workforce management platforms typically encompass a range of processes including forecasting, scheduling, real-time management, and analytics to ensure that the right number of employees with the right skills are available at the right times.

Why is workforce management important?

When an organisation is understaffed or overstaffed, it significantly affects the productivity and efficiency of customer service agents, ultimately impacting the customer experience. And, with today’s customer expectations, waiting in long queues or not getting sufficient help is simply not good enough.  

By ensuring that you have the right people with the right skills available at the right time, workforce management enables organisations to meet customer demand efficiently and effectively. Workforce management plays a pivotal role in optimising employee productivity, enhancing customer experiences, and controlling costs. 

Key benefits of workforce management (WFM)

Workforce management platforms offer many benefits to contact centres and organisations:

• Increased operational efficiency: With workforce management (WFM), your contact centre can maintain consistent staffing levels, ensuring you have the right number of agents available to handle customer queries at any given time. Plus, workforce management platforms automate the forecasting and scheduling process, saving resource managers valuable time and reducing the margin of error, resulting in smoother operations and improved efficiency.
• Save time and resources on workforce planning: Efficient scheduling reduces the time spent in complex spreadsheets and accurate forecasting prevents unnecessary overtime costs. This, in turn, minimises overstaffing (which wastes resources) and understaffing (which leads to poor service), reducing costs and improving service quality.
• Boost agent performance: Workforce management enables optimal multi-skill forecasting, ensuring you have the correctly trained agent available when needed, thus improving agent performance and customer satisfaction. And, with workforce management tools, agents have more flexibility in registering their shift availability, preferences, and changes, leading to increased satisfaction and morale within the contact centre. 

Common workforce management (WFM) components 

Typically, workforce management platforms include  

• Forecasting: Accurate forecasting predicts call volumes, chat interactions, or other workloads. It helps resource planners allocate the right number of agents during peak hours and maintain service levels.
• Scheduling: With scheduling tools, resource planners and managers can quickly create optimised schedules and make changes in real-time. Plus, with multi-skill scheduling, you are better equipped to offer customers the service level they deserve
• Real-time adherence: Understand how your contact centre is performing in real-time and make changes on the spot.
• Reporting and analytics: With reporting and analytics, managers and planners can gain insights into workforce performance and identify areas for improvement.

Elevate team performance and boost productivity with Puzzel’s Workforce Management 

Incorporating a robust workforce management system like Puzzel Workforce Management can significantly enhance the operational efficiency and service quality of your contact centre. By leveraging advanced forecasting, scheduling, and real-time adherence tools, you can ensure your contact centre is always ready to handle the queries coming your way. 

Ready to explore the benefits of workforce management further? Discover how Puzzel's Workforce Management solution can transform your contact centre operations and drive success.