Cruising Towards a Seamless Customer Journey with Verint Workforce Management

Leading adventure travel group implements Verint Workforce Management in the cloud in one month, equipping it to quickly increase productivity, boost employee performance, and help fuel business growth.

The results

Achieved 30% improvement in SLAs.
Increased productivity by 35%.
Transformed agent coaching and training.

About Hurtigruten

Hurtigruten Group describes itself as the world’s leading adventure travel group, offering unique small-ship and land-based adventures from pole to pole – and anywhere in between. Hurtigruten Expeditions enables explorers to discover the world up close on sustainable, knowledge-centered expedition cruises. Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Express offers cruises along the scenic Norwegian coast connecting 34 key communities.

These are special, luxury travel experiences. Typically, they are enjoyed by customers as once-in-a-lifetime celebrations, or special occasions to explore the spectacular Norwegian coastline. Customers can connect with Hurtigruten by phone or the web, as well as through their local travel agent.

The opportunity: Unique small-ship and land-based adventures

Whichever channel customers choose, Hurtigruten’s 300+ contact center agents are on hand to support an ultra-rewarding service experience. Customer inquiries often revolve around questions related to new exploration or cruise opportunities, an existing trip, or upcoming offers. Whatever the question, Hurtigruten is there to offer its customers expert support, guidance, and advice.

Hurtigruten’s network of agents span the globe, from Tromso in Norway and Tallin in Estonia to Australia, the U.S., Germany, Spain, and elsewhere. “Our challenge is to balance having the right number of agents to meet customer needs,” explains Manas Vyas, Workforce Planning Manager at Hurtigruten. “Previously, we replied on other workforce management software to forecast staffing requirements. However, due to the age of the system, it lacked the flexibility and functionality we needed to lead our business into the future. Plus, it was an on-premises solution, which increased cost and complexity, while undermining agility.”

Vyas adds, “It’s imperative that we have the right people scheduled at the right time. If we get capacity wrong, a customer may be waiting too long on the phone or a sale may be missed. That would be infinitely damaging to our prestigious brand.”

A modern, user-friendly workforce management platform

Hurtigruten standardized on Verint Workforce Management to deliver a seamless customer journey across diverse channels. “Verint is renowned globally for its customer engagement solutions,” says Vyas. “Verint Workforce Management is a modern, user-friendly workforce management solution. The intuitive user interface is excellent. On top of that, it’s packed with features to help our agents deliver an enhanced experience.”

A best-of-breed Verint Open CCaaS solution in the cloud, Verint Workforce Management was implemented extremely quickly. “We were live worldwide within one month of choosing Verint Workforce Management,” says Vyas. “This included deployment, seamless integration with our existing BrightPattern telephony system, and training. This time to value was remarkable and reflected the power of Verint’s open CCaaS platform.”

Among many easy-to-use features, Verint Workforce Management mobile apps empower Hurtigruten’s agents to quickly make schedule adjustments from their devices with automated approval rules. This includes time-off requests, task and channel switching, and shift swaps. Vyas explains, “The Verint mobile app is a crucial way that we enhance the employee experience and motivate people to be their best.”

Whereas the company’s former scheduling solution provided limited, mostly manual reporting, Verint Workforce Management provides near real-time, complete reporting for more informed decision making. Vyas and his team are now armed with insights into what employees are doing, how effectively they’re performing, and where they need to sharpen their skills.

“With Verint Workforce Management, we re-invented our workforce management strategy in just one month. Complete, timely insights enable us to schedule people worldwide according to demand, in turn delivering more responsive and efficient service.”
Manas Vyas Workforce Planning Manager, Hurtigruten

The benefits: Helping agents to thrive and enjoy their work

Verint Workforce Management equips Hurtigruten’s 300 agents with the tools they need to thrive and enjoy their work. The agile, cloud-based solution, combined with Verint Open CCaaS Platform, is equipping the company to increase productivity, boost employee performance, and help fuel business growth.

Since deploying Verint Workforce Management, Hurtigruten has benefited in several ways, including:

Achieved 30 percent improvement in SLAs: Previously, Hurtigruten was meeting 60 percent of its number of calls answered within 60 seconds SLA. With Verint, the company is now achieving up to 90 percent for this SLA. Because of this, it is delivering a more agile customer experience and enhancing the potential for revenue growth due to lower call abandonment.
Delivered complete, timely contact center insights: Hurtigruten can report on employee performance across multiple vectors, including schedules, adherence, and planned/unplanned shrinkage. These insights into employee efficiency and effectiveness support process optimization.
Increased productivity by 35 percent: Process automation means that Vyas and his team are 35 percent faster now at key processes such as forecasting, reporting, and everyday scheduling.
Transformed coaching and training: Through timely reporting, Hurtigruten can automatically trigger coaching sessions and identify areas for skills improvement.

“With Verint Workforce Management, we reinvented our workforce management strategy in just one month,” Vyas concludes. “Complete, timely insights enable us to schedule people worldwide according to demand, in turn delivering more responsive and efficient service.”

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