Workforce Planning Analyst

Job Purpose:

The Workforce Planning Analyst is responsible for ensuring strategic goals are met through forecast modeling, capacity planning, collaboration, and effective communication, while ensuring forecast alignment with strategic goals. This position is responsible for long term, short term and intraday contact volume, productivity and capacity forecasts and providing leadership with risk mitigation plans. This position will act as a support resource for Global Support Leaders assisting with and providing guidance on performance impact analysis and operational planning for 300+ team members representing 15 different functions.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Create long term forecast, mid-range, short term and intraday forecasting.
• Support business decisions through the preparation of timely and accurate variable forecasts in a high-volume contact center, with specific focus on improving the customer experience and maximizing operational efficiencies.
• Archive events and influencing factors impacting forecast.
• Validate confidence of established influences/drivers (factors determining forecasts) Leverage advanced statistical methodologies (correlation, regression, etc.)
• Create a meaningful interpretation of data through use of tools, industry experience and logic to frame situations and allow meaningful dialogue and decision making.
• Aggregate forecast information into a comprehensive document to be published with senior leadership for headcount, budget, and capacity planning purposes.
• Provide analysis and recommendations to improve staffing levels and efficiency.
• Researches and analyzes diversified data to draw valid conclusions.
• Evaluates and implements new methods and techniques for operational improvement.
• Analyzes data using web tools and other Company software and prepares recommendations and reports to drive high-impact process improvement efforts.
• Articulate reasons for forecast variance and recommend changes to enhance forecast accuracy and effectiveness.
• Study department work, vacation and absence records (shrinkage) for on-going historical trend analysis and offer recommendations for forecasting purposes
• Regular, consistent and punctual attendance. Must be able to work nights and weekends, variable schedule(s) as necessary.
• Responsible for call volume monitoring and forecast adjusting by day by interval.
• Works with site leaders to ensure adequate staff, contingency plans and workflow monitoring.
• Communicate effectively with internal and external customers in accordance with the companys policies, procedures, guidelines, and common practices.
• Interface with call center leaders to understand the fast changing business needs and make updates where necessary.
• Stay current on internal policies and procedures.
• Effectively communicate with peers and those we support in the business to ensure high quality and timely completion of work requests.
• Update workforce management and other data bases as changes occur.
• Respond to management requests to produce what if scenarios.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Skills/Qualifications:

• Minimum two years experience forecasting in a call center environment required.
• Minimum three years of experience in advanced trend analysis and ability interpret data to provide recommendations to drive key business decisions.
• Strong analysis skills, understanding complex formulas, data transformations, and record keys from multiple sources.
• Requires resolving problems related to unexpected statistical anomalies and changing service level objectives by interpreting established methods and referring to past situations.
• Responds to customers needs by producing reports and resource plans with factual information and based on specified requirements.
• Contacts with others in the company are required to explain, clarify and discuss the results of monitoring and performance feedback. Requires dealing tactfully in difficult situations and exchanging complex information to ensure an understanding of the issues.
• Recommendations on resource plans and action plans improve the delivery of the companys services to the customer.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications preferred.
• Ability to create and manipulate spreadsheets with advanced formula application and database software (Advanced Excel and Access) experience required.
• Excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills. Good written communication skills.
• Self-starter and independent. Team oriented and results driven.
• Ability to interface with all levels of management.
• Demonstrated complex problems solving skills.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Track and Forecast:

• Create long term, interim (intra-day) and short-term forecasts derived from understood business drivers.
• Maintain and analyze records of actual volumes compared to forecast.