Method and system for providing performance statistics to agents

• US 20010056367A1
• Filed: 02/15/2001
• Published: 12/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IEX Corporation (Nice Ltd)
• Original Assignee: IEX Corporation (Nice Ltd)
• Inventors: Leamon, Paul Harold, Herbert, Meghan
• Granted Patent: US 7,203,655 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.42
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A method and a system for providing and presenting performance statistics to an agent. A further embodiment of the present invention provides performance comparison reporting between an agent and an agent data group and/or a management unit. This is achieved by collecting and calculating statistical parameters that characterize the performance of agents, providing periodic updates to the performance data, and providing access to the performance data to the agent.

Claims

1. A method for communicating to an agent how the agent is performing, the method comprising the step of permitting a computer system to communicate to the agent performance data that indicates how the agent is performing.

2. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the step of permitting is performed by a supervisor of the agent.

3. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the performance data is at least one of retrieved from a database and calculated by the computer system.

4. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the step of permitting further comprises permitting a computer system to communicate via a network to the agent performance data that indicates how the agent is performing.

5. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the step of permitting further comprises permitting a computer system to communicate via a network to the agent performance data which indicates how the agent is performing, the network comprising at least one of an Intranet, the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a wireline network, and a wireless network.

6. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the step of permitting further comprises at least one of selecting which performance data an agent may access, selecting to allow agents to enter preferences, selecting the default number of past days to allow agents access, selecting the maximum number of past days to allow agents access, selecting to allow agents to print the performance data of the agent, and selecting at least one presentation characteristic of the performance data, the presentation characteristics comprising at least one of an over threshold limit, an over threshold indication, an under threshold limit, an under threshold indication, a comparison method, and a time format.

7. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the performance data comprises at least one or more of in contacts, talk time, work time, total time, available time, aux time, average handling time, average work time, average talk time, out calls, out time, system time, schedule adherence, state adherence, agent conformance, agent sales, agent revenue, agent attendance, entitlement adherence, and quality score.

8. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the performance data comprises performance statistics of the agent and of at least one peer group.

9. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the performance data comprises performance statistics of the agent and of at least one peer group, the peer group comprising at least one of another agent, an agent data group, and a management unit.

10. The method of

claim 1

further comprising the step of communicating a comparison between the performance of the agent and the performance of a peer group.

11. The method of

claim 1

further comprising the step of communicating a comparison between the performance of the agent and the performance of a peer group, the peer group comprising another agent, an agent data group, and a management unit.

12. The method of

claim 1

further comprising the step of communicating a comparison between the performance of the agent and the performance of a peer group, the comparison being communicated as at least one of the difference, the percent difference, and no difference.

13. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the step of permitting further comprises selecting at least one presentation characteristic of the performance data, the at least one presentation characteristic having at least an over threshold indicator including at least one of colors, fonts, italicizing, reverse printing, bolding, underlining, background patterns, shading, cross-hatching, diagonal lines, horizontal lines, vertical lines, pop-up windows, and sounds.

14. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the step of permitting further comprises selecting at least one presentation characteristic of the performance data, the at least one presentation characteristic having at least an under threshold indicator including at least one of colors, fonts, italicizing, reverse printing, bolding, underlining, background patterns, shading, cross-hatching, diagonal lines, horizontal lines, vertical lines, pop-up windows, and sounds.

15. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the step of permitting further comprises selecting at least one presentation characteristic of the performance data, the at least one presentation characteristic having at least an over threshold limit including at least one of a percent difference or an absolute difference.

16. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the step of permitting further comprises selecting at least one presentation characteristic of the performance data, the at least one presentation characteristic having at least an under threshold limit including at least one of a percent difference or an absolute difference.

17. The method of

claim 1

, further comprising the step of collecting and updating the performance data periodically.

18. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the agent is performing in at least one of a call center, a contact center, a sales force center, a field service center, and a factory.

19. The method of

claim 1

, further comprising the step of allowing the agent to enter preferences of the agent, the preferences comprising at least one of selecting the performance data, selecting the time format, selecting the comparison method, selecting the number of past days to show data.

20. The method of

claim 1

, further comprising the step of allowing the agent to enter preferences of the agent, the preferences comprising at least one of selecting the performance data, selecting the time format, selecting the comparison method, and selecting the number of past days to show data, wherein the comparison method comprises at least one of no difference, difference, and percent difference.

21. The method of

claim 1

, further comprising the step of allowing the agent to select the form of the communication, the form comprising at least one of a textual display, a graphical display, a bar chart, a line chart, audio, and multimedia.

22. The method of

claim 1

, further comprising the step of allowing the supervisor to select the form of the communication, the form comprising at least one of a textual display, a graphical display, a bar chart, a line chart, audio, and multimedia.

23. A computer program product for communicating to an agent how the agent is performing, the computer program product having a medium with a computer program embodied thereon, the computer program comprising computer program code for permitting a computer to communicate to the agent performance data that indicates how the agent is performing.

24. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program code for permitting is performed in response to input received from a supervisor of the agent.

25. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program code for permitting comprises computer program code for at least one of retrieving agent performance data from a database and calculating agent performance data.

26. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program code for permitting further comprises computer program code for permitting a computer system to communicate via a network to the agent performance data that indicates how the agent is performing.

27. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program code for permitting further comprises computer program code for permitting a computer system to communicate via a network to the agent performance data which indicates how the agent is performing, the network comprising at least one of an Intranet, the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a wireline network, and a wireless network.

28. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program code for permitting further comprises computer program code for at least one of selecting which performance data an agent may access, selecting to allow agents to enter preferences, selecting the default number of past days to allow agents access, selecting the maximum number of past days to allow agents access, selecting to allow agents to print the performance data of the agent, and selecting at least one presentation characteristic of the performance data, the presentation characteristics comprising at least one of an over threshold limit, an over threshold indication, an under threshold limit, an under threshold indication, a comparison method, and a time format.

29. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the performance data comprises at least one or more of in contacts, talk time, work time, total time, available time, aux time, average handling time, average work time, average talk time, out calls, out time, system time, schedule adherence, state adherence, agent conformance, agent sales, agent revenue, agent attendance, entitlement adherence, and quality score.

30. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the performance data comprises performance statistics of the agent and of at least one peer group.

31. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the performance data comprises performance statistics of the agent and of at least one peer group, the peer group comprising at least one of another agent, an agent data group, and a management unit.

32. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program product further comprises computer code for communicating a comparison between the performance of the agent and the performance of a peer group.

33. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program product further comprises computer code for communicating a comparison between the performance of the agent and the performance of a peer group, the peer group comprising another agent, an agent data group, and a management unit.

34. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program product further comprises computer code for communicating a comparison between the performance of the agent and the performance of a peer group, the comparison being communicated as at least one of the difference, the percent difference, and no difference.

35. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program code for permitting further comprises computer program code for selecting at least one presentation characteristic of the performance data, the at least one presentation characteristic having at least an over threshold indicator including at least one of colors, fonts, italicizing, reverse printing, bolding, underlining, background patterns, shading, cross-hatching, diagonal lines, horizontal lines, vertical lines, pop-up windows, and sounds.

36. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program code for permitting further comprises computer program code for selecting at least one presentation characteristic of the performance data, the at least one presentation characteristic having at least an under threshold indicator including at least one of colors, fonts, italicizing, reverse printing, bolding, underlining, background patterns, shading, cross-hatching, diagonal lines, horizontal lines, vertical lines, pop-up windows, and sounds.

37. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program code for permitting further comprises computer program code for selecting at least one presentation characteristic of the performance data, the at least one presentation characteristic having at least an over threshold limit including at least one of a percent difference or an absolute difference.

38. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program code for permitting further comprises computer program code for selecting at least one presentation characteristic of the performance data, the at least one presentation characteristic having at least an under threshold limit including at least one of a percent difference or an absolute difference.

39. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program code for permitting further comprises computer program code for collecting and updating the teas performance data periodically.

40. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the agent is an agent in at least one of a call center, a contact center, a sales force center, a field service center, and a factory.

41. The computer program product of

claim 23

, wherein the computer program code for permitting further comprises computer program code for selecting the form of the communication, the form comprising at least one of a textual display, a graphical display, a bar chart, a line chart, audio, and multimedia.

42. A method for presenting one or more performance statistics to one or more agents, the method comprising the steps of:

collecting periodically the one or more performance statistics for the agent and one or more peer groups;

calculating the percentage difference between each of the one or more performance statistics of the peer group and a respective performance statistic of the agent;

determining whether the percentage difference between each of the one or more performance statistics of the peer group and the respective performance statistic of the agent exceeds an over threshold;

presenting the respective performance statistic of the peer group in a first state in response to a determination that the percentage difference between the respective performance statistic of the peer group and the performance statistic of the agent exceeds the over threshold;

determining whether the percentage difference between each of the one or more performance statistics of the peer group and the respective performance statistic of the agent is less than an under threshold; and

presenting the respective performance statistic of the peer group in a second state in response to a determination that the percentage difference between the respective performance statistic of the peer group and the performance statistic of the agent is less than the under threshold.

43. The method of

claim 42

, wherein the first state comprises at least one of colors, fonts, italicizing, reverse printing bolding, underlining, background patterns, shading, cross-hatching, diagonal lines, horizontal lines, vertical lines, pop-up windows, and sounds.

44. The method of

claim 42

, wherein the second state comprises at least one of colors, fonts, italicizing, reverse printing bolding, underlining, background patterns, shading, cross-hatching, diagonal lines, horizontal lines, vertical lines, pop-up windows, and sounds.

45. The method of

claim 42

, further comprising the step of allowing a user to select the format of the presentation, the format comprising at least one of a textual display, a graphical display, a bar chart, a line chart, audio, and multimedia.

46. A computer program product for enabling a supervisor to configure the presentation of performance data to one or more agents, the computer program product having a medium with a computer program embodied thereon, the computer program comprising computer program code for enabling a supervisor to configure a computer to communicate to one or more agents performance data that indicates how the one or more agents are performing.

47. The computer program product of

claim 46

, wherein the computer program code for enabling further comprises computer program code for configuring one or more of performance data, time format, comparison method, number of past days to show data, maximum number of past days allowed, ability of agents to print the performance data, and ability of agents to configure the presentation of the performance data.

48. The computer program product of

claim 46

, further comprising computer program code for configuring a comparison method for comparing the performance of the agent to the performance of one or more peer groups, the comparison method comprising one or more of no difference, difference, and percent difference.

49. The computer program product of

claim 46

, wherein the computer program code for enabling further comprises computer program code for selecting the form of the presentation, the form comprising at least one of a textual display, a graphical display, a bar chart, a line chart, audio, and multimedia.

50. A computer program product for enabling one or more agents to configure the presentation of performance data to the one or more agents, the computer program product having a medium with a computer program embodied thereon, the computer program comprising computer program code for enabling the one or more agents to configure a computer to receive performance data that indicates how the one or more agents are performing.

51. The computer program product of

claim 50

, further comprising computer program code for configuring one or more of performance data, time format, comparison method, and number of past days to show data.

52. The computer program product of

claim 50

, further comprising computer program code for configuring a comparison method for comparing the performance of the agent to the performance of one or more peer groups, the comparison method comprising one or more of no difference, difference, and percent difference.

53. The computer program product of

claim 50

, wherein the computer program code for enabling further comprises computer program code for selecting the form of the presentation, the form comprising at least one of a textual display, a graphical display, a bar chart, a line chart, and audio.

54. A computer program product for providing one or more performance statistics to an agent, the computer program product having a medium with a computer program embodied thereon, the computer program comprising:

computer program code for enabling a supervisor to configure access by the agent to the one or more performance statistics;

computer program code for enabling the agent to configure the presentation of the one or more performance statistics; and

computer program code for presenting the one or more performance statistics to the agent.

55. A method for providing one or more performance statistics to an agent, the method comprising the step of:

configuring by a user access by the agent to the one or more performance statistics, wherein the step of configuring by the user comprises the substeps of;

selecting a group of one or more agents for which the configuration by the user is to apply; and

selecting by the user a group of one or more of the one or more performance statistics to which the agent is to have access.

56. The method of

claim 55

, wherein the step of configuring by the user further comprises the step of selecting a default time format to display time values to the agent.

57. The method of

claim 55

, wherein the step of configuring by the user further comprises the step of selecting a default comparison method to compare the one or more performance statistics of the agent to the respective performance statistic of one or more peer groups.

58. The method of

claim 55

, wherein the step of configuring by the user further comprises the step of selecting a default number of past days to present the performance statistics to the agent.

59. The method of

claim 55

, wherein the step of configuring by the user further comprises the step of selecting whether to allow the agent to modify configuration by the user.

60. The method of

claim 55

, wherein the step of configuring by the user further comprises the step of selecting a maximum number of past days to allow agents access.

61. The method of

claim 55

, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

configuring by the agent the presentation of the one or more performance statistics, wherein the step of configuring by the agent comprises the substep of;

selecting by the agent one or more performance statistics of the group of performance statistics to which the agent has access.

62. The method of

claim 55

, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

configuring by the agent the presentation of the one or more performance statistics, wherein the step of configuring by the agent comprises the substeps of;

selecting by the agent one or more performance statistics of the group of performance statistics to which the agent has access; and

selecting a default time format to display time values to the agent.

63. The method of

claim 55

, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

p1 configuring by the agent the presentation of the one or more performance statistics, wherein the step of configuring by the agent comprises the substeps of;

selecting by the agent one or more performance statistics of the group of performance statistics to which the agent has access; and

selecting a default comparison method to compare the agent to a peer group.

64. The method of

claim 55

, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

configuring by the agent the presentation of the one or more performance statistics, wherein the step of configuring by the agent comprises the substeps of;

selecting by the agent one or more performance statistics of the group of performance statistics to which the agent has access; and

selecting a default number of past days to present the performance statistics to the agent.

65. The method of

claim 55

, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

collecting periodically the one or more performance statistics; and

presenting the one or more performance statistics to the agent.

66. A system for communicating to an agent how the agent is performing, the system comprising:

a computer;

one or more contact servers coupled to the computer for providing performance data to the computer;

one or more agent workstations coupled to the computer via a network for providing the agent with an interface to the computer;

one or more supervisor workstations coupled to the computer via the network for providing a supervisor with an interface to the computer;

wherein the computer is configured to allow the supervisor to configure the access and presentation of the performance data to the agent;

wherein the computer is configured to allow the agent to configure the presentation of the performance data to the agent;

wherein the performance data comprises performance data of a plurality of the agent, a management unit, an agent data group, and a peer group.

67. The system of

claim 66

, wherein the performance data comprises at least one or more of in contacts, talk time, work time, total time, available time, aux time, average handling time, average work time, average talk time, out calls, out time, system time, schedule adherence, state adherence, agent conformance, agent sales, agent revenue, agent attendance, entitlement adherence, and quality score.