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Summary
Since acquiring Witness Systems in mid-2007, Verint has become a major vendor of software for managing the performance of contact center agents. Its suite of products, Impact 360, has delivered most of the required functionality. Now Verint has addressed one missing function, agent coaching, with the release of its latest module, eCoaching, which enables contact centers to formalize and manage agent coaching processes. The new module integrates with the Impact 360 suite, so it can synchronize with the management of agent work schedules. Ventana Research believes this new application completes a strong portfolio of products that support all aspects of agent performance management. We recommend that current customers of Verint consider eCoaching as they seek to improve the performance of their agents.

Assessment
Through internal development and acquisitions, Verint’s Witness Actionable Solutions division has built a portfolio of products that covers most aspects of agent performance management, including workforce management, e-learning, quality monitoring and agent-focused business intelligence. The latest internal development adds eCoaching, a module that formalizes management of what typically has been an informal process of supervisors and managers coaching agents on a case-by-case basis when they can work it in.

The new module tightens up this process by allowing supervisors to manually schedule a coaching session or set up rules based on agent performance metrics that automatically schedule coaching sessions if an agent’s performance does not meet standards. For example, a manager can set a threshold for the average time to handle a certain type of call, and for any agent who takes longer than the rule prescribes, the system will automatically create an appointment in the agent’s work schedule for a coaching session. The supervisor can attach to the appointment notification any relevant documents, call recordings, e-learning materials or Web addresses that will be referenced during the session. As the session progresses, the supervisor or another designated manager completes a review form that the agent later reads and responds to and then is stored for future reference. In this way the system can track changes in the agent’s performance over time.

The new module comes bundled with the basic Impact 360 package and is integrated with the other modules in the portfolio. Users can ask the system to schedule a session at a certain time or let the system find the optimum time for the session. Either way the sessions can be scheduled to fit in with the overall operations of the center. In the first release, eCoaching provides a limited number of reports, but Verint says it will add additional reports when the product goes into full production soon.

To facilitate use of the eCoaching module, Verint offers a complementary three-day workshop on coaching. It aims to differentiate e-coaching from e-learning and help companies identify best practices in coaching that can help them get the best performance from this crucial unit of the workforce.

Market Impact
Ventana Research’s benchmark research on customer experience management shows that companies recognize the importance of agents in forming customers’ opinions about the company. It is no surprise that, according to Verint, several customers asked it to add coaching to its portfolio. Niche contact center performance management vendors such as AIM Technology, Enkata and Merced Systems already offer similar functionality, and vendors of contact center suites such as Envision, KnoahSoft and Nice Systems include it as well. We find that all these products provide similar functionality, and none stands out from the rest. But with the release of eCoaching Verint customers won’t have to look elsewhere for this capability, which could make it harder for the niche vendors to break into these accounts.

Recommendation
Although this module could be purchased as a stand-alone product, we believe that integration issues will make it of interest largely just to customers of the Verint Impact 360 workforce optimization suite. For these customers, the module is comparable in functionality to competing products, and it will allow them to manage another of the activities they should undertake to improve their agents’ performance. Ventana Research advises these customers to consider eCoaching as part of their examination of their agent improvement program.

Related Research Notes:
Customer Performance Management Research Agenda for 2008

Managing the Customer’s Phone Call Experience