Nice has filed a patent for a computerized method to prioritize agents for working from the office in a hybrid contact center work environment. The method involves allocating agents based on skill priority, office capacity, and calculated scores for agent work from office and agent health. If agent requirements are not fulfilled, agents are allocated to work from home based on productivity scores. The patent also includes an analytics module to calculate agent health and prioritize office work. GlobalData’s report on Nice gives a 360-degree view of the company including its patenting strategy. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s company profile on Nice, Intelligent contact centers was a key innovation area identified from patents. Nice's grant share as of September 2023 was 60%. Grant share is based on the ratio of number of grants to total number of patents.
Computerized-method for prioritizing agents for hybrid contact center work
A recently filed patent (Publication Number: US20230316177A1) describes a computerized method for prioritizing agents in a hybrid contact center work environment. The method involves using a Work Force Management (WFM) application to create schedules and allocate agents based on skill priorities and various scores.
When creating a schedule, the method involves obtaining one or more skills for each day, with each skill having an associated priority. Agents are then allocated for each skill in descending order of priority. For skills that require agents to work from the office, the method calculates the forecasted agent count and allocates agents to the office location based on office capacity and a calculated Agent Work From Office (AWFO) score. If the agent count for the skill is not fulfilled, agents are allocated to work from home based on an associated Agent Home Productivity (AHP) score. For skills that don't require agents to work from the office, agents are allocated to work from home based on the AHP score.
The AWFO score and AHP score are calculated using an Agent Work From Office (AWFO) Prioritization Analytics module. This module calculates an Agent Health (AH) score for each agent in the data store of agents' metrics. When the AH score is '1', the module calculates the AHP score, Agent Skills Prioritization (ASP) score, and the agent's preferences to work from the office indicator. The AWFO score is determined based on the AHP score, ASP score, and the agent's preferences to work from the office indicator.
The AH score is calculated by retrieving the agent's health metrics from the data store and comparing them with government and organization rules and regulations. The AHP score is calculated by summing preconfigured agent Key Performance Indicator (KPI) scores, with each KPI being per skill of the agent. The ASP score is calculated by counting the number of agent skills attributed to work from the office. The agent's preferences to work from the office indicator is determined when the AHP score is above a preconfigured threshold.
The AWFO score is determined using a formula that includes the AHP score, ASP score, agent preference to work from home indicator, and a preconfigured counter value. After an agent is selected to work from the office, their preferences to work from the office indicator is reset to zero to ensure a rotational basis of agents.
Overall, this computerized method aims to prioritize agents for working from the office in a hybrid contact center work environment based on skill priorities, agent health scores, and various calculated scores.
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GlobalData Patent Analytics tracks bibliographic data, legal events data, point in time patent ownerships, and backward and forward citations from global patenting offices. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
