One of the great things about the English language is the easy way we can press proper nouns into service as verbs. We say, "I'll Google that," "Let's Uber there" or "Just PayPal me the money."
Grammarians may rail against the practice, called verbification, but one of its most notorious proponents was William Shakespeare himself. And if Shakespeare could do it, I think it makes verbification fair game these days, too.
The contact center, where time is of the essence, is rife with opportunity for verbification. Consider the potential use of EEM – short for NICE Employee Engagement Manager – as a verb. "EEM me the dates!" or "Did you EEM that shift?" is quicker and more precise than asking a friend to send you a trade request or to submit a shift swapping request to the manager.
EEM also goes beyond helping employees plan their schedules or helping contact center managers save time on admin work — it's about creating a culture of empowerment. One major way EEM does this is through the mobile app's "Trade Shift" feature. Here's how it works:
Within the EEM mobile app, agents can easily see their schedules at a glance, both in an overall calendar view and by day. If something comes up, say, tickets to a can't-miss concert or a mandatory parent-teacher meeting, agents do not need to call the manager to ask for a last-minute switch or send frantic text messages to several coworkers looking for someone who is available.
Instead, they can simply EEM their shift by opening the app. From the calendar view, agents can select the specific shift they need to trade. They then have the option of choosing:
- A single agent if they have already asked a coworker about trading shifts
- A group of agents if they want to request a trade with a member of a certain group
- All agents if they simply want to see whether anyone else is available
The trade shift request is then sent to the chosen agents, alerting them about the opportunity to trade shifts or pick up additional hours. The first agent to accept the request gets the shift, and the schedule is automatically updated across the agents' and managers' calendars. Agents who are looking for additional hours can also log into their mobile app to view pending trade requests and choose whether they'd like to work them.
What sets EEM apart is that every agent trade is intelligently handled by the software according to eligibility rules set up by management. These rules consider things like agent skill sets, seniority, hours requirements and training levels — meaning that each shift is always being filled by an agent with the right skills to do the job.
The result? Call center agents get the freedom and flexibility to EEM each other as often as they need. Workforce managers can rest easy knowing that each shift will be adequately staffed – without the manager having to get involved in managing and approving trades.
So, go ahead and tell your co-worker to EEM you. Want to learn more about changing work schedules the smart way? Watch EEM in action.