GMT Unveils Latest Workforce Optimization Solution: GMT Planet 9.5
Customer-driven enhancements include new reporting and planning features
Las Vegas, NV - BAI Retail Delivery Expo (GMT BOOTH # 2533) - November 14, 2006 - GMT Corp., an industry leader in enterprise workforce and cash optimization solutions, today announced its newest GMT Planet, version 9.5, which dramatically extends the functionality of its highly-acclaimed workforce optimization system. Driven by extensive customer input, the new enhancements include an agile staffing decision support tool, support for shift bidding and tour-based scheduling, as well as a new business modeling function that enables customers to further streamline business operations, reduce costs, and improve customer service throughout the enterprise.
With the new features, contact centers and retail banks can respond more quickly to change and manage their staff to more effectively serve customers. New automation functions enable managers to more closely monitor staffing requirements and ensure that the right level of personnel is available at the right time to deliver a better customer experience at the lowest cost.
"With this next-generation release of Planet, GMT continues to differentiate itself from competitors and reinforce its sterling reputation for delivering accurate, powerful, easy-to-use solutions that drive productivity improvements and reshape enterprise business processes," said Simon Angove, chief executive officer of GMT. "These new features underscore our company's commitment to providing technology that companies need to run their entire business effectively - from frontline tellers to call centers to back offices."
Customer-Driven Improvements Meet Real Needs
In preparation of the new release, GMT actively solicited input from experts in the contact center and retail banking industries, including power-users, industry analysts, and partners - ensuring that GMT Planet includes a broad slate of new features that address real customer needs. The enhancements and new capabilities offered in GMT Planet 9.5 include:
- Partial-week rescheduling - this function automatically and easily adjusts staffing day by day, for instance, reacting to changes in customer demand changes or when a large number of employees have called in sick.
- Modeling Explorer - designed for GMT's retail banking customers, this wizard-driven tool analyzes typical banking staffing challenges, such as merging branches, opening new branches, operating hour alterations, and changes in average transaction length. As an example of its detailed reporting: if a bank's operating hours change for one or more branches, Modeling Explorer suggests multiple possible scenarios outlining the impact on existing customer traffic patterns, and each scenario has several individual settings that provide further analysis of the possible outcomes.
- More flexibility in scheduling - designed for GMT's contact center and back office customers, employees can now be offered shift bidding based on items such as seniority or employee rankings as determined by, for instance, performance scorecards for each employee. New tour-based scheduling functions enable employees to monitor and change their schedules.
- Self-reporting of employee performance management - now a part of the Employee Time Center, tellers can view their own productivity metrics, such as transactions per hour. Call center agents can monitor their adherence to schedule and performance, such as calls taken and average handle time.
- Many other useful features and enhancements - such as improved paid time-off handling for managers to gauge the impact of approving or denying employee time-off requests - are included in version 9.5.
Contact centers and retail banks face unrelenting pressure in trying to ensure proper staffing levels without incurring any unnecessary expenses. With this new release, GMT extends its reputation for delivering powerful yet affordable workforce optimization solutions that balance these often-conflicting requirements. Throughout its history, GMT has consistently garnered top rankings in customer satisfaction, also evidenced by its 96% customer retention rate over the last five years.
Existing GMT customers are able to upgrade to GMT Planet 9.5, including the new Modeling Explorer module, at no extra charge. The software is scheduled to ship during the first quarter of 2007.
About GMT
GMT's workforce and cash optimization solutions create competitive advantage by enabling companies to improve customer service and sales, while decreasing their variable expenses. The company's product line combines precision forecasting and intelligent scheduling with powerful analytics and performance management tools - together delivering a complete solution that is priced to deliver quick return on investment. GMT serves financial services and contact center customers worldwide, including ABN AMRO, Citibank, Nielsen Media, Pizza Hut, SunTrust, UPS, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo. The company is privately held with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and offices in the U.K., Australia, and India. For more information, visit www.gmt.com.
