In the age of experience, it’s not just customer satisfaction that businesses need to think about. There’s also a demand to deliver better experiences for agents and employees too. Tools for Workforce Engagement Management (WEM) and workforce optimisation (WFO) support the growth of more effective, and productive teams.
Leading analyst Gartner has previously used its Magic Quadrant reports to assess the leaders in everything from unified communications, to Contact Centre as a Service. The new Magic Quadrant for Workforce Engagement Management evaluates companies for their ability to offer WFM as part of an integrated offering. To be included in the list, businesses needed to meet a variety of crucial criteria, including a unified user experience, integration between functional elements, and at least £20 million in WEM revenue over the last 12 months.
Leaders in WEM
Leaders in the Gartner Magic Quadrant are recognised for their ability to provide enhanced WEM solutions that can be supported across a global network. The leaders for the new MQ in 2019 are:
NICE
NICE is a leading software technology provider that delivers advanced solutions to businesses around the globe. Offering WEM capabilities as part of a unique customer service application suite, NICE gives companies a way to empower their employees and unlock greater productivity.
NICE was defined as a leader in the MQ due to the depth of their WEM offering, which combines with a range of other application solutions, including a leading CCaaS strategy.
Verint
An established global customer engagement software provider, Verint provides market-leading workforce optimisation capabilities across a range of domains. Verint is the only vendor in the 2019 WEM Magic Quadrant that can align agent management and process orchestration.
Gartner chose Verint as a leader because of their extensive WEM vision that serves the needs of the transformative marketplace. Verint also offers a complementary set of engagement solutions derived from its customer engagement portfolio.
Visionaries in WEM
Challengers were not present in this version of the 2019 Gartner Magic Quadrant for WEM solutions. Instead, Gartner jumped straight into the visionaries block. Visionaries deliver potentially market-changing solutions but don’t necessarily meet the needs of all organisations. This year’s single visionary was:
Calabrio
Calabrio is a privately-held software provider owned by private equity firm KKR. The company offers an advanced suite of WEM capabilities, available as on-premises or cloud-based solution. The suite also provides a simplified strategy for accessing holistic human resource management and customer service solutions.
Calabrio appeared as a visionary in the 2019 MQ thanks to its focus on self-management and agent empowerment. However, the company lacks the next-level engagement features required to make it an industry leader.
Niche Players
The niche players section of the WEM Magic Quadrant made up the largest portion of the report for 2019. These companies deliver the solutions required for WEM, but they don’t necessarily provide specific and complete portfolios for a wide range of consumers. The niche players that Gartner focused on this year were:
Aspect:
US-based Aspect is a software technology provider providing WEM solutions as part of an integrated suite and as a stand-alone system. The ability to manage agent resources and connect with customers on multiple channels prompts better outcomes for Aspect users. Aspect was chosen as a niche player due to its “lack of leading vision” according to Gartner.
Genesys
Privately-held software company Genesys has partners and offices located all around the world. The company offers a diverse range of WEM solutions to support companies of a variety of sizes. The WEM capabilities provided by Genesys make up part of a complete customer service portfolio, boosting the ability for customers to stay connected with better resource management and engagement.
Genesys was named a niche player in the MQ because its WEM solutions are tied to the specific Customer Experience Platform each client chooses.
OpenText
Based in Canada, OpenText is a leading provider of software technology, with WEM solutions that come as part of a broader customer experience solution. The quality monitoring system is an established and highly effective product for managing agent productivity.
Though OpenText has proven its quality management solutions over the years, it relies on partnerships with technology brands to deliver WEM. This makes OpenText a niche provider in Gartner’s eyes.
Zoom
Finally, US-based Zoom is a workforce optimisation and video collaboration specialist. Though Zoom provides enterprises with a range of fantastic recording, coaching, and agent evaluation solutions, it still only makes the role of “niche provider” in the Gartner Magic Quadrant. According to the report, Zoom can only provide limited WEM solutions and has yet to achieve a high level of credibility as a WEM vendor.
