Overview
Elias Saykali, Senior Manager of Performance and Insights at TD Bank Workforce Management, explains how NiCE Employee Engagement Manager (EEM) changed the way TD's contact center agents manage their own schedules. Saikali's team focuses on analytics: tracking what agents are doing, how long tasks take, and what needs to change to drive ROI and a better customer experience. He describes EEM as a game changer because it lets agents make real-time scheduling decisions within the guardrails workforce management sets, rather than relying on managers to intervene. The clearest example is voluntary time off (VTO): agents can request time off in bulk or handle last-minute needs, like a doctor's appointment or an unexpected hour away from their desk, without going through a manager. TD built on this with a branding effort called "Summer Your Way," anticipating a slower season and giving agents more freedom to take weeks off during that time. Saikali is clear that workforce management hasn't stepped back. The team still monitors results closely, but from behind the scenes rather than being part of every individual conversation. He credits the program's success, which he calls one of the team's biggest wins from the past year, to how EEM was configured and how it was introduced to agents.
In this video, learn how:
- EEM lets agents self-manage schedule changes
- Voluntary time off drives cost savings and balance
- Agents handle last-minute needs without manager involvement
- TD branded a seasonal program around EEM flexibility
- Workforce management still tracks results in the background
See how EEM balances agent freedom with workforce oversight
