About the Webcast
The session introduced an AI‑native workforce management
(WFM) model designed for hybrid contact centers where AI agents and human
agents jointly determine capacity. Traditional WFM approaches, built on
historical human‑handled volumes, no longer work when AI containment,
escalation rates, and AI handle time significantly influence staffing needs.
The presenters outlined how forecasting, scheduling,
intraday management, and governance must evolve to treat AI as a fully modeled planning
variable. Their five‑capability WFM framework includes: predict (with AI
containment), plan (for AI and humans), orchestrate (continuous intraday
balance), optimize (cost and utilization), and continuously learn (from AI
performance and staffing outcomes).
They demonstrated a platform that:
- Answers natural‑language prompts through an AI hub
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Produces rapid hybrid forecasts that split AI vs. human
volume
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Reforecasts every 15 minutes
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Surfaces coverage gaps and recommended actions
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Executes changes automatically or with human approval based
on governance rules
A key theme was variability: AI containment fluctuates by
intent, time of day, and customer behavior. Because AI performance can degrade
under certain conditions, continuous monitoring and intraday recalibration are
essential. Human‑in‑the‑loop controls remain critical for higher‑risk
decisions, and transparency into assumptions builds operator trust.
The platform emphasizes rapid deployment, low technical debt,
cloud elasticity, and pre‑aggregated 15‑minute data to accelerate computation.
It also integrates human‑impact metrics—burnout risk, adherence, handle‑time
changes—and provides agents with clear explanations for automated decisions
like time‑off approvals.
Bottom line: AI‑native WFM means integrating AI performance
into every step of workforce planning and operations. It enables faster
forecasting, continuous intraday orchestration, configurable autonomy, and
combined business + human‑impact insights, while keeping humans in control
where it matters most.
About the Presenters
Lou Mandic, President and co-founder, Cisne
Lou brings decades of executive leadership and deep contact center domain expertise to the next generation of workforce management. He began his career at Citicorp, spending sixteen years directing secure, highly regulated technology operations before serving as Director of Information Systems at Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union. As CIO of Precision Response Corporation (PRC), he expanded technology-driven revenue by more than 300% and championed early investments in web-enabled infrastructure, supporting PRC through its IPO and eventual merger with USA Networks. He later served as CIO of Inktel Contact Center Solutions and helped shape ContactPro, a unified communications platform later incorporated into Aspect's product suite.
In 2000, Lou founded Authority Software to deliver rapidly deployable contact center solutions, including patented PCI compliance technology unlike anything else on the market at the time. Over more than two decades, he built Authority into a business whose tools increased productivity, improved agent satisfaction, and elevated customer experience, ultimately selling the company in 2022. At Cisne, Lou now leads the architecture and development of an AI-native WFM platform purpose-built for the contact center, applying everything he has learned across four decades to the industry's next generation of workforce management.
Heather Turbeville, Chief Marketing Officer, Cisne AI
Heather is a seasoned technology executive with more than two decades of experience in the contact center, workforce management, and SaaS industries. She brings deep expertise in contact center operations, WFM, customer experience, analytics, automation, and emerging AI technologies.
Prior to joining Cisne AI, Heather held executive leadership roles at OnviSource, where she led marketing, customer success, enterprise solutions, and sales initiatives. Earlier in her career, she led global marketing programs for technology companies including Aspect, Edify Labs, Authority Software, Altivon, Knoahsoft, and Performance Technology Partners.
At Cisne AI, Heather combines her extensive industry knowledge with strategic marketing leadership to help organizations understand how AI-native workforce management can transform the way modern contact centers plan, optimize, and manage a hybrid workforce of human and AI agents.