Symon Teams Up With PGAC
to Streamline Workforce

(December 15 , 2005)  DALLAS - Symon Communications, Inc., a leading global provider of contact center and enterprise performance, productivity and management solutions, announced that Permanent General Assurance Corporation (PGAC) selected Community 2.8 workforce management software to automate their contact center staff planning and scheduling. PGAC offers automobile insurance to any driver, including nonstandard or specialty coverage for drivers new to the insurance market or those whose circumstances require a specialized policy.

Symon Community 2.8 provided the features PGAC was looking for, including ease of use, being Web-based as opposed to desktop installation, agent adherence to schedules, accurate forecasting, quick and valuable reporting, and company responsiveness. “Working with Symon in setting up a workforce management solution became a true vendor partnership,” said Gail Banks, assistant vice president, Customer Service for PGAC. “They didn’t just sell us a product and walk away, they’ve been here working alongside us during implementation and training as well as being available to us to answer any questions we may have.”

PGAC employs approximately 80 contact center agents and 75 sales agents covering 10 states with plans to enter several new markets each year using multiple distribution channels. With the current number of agents and projected growth, PGAC began looking for a more efficient way to determine number of agents needed during various time intervals and to reduce overtime.

“Community allows us to schedule agents based on ACD historical information and not on when we thought we needed more or less people,” said Banks. “Previously we were using the ‘crystal ball’ method to determine our staffing needs. Having the historical information, as well as the automated system, we find a significant reduction in overtime expenses, which allows us to move forward with company growth and expansion plans.”

With Community, the company is able to develop more efficient scheduling that takes in such dynamics as holiday weeks or other special events that can impact call volume. “Community allows us to use staffing models – formulas based on calls as percentage of policies in force per state and distribution channels,” said Banks. “We can now use sales volume projections and handle peaks and valleys more efficiently, effectively coupling employee requests with company needs.”

As agents began understanding the importance of adherence, they began to notice call volume was handled more efficiently and their day was less stressful. This led to improved service levels. At the end of the first quarter Community 2.8 was implemented, abandon rate decreased more than two percent, while service level increased almost 13 percent.

“Helping our customers streamline their operations and increase their productivity is why we build our enterprise solution suite of products,” said Todd Fleming, vice president of marketing, Symon Communications. “We are pleased to be working with this dynamic company and excited that Community has helped PGAC achieve consistency in employee productivity and satisfaction.”

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About Symon Communications, Inc.
Symon Communications produces quality software and hardware solutions to collect, analyze, report and track real-time, mission-critical productivity information for contact centers, data centers and other business applications. This information includes business metrics, workforce efficiency and operations alerts.  Symon products include browser-based Community workforce management software and Vista data presentation tools, Symon TargetVision visual messaging systems, patented NetLite II wallboards, and the Symon Enterprise Server data management system.  Installed in more than 6,000 organizations worldwide, more than four million clients view Symon products daily.  Symon has provided award-winning products since 1981.  Symon is privately held and maintains a global direct sales and distributor network from its headquarters in Plano, Texas.  For more information, visit www.symon.com or call 800-724-4044.

* Symon is a registered trademark of Symon Communications, Inc., Contact Center Community, Community, Symon²⁰⁰⁰, Symon Vista, Symon View Plus, Symon Express, Symon Enterprise Server, Symon TargetVision DeskView, NetBrite and NetLite are trademarks of Symon Communications, Inc.  All other trademarks mentioned herein are the sole property of their respective owners.

About Permanent General Assurance Corporation
Permanent General specializes in "nonstandard" or "specialty" auto insurance, which is auto insurance for people who are new, or relatively new, to the auto insurance market, or who have been dropped by their former insurance carrier because they received speeding citations, were involved in one or more automobile accidents, received D.U.I. convictions, allowed their coverage to lapse or for similar circumstances. We offer quality coverage for practically any driver - and not just for those with "problems" - so you can still find a good price for your auto insurance needs.  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, PGAC can be contacted at 1-800-280-1466, or www.pgac.com