Starting out is hard for any startup, and a craft brewery is no different than other businesses. That being said, not enough attention is paid to what steps are helpful when your business is three-to-five years into operation and needs to begin scaling up. As a craft brewery, that could mean finding new distribution channels or pursuing new partnerships and collaborations that allow you to continue to grow. 

As your business begins to scale and attract new clients across the country or even globally, it's a good time to start investigating how different software platforms could play a role in streamlining your business. If you have a few support agents who field incoming or outgoing calls, workforce optimization software could be a great option to consider.

Workforce optimization software from a company like Bright Pattern is a great way to ensure that your support agents are engaged and empowered to perform their job duties. Workforce optimization software, also known as WFO, analyzes different customer interactions in order to determine future efficiencies in terms of scheduling. Many studies have shown that when employees are scheduled appropriately, they're not only happier but also more productive. This can help you make the most of your workforce's time and ultimately reduce turnover since you have a more content team.

Especially when it comes to improving the attitude of your staff, workforce optimization software is a great technology to implement. Consider the fact that many times in a craft brewery, your call center agents will be fielding phone calls from different restaurants or liquor stores wanting to know the status of a shipment or when to expect delivery. It's vital that your relationships with these vendors remain positive, and, to a certain extent, that relationship relies on the service your call center provides. When your staff is more engaged and invested in their work, they're likely to practice greater patience and have a friendlier demeanor, both of which are qualities that help keep your company in business with its stakeholders and vendors.

When it comes to picking the right workforce optimization tool for your microbrewery, make sure that you consider what features make the most sense for your business' size and overall goals. For example, quality management integrations can ensure that your administrators are basing their quality control assessments of certain calls and text-based communications on proper analysis. 

This can also help you coach new support agents and train others more efficiently since all interactions are being tracked and analyzed instead of your cherrypicking calls at random or from a certain timeframe. When it comes to scheduling, some WFO platforms can also be a major boon for businesses, since they offer the ability to forecast future schedules based on each agent's preferences as well as when demand is generally higher. This helps your business staff the most critical parts of the week for your call center, ultimately increasing agent, customer, and vendor satisfaction across the board.

While the right tools can help you execute your business strategy, at the heart of all company growth is passion. Part of maintaining passion in the face of entrepreneurial hardship involves having sources of inspiration, like the articles provided by Microbrewery. With expert articles about craft beer and the brewing process, Microbrewery has plenty of information to keep you excited about your brewery and give you a few ideas to test out as well. Best of all, Microbrewery sometimes spotlights other craft breweries, so if you've yet to be featured on their website, having an article about your brewery could be an excellent way to get the word out about what makes your business unique.