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Forecasting and Scheduling



Areas we look at include:

Call / email volume. Is historical data available and how is it used? What percent of calls are handled during operating hours? What percentage of calls are not answered due to customers’ hang-ups or not enough phone lines? What is average email response time?

Events that impact call / email volume. Logging events that impact volume such as weather or competitor’s price change to internal marketing campaigns and press releases to acquiring new accounts.

Forecasting workload. Does the statistical method used account for effects of seasonality, trends, and planned events? Are day of week and time of day factors used to arrive at forecasts? How is average handle time calculated?

Service level. Is target based on customer expectations, competitive influences, company’s brand image and reputation, and budget constraints?

Staffing requirements. Are forecasts used to calculate staffing needs? How much of a “breather” in between calls do agents have? Should agent groups be “generalists” or “specialists”?

Staff schedules. Do schedules meet call demands? How much staff shrinkage (paid non-phone activity) is there? What is the dollar impact of not optimizing schedules to call demand?

Intra-day service management. Who’s responsible for watching? Are communication and reaction plans in place to deal with understaffing and overstaffing situations?

 

Typical outcomes include:

Determine hours of operation to maximize customer contact vs. the cost of agent hours.

Adjust current workforce management practices to balance customer expectations with agents’ scheduling preferences and budget guidelines.

Reduce agent costs by defining work schedule rules, establishing work schedule compliance guidelines, and developing a change management program to change work habits.

Adjust the service level goal to meet customer expectations and budgets.

Reduce impact on service level due to intra day variations in actual vs. forecast by developing plans to deal with understaffing.

Reduce impact on agent costs due to intra day variations in actual vs. forecast by developing plans to deal with overstaffing.

Manage long-term service level by creating a capacity and hiring plan.

Train call center management staff on workforce management practices.