Call Center Tidbits

Why is it important to schedule your agents accurately…..And is there a way to accomplish this easily and inexpensively?

The importance of scheduling call center agents accurately is to serve the customers in a timely manner, which results in a more efficient workforce, thus managing call center expenses. Properly optimized resources reduce agent stress and turnover. Again reducing expenses.

The key is to first accurately forecast call volume for any given period of the day and the week. Workforce management systems that are integrated with your call center’s ACD will calculate this automatically.

But what if you don’t have workforce management software nor have the budget to purchase an integraded WFM system for $20,000 or more. Many companies starting out use some type of spreadsheet, such as Excel, to export the data from their ACD reports. They analyze this data, configure formulas to determine how many agents are required per half-hour based on a desired service level,and then manually enter agent schedules. This method takes a significant amount of time for someone to manage, especially if there are thirty or more agents.

Can scheduling call center agents be done easily and inexpensively? The answer is of course yes. There are a couple of software programs that will automatically calculate number of agents required to achieve desired service levels and allow you to take into account breaks, lunches, absenteeism, and other off phone activities to optimize agent schedules.

EasyStart is a step-by-step interactive “wizard” for setting up a spreadsheet to schedule your call center agents for both phone and other types of off phone work. This is a simplified software program for performing agent schedules providing base level scheduling.
Priced at $499.

AgentTime Scheduler which is much more extensive has three modules for indepth analysis using extended Erlang-C methods to create required agent staffing levels, similation analysis for performing “what if” scenarios, and the scheduler for creating agent schedules based on shifts, service level requirements and agent preference. Prices start at $3900 for 50 agent license.

Call Centers that understand the importance of matching agent’s phone time to incoming call activity are in a better position to succeed and more importantly retain customers. Everyone’s is competing for the limited pool of prospects and as it has been proven “it is much less expensive to keep a customer than to find a new one”.