Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
May 25, 2011
Call Center Scheduling on a Budget Does Not Have to be Small
Call center scheduling – it is one of those necessary evils that not every call center manager jumps at the chance to perform. Regardless of their view of the activity, however, it still has to happen and it has to be optimized to ensure the best performance for the center. This means understanding the availability of all agents, forecasted volumes for a set amount of time and payroll budgets to support the scheduling efforts.
Even in the environment where the call center has been transformed to a profit center, those profits can diminish if call center scheduling is not standardized according to a set platform. In this recent Monet Software blog, the premise is simple: think big for small or medium sized call centers. It doesn’t matter to the customer whether they are calling a 1,000 seat or a 50 seat center – they want the best customer service possible and they want it delivered quickly.
For the call center scheduling manager, however, treating the scheduling like the center were much bigger than it is can be a challenge. In breaking it down, it is easy to see that within the small call center, every agent and every call has more effect on the overall performance of the center.
Think of it this way – if you have a 20 agent center and just one of your agents is not available for an important shift, you already have a 5 percent resource problem. Another example could be in your ASA (Average Speed of Answer) of 30 seconds for a 25 seat center. You might easily find that your ASA changes to 59 seconds when only one agent is not available to take calls. When you are focusing on call center scheduling, you have to take this into account.
The question remains, however, as to how to effectively and efficiently manage limited resources when conducting call center scheduling. You will have to put more emphasis on accurate forecasting, a more flexible schedule and an increase in schedule adherence. In doing these things, you will see a positive impact on costs, service levels and service quality.
Keep in mind that new Web- and cloud-based WFM (workforce management) solutions, call centers even of the smallest size can take advantage of sophisticated forecasting, more effective call center scheduling and even real-time adherence monitoring without spending outside of their budget.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Chris DiMarco