Call Center Scheduling Feature Article

June 02, 2011

Tackling the Challenges of Call Center Scheduling

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor

Scheduling for the call center can be a challenging task. You not only need to know what agents you have available for specific times, you also have to know what volume of calls to expect at any given time of time. This requires that you conduct accurate forecasting before you complete your call center scheduling.

Monet Software tackled this concept in a recent blog, highlighting the importance of accurate forecasting if you hope to successfully manage the workforce. It is important that you are able to meet the volume demand within the call center without understaffing or overstaffing as both can cost you money. To avoid this unnecessary cost, you need methods that will precisely predict the number of agents needed to handle the exact volume of your contact center.

This is easier said than done, however. Yes, call center scheduling is much easier when you can predict the future. You can try and develop your forecast based completely on historic figures, but does that take current climate and economical factors into the estimations? You could also base it solely on upcoming campaigns, but has the success of the campaigns been tested? As you can see, call center scheduling sounds like a simple spreadsheet task – but it really is so much more.

A DMG report issued in 2010 showed that survey participants identified specific challenges to forecasting for the call center. These challenges trickle over to call center scheduling simply because if the challenges are not overcome, schedules will be done in error. Unfortunately, these errors are not always discovered until the schedule has already been posted and the call center operation for that month is already underway.

The challenges identified in the DMG report include the need to forecast for multiple skills sets; the changes business needs that eliminate the usefulness of historical volume data; the volume that is driven by external events and not controlled by the company; the volume that is seasonal and therefore can vary greatly; and the volume patterns that can change frequently that can make projections very difficult.

The good news is that even with these challenges to call center scheduling, there are still ways to complete an effective schedule that works. Develop “what if” scenarios that help you explore how a change in call volume or service level goals during a particular day may affect the center. Create regular intra-day forecast updates throughout the day, calculating a new forecast with this information. And, forecast and schedule according to response time and urgency in various channels.

At times, call center scheduling can involve taking a chance that things will change drastically and your schedule will be ineffective. Just be willing to be flexible and you’re more likely to drive success.
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

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