Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Call Center Scheduling: An Important Tool to Reduce Shrinkage
Call center scheduling – a significant challenge in an increasingly challenging field. Call center managers on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis have to ensure the call center is adequately staffed to meet the volume needs of the center. This can be a difficult challenge when call volumes can vary, call center agent schedules can change and campaigns may or may not be ready to launch.
In the realm of call center scheduling, there is also the challenge of call center shrinkage, or the paid time agents are not actually taking calls. This Monet Software blog recently examined the problem of shrinkage within the call center and how call center managers can effectively reduce shrinkage with the use of call center scheduling and other important tools.
One of the biggest challenges with call center shrinkage is the fact that too many companies underestimate how much it is actually costing the company. Consider the 30 agent contact center with 20 minutes of out of adherence status in terms of call center scheduling per agent. That level of out of adherence equals as much as 10 hours per day in shrinkage. If these agents are being paid $12 per hour plus benefits, their cost to the call center per hour is $15. Add up the time lost and that organization is losing $150 per day, $750 per week and $39,000 per year.
In the overall approach to call center scheduling, it is not possible to recover all lost time. After all, agents have to stretch, use the restroom, talk to a supervisor or other activities that contribute to getting the job done. Some of these things can be accounted for in call center scheduling, but not all. If the call center can reduce that shrinkage from 20 minutes to 10, however, they have the potential to save $20,000, while also improving service levels. With so much benefit potential, a reduction in shrinkage through efficient methods is definitely worth consideration.
The call center can use call center scheduling to reduce shrinkage, but there are other elements that must be considered, according to Monet Software. First, it is important to better match volume according to agent availability. If the call center manager improperly schedules that agent’s time, shrinkage is inevitable. Second, it is important to increase forecast and schedule accuracy by including additional parameters that can affect proper call center scheduling.
Finally, it is also important to monitor and improve schedule adherence, if possible in real-time. Call center managers have to monitor activities according to their call center scheduling to measure their accuracy in producing those schedules. Shrinkage is not always the fault of the agent; managers must provide call center scheduling that matches availability, accurate forecasts and proven skill sets. When this is accomplished, shrinkage can be effectively reduced for a more profitable call center performance.
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