Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Suggestions to Improve Call Center Shift Scheduling
In the brief span I’ve been on this earth, one of the certainties I’ve learned is you can never make everyone happy. In the contact center, one can personify this with the challenges presented by scheduling. It’s impossible to give every agent their perfect schedule but, by implementing some of the following tips operations and agents can both win.
Start by putting pencil to paper, so to speak. Take a deep dive into call metrics, time spent on training, onboarding and tasks not associated with being on the phone. Put accurate forecasting first and foremost, and from there an appropriate schedule can be crafted.
Make sure to cover your peak times. This sounds obvious but do your due diligence, explore call analytics and the like to ensure your busiest times of day are staffed properly.
It’s not always possible, but doing your best to meet agent requests can go a long way toward boosting morale by empowering agents. Offering work life balance is a big perk these days, just make sure to clearly communicate duties of each particular shift.
Piggybacking on the above, in a round the clock call center environment it is integral to educate the team on the importance of each shift. Take agent preferences into consideration, work around their schedules can help improve yours, and intern the quality of service delivered.
Last but not least, keep your team busy. This doesn’t necessarily mean “busy work” but it does mean proactively, driving productivity. Agents are on the clock and as such can leverage unique skills and experience to complete tasks targeting organizational productivity.
Scheduling in the call center need not be a herculean task. Hire the best people, deploy the best technology and implement best practice.
How does your organization address call center scheduling?
Edited by Maurice Nagle