Outbound WFM Calculator

The calculator helps estimate the number of agents needed for running an outbound campaign.

please wait, it takes several seconds to load the calculator

The calculator uses the following input parameters:

• Type of dialing method. The current version provides two types of dialing methods: progressive and predictive.
• Average call handling time. (talk+wrapping up). Normally, average handling time for outbound campaigns is substantially shorter than for inbound campaigns due to the large numbers of short calls.
• Calling list size.
• Campaign duration. The time interval within which the campaign should be completed, in minutes.
• Hit ratio. The percentage of outbound calls that will reach live customers.
• Average customer patience time before they hang up. Typically, for outbound campaigns, this time, is quite short.
• Max abandonment rate. A percentage of calls that will be abandoned by impatient customers. This value is a subject of regulations and must not exceed a mandated value (e.g. 3% in The United States);
• Max average waiting time. This optional value imposes a restriction on average waiting time. The waiting time is a time a customer spends in a queue waiting for an agent.

The calculator consumes these parameters and comes up with a minimum number of agents needed that will satisfy campaign service objectives. The calculation is performed as a series of simulations to find the optimum values.

As an output the calculator returns the following values:

• The minimum number of agents needed for running the campaign.
• The expected average abandonment rate the campaign will have;
• The expected average waiting time;
• The expected agent occupancy;

When a staffing demand is calculated, the user can adjust a number of agents to obtain more convenient service indicators.

If the user wants to change campaign values he/she should use a button “Change Input Parameters”.

Example 1. Let us take default values:

• Dialing type is ‘Predictive’;
• Average handling time is equal to 30 seconds;
• Calling list comprises 10,000 numbers;
• The campaign should last 120 minutes;
• Average patience time is equal to 3 seconds, and
• Max abandonment rate id equal to 3% that corresponds to industry standard.

Let press the “Start Calculation” button and after several seconds of calculations we obtain the following values and service indicators:

Min number of agents is set to 15. Average abandonment rate is 1.8%. Average waiting time is shown to be 0.13 second. Agent occupancy will be 81.6%.

Example 2. Let us take the same default values but change type of dialing to “Progressive”. In this case, we obtain a number of agents to be equal to 20. That is a progressive type is less effective that predictive one.