What Is The Formula For Call Center Workforce Management?

Call Center Workforce Management: A Simple Guide

What Is The Formula For Call Center Workforce Management

Understanding Call Center Workforce Management

Effectively managing a call center is essential to maintain high levels of satisfaction with customers. The most important part of the management is knowing what constitutes workforce management, what is the formula for call center workforce management. This formula will help you determine the number of agents required to handle calls efficiently and reduce expenses. By balancing availability of staff with the expected volume of calls Call centers can make sure that clients receive prompt service without having to hire too many staff, which could cause unnecessary expenses. Let’s look at the most important ideas and calculations used in managing workforces, offering the most precise guidelines for improving the staffing levels of the context of a call center.

Table of Contents

Formula for call center workforce management

What is the formula for call center workforce management?

What is the formula for call center workforce management?There are a variety of KPIs however, some of the most popular customer service metrics include the following:
  • Abandon rate. Abandon rate measures the percentage of customers calling who hang up before a Brand Specialist answers, or before they select an option in an interactive voice response (IVR) unit. This is the inverse of the answer rate. Abandon rate = calls abandoned ÷ (calls abandoned + calls answered).
  • Agent status.  The status of an agent. Brand Specialist whether it is available at all times, on call, or after-contact work, or any other designation.
  • Average handle time (AHT). This measures the length of an interaction, which includes call time, hold time, and post-call work.
  • Average speed of answer (ASA). This is the measure of the average the call stays waiting until the Brand Specialist responds or connects the caller. It is often called average delay.
  • Contacts per hour.  This is the amount of contacts or calls that occur during a specific period of time.
  • Contact quality score. Sometimes, it is called Quality Score which measures Brand Specialists’ level of satisfaction with how the traits of their contacts correspond to predetermined standards. For instance, if a quality scorecard includes 20 criteria and a Brand Specialist’s contact meets 18 of them, their score as a percentage would be 90. Contact quality = monitored contact score ÷ total criteria x 100.
  • Calls in queue. An in-real-time report of how many calls that are received from the automated call distribution (ACD) system, but not yet connected to the Brand Specialist. Also known as queued contacts.
  • Customer satisfaction (CSAT). The extent that a consumer thinks their expectations are being satisfied by the company’s products and services, typically expressed in terms of percentage. Customer satisfaction = satisfied customers ÷ all customers x 100.
  • First contact resolution (FCR). It is a customer-relationship measure that measures the level of service customers receive as measured through the proportion of problems or issues that are resolved on the first time they reach our call center. First contact resolution = contacts resolved on first contact ÷ all contacts x 100.
  • Longest in queue. This is the longest waiting period from the moment they join the queue until they are connected to an expert in Brand Management.
  • Net promoter score (NPS). NPS is a measure of growth built on a poll that asks the customer what they think it is like to recommend a brand to their friends and colleagues on a scale from zero to 10. The survey respondents are sorted by whether they are promoters or detractors. The percentage of promoters is subtracted from the detractors’ percentage to determine the overall percentage of the audience who are passionate in your business. It is a measure of the number of endorsers and percent of detractors. NPS = % of promoters – % of detractors. The score can range from -100 to 100.
  • Occupancy. The percentage of the time that Brand Specialists are on hand to handle calls from customers and other communications as compared to when they’re not logged in and waiting to be idle until the next customer message available for them to manage. Occupancy = workload hours ÷ staff hours. Also referred to as utilization. 
  • Schedule adherence.  This measurement shows how closely employees are in sync with their work schedule which includes breaks, start, stop times, and the time off.
  • Service level (SLA). SLA establishes the benchmarks for performance in the future. They are often defined in terms of call centers like 80/20, i.e. 80% of calls answered within 20 seconds. 
  • Shrinkage. The term “shrinkage” refers to the percentage of time paid for that Brand Specialists are not available to respond to customer inquiries or communications. It could be due to the fact that they are busy with a training session, meeting or taking a break or have other obligations or paid leave. The amount of shrinkage you measure is essential to make sure you have enough employees scheduled to achieve your goals.
  • Variance to forecast. The gap between the forecasted amount in contacts and what actually happens.
  • Work time required. The expected time necessary to answer calls and/or other contacts. Work time required = AHT x contact volume.

Tips for choosing, using, and dashboarding KPIs in Call Center Workforce Management

  • Pick metrics that will serve as points of reference to improve performance at the Account as well as the brand Specialist levels.
  • Utilize actionable KPIs which can be tracked frequently.
  • Create simple dashboards with KPIs highlighted so that they’re easy to comprehend and then act upon.
  • Create a clear dashboard that displays only the most important metrics

    • If additional metrics are required for a more thorough analysis, put them in an additional report or tab.

  • Compare KPIs against historical results or goals for an understanding of the situation.
  • Create dashboards that are visible to Brand Specialists and Account managers to allow them to concentrate on achieving the metrics goals.
  • Instruct everyone on KPIs including new employees.

What is workforce management in a call center or contact center?

Let’s get started by asking the basics: What’s Workforce Management (WFM)? It’s an umbrella term that covers all processes related to managing your contact center’s staff. Generally speaking, proper WFM assures that you have the right number (aka. sufficient) contact center representatives who are available at times and places you require they are.

As a contact manager of a call center or in staffing for employees and management, you’re aware that managing employees is a complex process and requires a lot of factors to be considered in order to maintain operating efficiency.

What is workforce management in a call center or contact center

Why do contact centers need workforce management?

Once you’ve learned the basics of what is the role of a workforce manager in a call center is essential to understand the reason why it’s important:

  1. Achieving cost effectiveness: The management of workforces assists in determining the optimal amount of agents required to handle the call volume which results in savings on the cost of hiring and salaries.
  2. Predicting resource requirement: Using workforce management allows call centers to anticipate not just the volume of calls as well as the needs for other resources.
  3. Meeting service level targets: These targets are intended to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of a contact center. Through workforce management, you can improve this speedier by optimizing the use of agents and resources. Also, it prepares contact centers for unexpected events such as unplanned overtime, vacations of staff and calls that are swelled during holidays.
  4. Improving customer satisfaction: Enhancing customer satisfaction through proper management of the workforce ensures that sufficient agents are available to handle large volumes of calls. This means shorter wait times for customers.

Benefits of workforce management in call centers

Workforce management in call centers (WFM) provides more than a simple management of scheduling. It offers a variety of advantages, such as:

  • A more positive customer experience. To enhance the customer experience in your call center your call center has to be well-staffed. This leads to faster service, which results in satisfied customers that tend to remain loyal to your business.

  • Improved employee satisfaction. Schedules that are optimized prevent employees from being under- or overworked which is essential for retention and satisfaction of employees. Happy employees who have a manageable workload will be less likely to be burned out and more likely remain with the company. Based on the Center for American Progress, replacing employees could cost between 16 and 20 percent from their salary without excluding recruitment costs or the loss of productivity in the process of onboarding.

  • Optimized operational efficiency. The goal of every call center is matching the staffing level to the volume of calls. This helps ensure a job gets accomplished while reducing costs from staffing levels that are too high. Utilizing WFM tools makes this process easier making it easier to take the stress and uncertainty out of the process.

What are the core challenges call centers face?

Managers in call centers have unique challenges, which makes the management of their workforce crucial. Two main reasons for this are:

  • The daily workload is determined by external factors. The volume of calls can be extremely unpredictable. You’d like to know how many calls your office will receive in the next day; however, it’s not always possible. Certain trends are predicted such as more calls during promotions, or slower times during certain periods of the year. Some aren’t — such as unexpected equipment failures or the time that Elon Musk tweets about your product.

  • Call centers are often open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The management of a workforce for 24/7 operation is much more difficult than the typical 9-to-5 work schedule. Having the correct quantity of workers on hand at all times is vital to ensure consistently high-quality service to your clients.

The tasks of call center workforce management

WFM seeks to satisfy the requirements of employees and the business. Here’s a look at the primary duties associated with.

Forecasting interaction volumes

  • This involves forecasting the amount of customer interactions across various time frames like weeks or days. WFM teams make use of a mixture of past data, expertise and software for forecasting. The aim is to find patterns and trends.

Creating agent schedules

  • Based on forecasted demand WFM teams design the best schedules for agents. They ensure that the appropriate number of agents with the required skills to work shifts are in line with the expected volume of calls. Agent scheduling ensures that the appropriate number of agents are in place to handle the expected quantity. It is a way to balance service levels along with cost efficiency and satisfaction of employees.

Assigning agents to schedules

  • When the schedules are prepared, after preparing the schedules, the WFM team assigns the schedules to agents. Achieving a balance between agents' preferences and the company's operational guidelines ensures that the appropriate agent is on hand for the task at hand.

Managing intraday activities

  • Real-time events can disrupt planned schedules. Unexpected increases in call volume or absence of agents are a few of the many instances. Intraday management requires dynamically adapting to the changes that occur to ensure the same level of service.

Managing performance

  • Call centers track important metrics to evaluate the performance of agents. These metrics guide the training process and provide feedback to encourage constant improvement in performance. Operations management or WFM analysts typically evaluate various metrics such as those below.

    • First Call Resolution (FCR) rate: The number of calls being resolved in one interaction.
    • Average handling time (AHT): AHT is the standard length of time to resolve customer problems.
    • Rate of occupancy: The amount of time that agents are actively dealing with the needs of customers.
    • Adherence to schedules: How well do agents adhere to their assigned schedules.

Conclusion

The effective management of the workforce in call centers depends on precise forecasting, scheduling and real-time adjustments based upon various indicators. Utilizing formulas and understanding the fundamental concepts of the concept of shrinkage, occupancy and rates, supervisors can maximize the number of employees while ensuring high quality service. This is vital to improve the customer experience and performance in any call center.

Frequently Asked Questions

Workforce Management (WFM) often utilizes its Erlang C equation to forecast the requirements for staffing based on call volume, level of service, and the average time for handling.

To calculate the FTE value for a specific position, simply divide the number of hours worked by the number of hours considered to be full-time. If you use 40 hours as full time, someone who works 35 hours has a 0.875 FTE. Someone who works 30 hours has a 0.75 FTE.

The formula for service levels is just the number of phone calls that are answered within the threshold of service multiplied by the amount of service made then multiplied by 100. This gives you the percentage level of service. It’s as simple as that.

Workload is defined as the amount of work performed in hours. Workload is typically calculated using the following formula: \( Workload = Contact Volume \times Average Handling Time \) Obviously the amount of offered and handled workload can differ over the same interval.

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