Keeping Call Centers On Track By Dennis Cox, Pipkins

Written by Dennis Cox

Call center schedules are notoriously fragile. Agents may arrive late, log in to the wrong work queue, take breaks or lunch at slightly different times than planned, or get called away for an unexpected meeting or conference. When too many agents are missing in action, the center's service levels will begin to tumble like the Dow Jones on a bad day.

If 2% of agents are not at their assigned posts, for example, the percentage of calls answered within 30 seconds or whatever performance objective has been used in creating the schedule typically will drop by 10%. If 10% of agents are out of sync, fully half of the center's incoming calls will likely not be answered within the target time frame.

The repercussions can be severe. Understaffing caused by agents' failure to adhere to their schedules can lead to abandoned calls, irate customers, lost sales, and/or an inability to meet service level agreements. This in turn can drive customers to competitors and produce lasting business damage. Overstaffing caused by the same non-conformance issues can translate into wasted labor expense and associated problems.