Workforce Management
For
Small Call Centers
Richard Spearrin
NECCF Board of Directors
NorthEast Contact Center Forum
Agenda
 Introductions and Overview
 Small Call Center Distinctives
 Basic Workforce Management Ingredients
 Excel Examples
 Alternatives/ Resources
 WIIFM
 Conclusion
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Introduction
 Objective
 Who Am I ???
 Who Are You???
 Inventory of Center Sizes
 Current Challenges
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Small Call Center Distinctives
 Calls Still Arrive Randomly
 Monday’s Are Still Busy
 Smaller Call Volumes Make Forecast
Accuracy Difficult
 Inherent Schedule Inefficiency
 One Person Makes a BIG Difference
 Senior Managers Don’t See Your Problems
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Actual Random Call Arrival
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Basic WFM Ingredients
 Forecasting

Factors





Interval Proportions
Data Validation (Calls and AHT)



Monthly
Weekly
Daily
Monthly Updates
Holiday Factor
Shrinkage
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Factors and Proportions Spreadsheet
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More Basic Ingredients
 Scheduling
 Develop shifts that
 Reflect demand
 Are manageable
 Build in schedule inefficiency factor
 Assigned on phone based on call distribution
 Assign breaks/lunch's based on business need
 Part Time FTE
 On site
 Work At Home
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Schedule Inefficiency
Everyone
starts here
But you don’t
need everyone
then
Inefficiency reflects
this environment
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
5:
00
4:
00
3:
00
2:
00
1:
00
10
:0
0
11
:0
0
12
:0
0
English Cust Srv 12
9:
00
8:
00
Calls
Monday Call Arrival Pattern
Interval
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Intra Day Management
 Use schedules to adjust for


Unplanned absence
Call surges
 Manage off phone time

ACD AUX/ Walk Away codes
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Excel Examples
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Alternatives and Resources
 http://www.erlang.com/ ----Erlang macro
 Portage Communications-




http://www.portagecommunications.com/
Mitan Ltd--http://www.mitan.co.uk/mainhome.htm
Kool Toolz--http://www.kooltoolz.com/
Cloud Based applications (Aspect/IEX/Verint/
InVision/Pipkins/ etc)
Ansapoint---http://www.erlang.com/ansapoint.html
Shift Planning--http://www.shiftplanning.com/callcenter/
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WIIFM
 Better MANAGE the workload
 Improved staff management
 Better management of surprises
 Documented plan for Senior Mgt



How you are managing
Why you need resources
What will happen “if”………
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Conclusion
.
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RICHARD SPEARRIN
wrspearrin@thecccg.com
860.767.1451
NorthEast Contact Center Forum