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Forecasting call center staffing can be difficult because it requires striking a fine balance. Not enough agents can lead to long hold times and agent burnout, but too many agents can create idle time and drain your budget. Our guide and free contact center staffing calculator are workforce management tools that will help you determine the right number of agents to create the most efficient staffing schedule.
Free Contact Center Staffing Calculator
Our complimentary contact center staffing calculator is a forecasting tool that uses the Erlang C formula to determine your agent needs. Input details like the number of calls, average handle time, and your target service levels for a staffing recommendation. The tool accounts for agent absence, maximum capacity, and service levels to give realistic numbers.
FAQ: What is workforce management in a call center?
Workforce management (WFM) in call centers is a set of processes to optimize productivity by ensuring that the right number of agents with the right skills are scheduled at the right times to handle customer interactions efficiently.
The core WFM cycle includes forecasting demand, scheduling agents, tracking attendance and adherence, and analyzing performance metrics to continuously improve operations.
Related resource: Learn how Landis Contact Center reporting capabilities help track the KPIs that drive effective workforce management.
The Components of Call Center Staffing
To figure out how many agents you need, you require three main variables: call volume, average handle time, and service level targets.
- Call Volume is the number of contacts your center gets during a set time. Knowing your daily, weekly, and seasonal patterns helps you avoid being short-staffed during busy periods and having too many agents during slow times.
Tip: Many centers see an “M-curve” with rushes in the morning and afternoon.
- Average Handle Time (AHT) includes talk time, hold time, and after-call work. Use your team’s real data, not ideal targets. If your goal is 4 minutes but agents average 7 minutes, your calculations will fail.
- Service Level Targets define your goals. A good starting goal is to answer 80% of calls in 20 seconds or 90% in 15 seconds. Tighter service levels require more agents.
These variables all go into the Erlang C formula, which calculates the chances of a customer waiting based on call pattern
5 Common Call Center Workforce Errors
1. Forecasting Inaccuracies
Many centers use old averages without considering what is happening in the business. Marketing campaigns, system problems, and seasonal shifts can make call volume spike without warning.
Handle time estimates can also be wrong. Using averages without accounting for variation can leave your team short on people when complex issues come up.
To avoid this, combine historical analysis with business knowledge. Talk with your marketing, product, and operations teams to expect call drivers.
2. Misapplying Erlang Models
The Erlang C formula assumes that no one hangs up and that each agent only helps one person at a time. Be aware of when this is or is not true in your contact center.
Calculations for multi-skilled teams can create more errors. If you calculate each queue separately, you will overestimate your needs by counting shared agents more than once.
3. Misjudging Shrinkage
Shrinkage is the time agents are not on the phone, like for breaks, training, meetings, and sick time. A common error is adding the shrinkage percentage instead of dividing by the available time.
If you need 70 active agents with 30% shrinkage, you should calculate it this way: 70 ÷ (1 – 0.30) = 100 scheduled agents. Multiplying 70 x 1.30 = 91 means you will be 9 agents short.
Keep track of all components of shrinkage and update your numbers often. Summer vacations, holidays, and training periods impact availability differently throughout the year.
4. Not Counting All Workloads
Calculations focused only on phone calls do not include email, chat, social media, and outbound work.
Different channels have different patterns. Live chat lets one person handle several conversations at once, while phone calls are one-to-one. Emails create a backlog that does not impact wait times but can violate response promises.
Estimate each channel separately and create blended schedules that use agents’ skills for different contact types.
5. Rigid Scheduling
Set shifts may not exactly match contact volume patterns. Standard schedules create a gap between supply and demand, even when your total staff seems to be correct.
Use flexible scheduling with staggered starts, varied shift lengths, part-time people to cover busy periods, and maintain a way to make real-time adjustments.
Using Landis Contact Center for Peak Performance
Landis Contact Center for Teams provides several contact center workforce management tools to make calculating and implementing easier. It integrates with Teams to give you the data you need.
Live Dashboards and Real-Time Visibility
Real-time queue monitoring, agent status tracking, and performance reports let you spot problems before they get bigger. Live dashboards show current agent availability, customer wait times, which are general indicators of whether your staffing plans are working.
Also read: How ImageTrend gained data visibility with Landis Contact Center.
Flexible Licensing
Legacy systems lock you into an annual agent count. Landis has flexible licensing that matches your needs. Add people during busy times and cut back when things are slow without paying for unused licenses.
Supervisor Tools
Supervisors get tools for managing queues and making quick staffing adjustments. The system has features like callback management, smart routing, and workload distribution to get the most from your existing staff before you add more agents.
Scheduled Reports
Comprehensive reports show call patterns, agent performance, and service achievements over time. These reports give you the data to forecast correctly and spot ways to improve. You can see seasonal patterns, understand how business changes affect your team, and build plans based on actual performance rather than guesses.
Contact Center Work Force Management FAQs:
What is the 80/20 rule in a call center?
The 80/20 rule in call centers is a service level standard stating that 80% of incoming calls should be answered within 20 seconds. While widely used as an industry benchmark, the 80/20 standard’s origins are unclear. Some attribute it to early Rockwell call center technology from the 1970s, while others reference an AT&T study from 30 years ago.
The 80/20 rule has limitations: it only addresses 80% of customers and provides no expectation for the remaining 20% who may wait significantly longer. Many contact centers now customize their service levels based on customer expectations, operational capabilities, and business goals rather than following this single standard.
Related resource: Discover how Landis Contact Center queue management helps you meet and exceed service level targets.
What is the job description of a workforce call center?
Workforce management roles in call centers involve planning and forecasting employees to create optimal coverage for managing call volumes, with primary responsibilities including analyzing call patterns, monitoring staffing levels, adjusting schedules, and reporting on staff performance.
Required skills typically include strong analytical abilities, proficiency with workforce management software, excellent communication skills, and the ability to balance efficiency with effectiveness.
What workforce management solutions do experts recommend for contact centers?
Modern WFM solutions help contact centers forecast demand, optimize schedules, track performance, and make real-time staffing adjustments. Advanced WFM software offers AI-powered features, automated scheduling, multi-skill and flexible scheduling capabilities, and real-time adherence monitoring to help contact centers respond to rising pressures while achieving better results.
When selecting WFM solutions, experts recommend looking for:
- Accurate forecasting using historical data
- Automated scheduling that considers agent skills and preferences
- Real-time monitoring and intraday management capabilities
- Integration with your contact center platform
- Comprehensive reporting and analytics
For Microsoft Teams contact centers: Landis Contact Center provides native Teams integration with built-in reporting, queue management, and real-time quality monitoring, eliminating the need for separate WFM systems while delivering the workforce visibility your team needs.
Book a demo of Landis Contact Center for Microsoft Teams to see even more workforce management tools.
