Shiftmate
How to calculate staffing needs based on hourly call volume?
A guide to transparently calculate hourly call center personnel needs using number of calls, AHT, occupancy and shrinkage.
The total number of calls per day is not enough to plan a shift. The same 400 calls can turn into a slow day or a serious queue coming in during two busy hours.
Convert workload to hours
Multiply the number of calls in an interval by the average call duration and divide by 3,600. The result is the approximate number of hours of calls and transactions that should be completed within that hour.
Apply occupancy target
It is not sustainable to assume that staff will work at 100 percent occupancy. Find the active seating requirement by dividing the workload by the target occupancy.
Reach the total roster with Shrinkage
Due to breaks, training, meetings and leaves, not all of the planned staff will be active. Approximate the total number of people to be planned by dividing the active need by 1 minus the shrinkage rate.
Summary
The simple model is not full queuing theory; but it provides a better start than intuitive planning because it makes assumptions visible.