Method and system for staffing a call center utilizing a time-based, graduated shrink ramp schedule

A method for staffing a call center involves, via a processor at the call center, generating a work schedule of a call center advisor for a then-current work day, the work schedule including i) information related to at least one planned activity, and ii) information related to at least one shrink activity, the information related to the at least one shrink activity being forecasted from a time-based, graduated ramp schedule. The method further involves, via the processor, utilizing the work schedule to determine an appropriate number of call center advisors for the call center throughout a future work day.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to methods for staffing a call center.

BACKGROUND

Call centers often employ service advisors to service voice calls from subscriber vehicles. The number of service advisors on duty during predefined hours of a work day typically depends, at least in part, on the volume of calls received. In some instances, adjustments to the number of service advisors on duty may be required under some circumstances.

SUMMARY

A method for staffing a call center involves, via a processor at the call center, generating a work schedule of a call center advisor for a then-current work day, the work schedule including i) information related to at least one planned activity, and ii) information related to at least one shrink activity, the information related to the at least one shrink activity being forecasted from a time-based, graduated ramp schedule. The method further involves, via the processor, utilizing the work schedule to determine an appropriate number of call center advisors for the call center throughout the then-current work day.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example(s) of the method disclosed herein may be used to staff a call center with an appropriate number of service advisors throughout a work day. More specifically, the staffing method takes into account an amount of shrink time used by one or more service advisors on a then-current work day to forecast a number of service advisors needed to staff a call center on a subsequent work day. The forecasting of the number of service advisors needed ensures that an appropriate number of service advisors is available to service calls at various hours of the work day. This advantageously improves the overall operating efficiency of the call center, while still providing acceptable levels of service for incoming subscriber calls.

As used herein, a “shrink activity” refers to an activity engaged in by a service advisor that is considered to be unplanned (i.e., an activity that is not thought out or prepared for in advance). Examples of shrink activities include, but are not limited to, calling in sick, arriving to work late, leaving work early, taking one or more unexpected breaks throughout the work day, taking longer than the time allotted for a lunch break, being absent from his/her workstation for unforeseen circumstances (e.g., visiting a friend at the work place, taking additional bathroom breaks, etc.) and/or the like. The time that the service advisor is engaged in the shrink activity is referred to herein as “shrink time”.

It is to be understood that any of the examples of the shrink activities recited above may, in certain instances, be considered to be a planned activity (i.e., an activity that is thought out or prepared for in advance). In these instances, the advisor is aware of the shrink activity, and notifies his/her supervisor, boss, scheduling department or other suitable person at the call center that he/she will be engaged in the activity. For instance, if the advisor knows that he/she has a doctor's appointment at 8:00 am and informs the proper person at the call center of the appointment, the fact that he/she arrives at work late (e.g., at 9:30 am as opposed to his/her 8:00 am starting time) is considered to be a planned activity that is already accounted for by the call center for staffing purposes. As a result, the amount of time that the advisor is engaged in this particular activity is not considered to be shrink time as defined above, because it is accounted for. If, however, the advisor arrives at 10:00 am rather than 9:30 am, the additional half hour of the advisor's absence is considered to be shrink time, at least in part because the advisor's absence during this time period was not planned for or accounted for by the call center. Other examples of planned activities include, but are not limited to, clock time and duration allotted for servicing voice calls at the call center, clock time and duration allotted for pre-scheduled breaks such as lunch, clock time and duration for pre-scheduled meetings, clock time and duration for pre-scheduled classes or seminars, and/or the like.

Further, a “work schedule” refers to a chronological list of appointments, meetings, and/or commitments of the service advisor for a particular work day. The work schedule may include, for example, a start time for the work day, an end time for the work day, the clock time and duration for breaks throughout the work day, and the clock time and duration for lunch. In some instances, the work schedule may further include various planned activities of the advisor, such as, e.g., the clock time and duration of a meeting with the advisor's supervisor, the clock time and duration of a pre-planned doctor's appointment, a pre-planned early leave time for that particular work day, and/or the like. A predicted work schedule is one that is prepared prior to the beginning of a work day and sets forth planned activities and may also set forth some non-planned activities that are believed will or are likely to take place. A final work schedule is a record of the actual work schedule that was worked on a particular day.

It is to be understood that, as used herein, the term “user” includes a vehicle owner, operator, and/or passenger, and this term may be used interchangeably with the term subscriber/service subscriber.

Additionally, the terms “connect/connected/connection” and/or the like are broadly defined herein to encompass a variety of divergent connected arrangements and assembly techniques. These arrangements and techniques include, but are not limited to (1) the direct communication between one component and another component with no intervening components therebetween; and (2) the communication of one component and another component with one or more components therebetween, provided that the one component being “connected to” the other component is somehow in operative communication with the other component (notwithstanding the presence of one or more additional components therebetween).

Also, the term “communication” is to be construed to include all forms of communication, including direct and indirect communication. As such, indirect communication may include communication between two components with additional component(s) located therebetween.

An example of a system10that may be used to accomplish the method disclosed herein is generally depicted inFIG. 1. In this example, the system10includes a call center24in selective and operative communication with one or more subscriber vehicles (three of which are shown as12,12′,12″ inFIG. 1). Although further detail of the call center24and the vehicles12,12′,12″ will be described below in conjunction withFIG. 1, the call center24is generally configured to service one or more calls from the subscriber vehicles12,12′,12″. It is to be understood, however, that the staffing method disclosed herein may otherwise be used for any system where calls are serviced by a call center, some non-limiting examples of which include credit card companies, phone companies, cable companies, home and/or automotive repair companies, retail stores, and/or the like.

Referring now toFIG. 1, one non-limiting example of a system10for staffing a call center24includes a number of subscriber vehicles (vehicles12,12′,12″ shown), where each vehicle12,12′,12″ includes a respective telematics unit (such as the telematics unit14associated with the vehicle12). The system10also includes a carrier/communication system16(including, but not limited to, one or more cell towers18, one or more base stations19and/or mobile switching centers (MSCs)20, and one or more service providers (not shown)), one or more land networks22, and one or more telematics service call/data centers24. In an example, the carrier/communication system16is a two-way radio frequency communication system.

The overall architecture, setup and operation, as well as many of the individual components of the system10shown inFIG. 1are generally known in the art. Thus, the following paragraphs provide a brief overview of one example of such a system10. It is to be understood, however, that additional components and/or other systems not shown here could employ the method(s) disclosed herein.

Vehicles12,12′,12″ are mobile vehicles such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, recreational vehicles (RV), boats, planes, etc., and each is equipped with suitable hardware and software that enables it to communicate (e.g., transmit and/or receive voice and data communications) over the carrier/communication system16.

Some of the vehicle hardware26is shown generally inFIG. 1, including the telematics unit14and other components that are operatively connected to the telematics unit14. Examples of such other hardware26components include a microphone28, a speaker30and buttons, knobs, switches, keyboards, and/or controls32. Generally, these hardware26components enable a user to communicate with the telematics unit14and any other system10components in communication with the telematics unit14. It is to be understood that the vehicle12may also include additional components suitable for use in, or in connection with, the telematics unit14.

Operatively coupled to the telematics unit14is a network connection or vehicle bus34. Examples of suitable network connections include a controller area network (CAN), a media oriented system transfer (MOST), a local interconnection network (LIN), an Ethernet, and other appropriate connections such as those that conform with known ISO, SAE, and IEEE standards and specifications, to name a few. The vehicle bus34enables the vehicle (such as the vehicle12shown inFIG. 1) to send and receive signals from the telematics unit14to various units of equipment and systems both outside the vehicle12and within the vehicle12to perform various functions, such as unlocking a door, executing personal comfort settings, and/or the like.

The telematics unit14is an onboard vehicle dedicated communications device that provides a variety of services, both individually and through its communication with the call/data center24. The call/data center24includes at least one facility that is owned and operated by the telematics service provider. The telematics unit14generally includes an electronic processing device36operatively coupled to one or more types of electronic memory38, a cellular chipset/component40, a vehicle data upload (VDU) unit41, a wireless modem42, a navigation unit containing a location detection (e.g., global positioning system (GPS)) chipset/component44, a real-time clock (RTC)46, a short-range wireless communication network48(e.g., a BLUETOOTH® unit), and/or a dual antenna50. In one example, the wireless modem42includes a computer program and/or a set of software routines executing within processing device36.

It is to be understood that the telematics unit14may be implemented without one or more of the above listed components, such as, for example, the short-range wireless communication network48. It is to be further understood that telematics unit14may also include additional components and functionality as desired for a particular end use.

The electronic processing device36may be a micro controller, a controller, a microprocessor, a host processor, and/or a vehicle communications processor. In another example, electronic processing device36may be an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively, electronic processing device36may be a processor working in conjunction with a central processing unit (CPU) performing the function of a general-purpose processor. In a non-limiting example, the electronic processing device36(also referred to herein as a processor) includes software programs having computer readable code to initiate and/or perform one or more steps of the methods disclosed herein. For instance, the software programs may include computer readable code for determining whether or not a detected stationary object is missing from a database stored in the electronic memory38.

The location detection chipset/component44may include a Global Position System (GPS) receiver, a radio triangulation system, a dead reckoning position system, and/or combinations thereof. In particular, a GPS receiver provides accurate time and latitude and longitude coordinates of the vehicle12responsive to a GPS broadcast signal received from a GPS satellite constellation (not shown).

The cellular chipset/component40may be an analog, digital, dual-mode, dual-band, multi-mode and/or multi-band cellular phone. The cellular chipset-component40uses one or more prescribed frequencies in the 800 MHz analog band or in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1900 MHz and higher digital cellular bands. Any suitable protocol may be used, including digital transmission technologies such as TDMA (time division multiple access), CDMA (code division multiple access) and GSM (global system for mobile telecommunications). In some instances, the protocol may be short-range wireless communication technologies, such as BLUETOOTH®, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), or Wi-Fi.

Also associated with electronic processing device36is the previously mentioned real time clock (RTC)46, which provides accurate date and time information to the telematics unit14hardware and software components that may require and/or request such date and time information. In an example, the RTC46may provide date and time information periodically, such as, for example, every ten milliseconds.

The telematics unit14provides numerous services alone or in conjunction with the call/data center24, some of which may not be listed herein, and is configured to fulfill one or more user or subscriber requests. Several examples of such services include, but are not limited to: turn-by-turn directions and other navigation-related services provided in conjunction with the GPS based chipset/component44; airbag deployment notification and other emergency or roadside assistance-related services provided in connection with various crash and or collision sensor interface modules52and sensors54located throughout the vehicle12; and infotainment-related services where music, Web pages, movies, television programs, videogames and/or other content is downloaded by an infotainment center56operatively connected to the telematics unit14via vehicle bus34and audio bus58. In one non-limiting example, downloaded content is stored (e.g., in memory38) for current or later playback.

Again, the above-listed services are by no means an exhaustive list of all the capabilities of telematics unit14, but are simply an illustration of some of the services that the telematics unit14is capable of offering. It is to be understood that when such services are obtained from the call/data center24, the telematics unit14is considered to be operating in a telematics service mode.

Vehicle communications generally utilize radio transmissions to establish a voice channel with carrier system16such that both voice and data transmissions may be sent and received over the voice channel. Vehicle communications are enabled via the cellular chipset/component40for voice communications and the wireless modem42for data transmission. In order to enable successful data transmission over the voice channel, wireless modem42applies some type of encoding or modulation to convert the digital data so that it can communicate through a vocoder or speech codec incorporated in the cellular chipset/component40. It is to be understood that any suitable encoding or modulation technique that provides an acceptable data rate and bit error may be used with the examples disclosed herein. Generally, dual mode antenna50services the location detection chipset/component44and the cellular chipset/component40.

The microphone28provides the user with a means for inputting verbal or other auditory commands, and can be equipped with an embedded voice processing unit utilizing human/machine interface (HMI) technology known in the art. Conversely, speaker30provides verbal output to the vehicle occupants and can be either a stand-alone speaker specifically dedicated for use with the telematics unit14or can be part of a vehicle audio component60. In either event and as previously mentioned, microphone28and speaker30enable vehicle hardware26and telematics service data/call center24to communicate with the occupants through audible speech. The vehicle hardware26also includes one or more buttons, knobs, switches, keyboards, and/or controls32for enabling a vehicle occupant to activate or engage one or more of the vehicle hardware components. For instance, one of the buttons32may be an electronic pushbutton used to initiate voice communication with the telematics service provider data/call center24(whether it be a live advisor62or an automated call response system62′), e.g., to request emergency services.

The audio component60is operatively connected to the vehicle bus34and the audio bus58. The audio component60receives analog information, rendering it as sound, via the audio bus58. Digital information is received via the vehicle bus34. The audio component60provides AM and FM radio, satellite radio, CD, DVD, multimedia and other like functionality independent of the infotainment center56. Audio component60may contain a speaker system, or may utilize speaker30via arbitration on vehicle bus34and/or audio bus58.

Still referring toFIG. 1, the vehicle crash and/or collision detection sensor interface52is/are operatively connected to the vehicle bus34. The crash sensors54provide information to the telematics unit14via the crash and/or collision detection sensor interface52regarding the severity of a vehicle collision, such as the angle of impact and the amount of force sustained.

Other vehicle sensors64, connected to various sensor interface modules66, are operatively connected to the vehicle bus34. Example vehicle sensors64include, but are not limited to, gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, emission detection and/or control sensors, environmental detection sensors, and/or the like. One or more of the sensors64enumerated above may be used to obtain vehicle data for use by the telematics unit14or the data/call center24(when transmitted thereto from the telematics unit14) to determine the operation of the vehicle12. Non-limiting example sensor interface modules66include powertrain control, climate control, body control, and/or the like. It is to be understood that some of the data received from the other vehicle sensors64may also trigger one or more of the methods disclosed herein. Such other data may include, for example, data indicating that an airbag has been deployed, data pertaining to a sudden deceleration (e.g., upon colliding with another object such as another vehicle), data indicting a sudden increase in pressure exerted on the brake pedal (e.g., upon braking suddenly when attempting to avoid a collision), data pertaining to a sudden decrease in tire pressure (e.g., a flat tire while traveling down a road segment), or the like.

In one non-limiting example, the vehicle hardware26also includes a display80, which may be operatively directly connected to or in communication with the telematics unit14, or may be part of the audio component60. Non-limiting examples of the display80include a VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display), an LED (Light Emitting Diode) display, a driver information center display, a radio display, an arbitrary text device, a heads-up display (HUD), an LCD (Liquid Crystal Diode) display, and/or the like.

The electronic memory38of the telematics unit14may be configured to store data associated with the various systems of the vehicle12, vehicle operations, vehicle user preferences and/or personal information, and the like.

A portion of the carrier/communication system16may be a cellular telephone system or any other suitable wireless system that transmits signals between the vehicle hardware26and land network22. According to an example, the wireless portion of the carrier/communication system16includes one or more cell towers18, base stations19and/or mobile switching centers (MSCs)20, as well as any other networking components required to connect the wireless portion of the system16with land network22. It is to be understood that various cell tower/base station/MSC arrangements are possible and could be used with the wireless portion of the system16. For example, a base station19and a cell tower18may be co-located at the same site or they could be remotely located, and a single base station19may be coupled to various cell towers18or various base stations19could be coupled with a single MSC20. A speech codec or vocoder may also be incorporated in one or more of the base stations19, but depending on the particular architecture of the wireless network16, it could be incorporated within an MSC20or some other network components as well.

Land network22may be a conventional land-based telecommunications network that is connected to one or more landline telephones and connects the wireless portion of the carrier/communication network16to the call/data center24. For example, land network22may include a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and/or an Internet protocol (IP) network. It is to be understood that one or more segments of the land network22may be implemented in the form of a standard wired network, a fiber or other optical network, a cable network, other wireless networks such as wireless local networks (WLANs) or networks providing broadband wireless access (BWA), or any combination thereof.

The call/data center24of the telematics service provider is designed to provide the vehicle hardware26with a number of different system back-end functions. According to the example shown inFIG. 1, the call/data center24generally includes one or more switches68, servers70, databases72, live and/or automated advisors62,62′, processing equipment (or processor)84, as well as a variety of other telecommunication and computer equipment74that is known to those skilled in the art. These various telematics service provider components are coupled to one another via a network connection or bus76, such as one similar to the vehicle bus34previously described in connection with the vehicle hardware26.

The database(s)72is configured to store information related to various call/data center24processes, as well as information pertaining to the subscribers. In an example, the information pertaining to the subscribers may be stored as a profile, which may include, e.g., the subscriber's name, address, home phone number, cellular phone number, electronic mailing (e-mail) address, etc.).

The processor84, which is often used in conjunction with the computer equipment74, is generally equipped with suitable software and/or programs enabling the processor84to accomplish a variety of call/data center24functions. Such software and/or programs are further configured to perform one or more steps of the staffing method disclosed herein. The various operations of the call/data center24are carried out by one or more computers (e.g., computer equipment74) programmed to carry out at least some of the tasks of the method(s) disclosed herein. The computer equipment74(including computers) may include a network of servers (including server70) coupled to both locally stored and remote databases (e.g., database72) of any information processed.

Switch68, which may be a private branch exchange (PBX) switch, routes incoming signals so that voice transmissions are usually sent to either the live advisor62or the automated response system62′, and data transmissions are passed on to a modem or other piece of equipment (not shown) for demodulation and further signal processing. The modem preferably includes an encoder, as previously explained, and can be connected to various devices such as the server70and database72.

It is to be appreciated that the call/data center24may be any central or remote facility, manned or unmanned, mobile or fixed, to or from which it is desirable to exchange voice and data communications. As such, the live advisor62may be physically present at the call/data center24or may be located remote from the call/data center24while communicating therethrough.

Each live advisor62has his/her own workstation88, which includes one or more computers linked to the bus76and one or more telephones. The computer(s) of each workstation88is/are capable of recording data files of an associated advisor's real-time schedule throughout each work day. More particularly, data files are created that include activities and time stamps associated therewith throughout a particular work day. The data files may be in text format or the data may be encoded in any suitable code. These data files include planned and unplanned or shrink activities. All of the day's files are transmitted at the end of the day to the main processor84, which is configured to combine the data from all of the advisors62, calculate the actual shrink time for the entire call center24on that particular day, and determine the variance between predicted shrink time and actual shrink time on that particular day. This information is then used by the processor84to calculate the following day's predicted schedule, and is ultimately used to create a shrink ramp schedule. The generation of the shrink ramp schedule is discussed further hereinbelow with reference toFIGS. 2A through 2D.

Briefly, the graduated shrink ramp schedule disclosed herein is based upon shrink time variance calculated for relatively short predetermined time intervals (e.g., 30 minutes). The long duration of a work day, and unexpectedly long absences of employees causes a ramp in the schedule. For example, a sick employee leaving for the day affects the remainder of the day. Unaccounted for shrink time (e.g., due to failed backups, etc.) does not enable the call center24to properly create new schedules that accommodate for the unforeseen shrink activities. The method disclosed herein records actual activities at predetermined intervals throughout the day, and uses the past information to assess the accuracy of the staffing and to close the gap between predicted shrink events and actual shrink events so that the call centers24are not understaffed in the event of an unexpected shrink activity. More specifically, the graduated shrink ramp schedule reflects a statistical calculation or distribution of shrink time based upon past data, and these numbers may be used to determine an appropriate number of advisors to be staffed in the coming days. The statistical calculation may utilize averaging, weighted averaging, and filtering techniques.

The telephones at the advisor's workstation88are used to receive and make service calls with one or more subscribers.

The communications network provider90generally owns and/or operates the carrier/communication system16. In an example, the communications network provider90is a cellular/wireless service provider (such as, for example, VERIZON WIRELESS®, AT&T®, SPRINT®, etc.). It is to be understood that, although the communications network provider90may have back-end equipment, employees, etc. located at the telematics service provider data/call center24, the telematics service provider is a separate and distinct entity from the network provider90. In an example, the equipment, employees, etc. of the communications network provider90are located remote from the data/call center24. The communications network provider90provides the user with telephone and/or Internet services, while the telematics service provider provides a variety of telematics-related services (such as, for example, those discussed hereinabove). It is to be understood that the communications network provider90may interact with the data/call center24to provide services to the user.

It is to be understood that in some instances, the telematics service provider operates a data center24, which receives voice or data calls, analyzes the request associated with the voice or data call, and transfers the call to an application specific call center (not shown), which services the call. It is to be understood that the application specific call center may include all of the components of the data center24, but is a dedicated facility for addressing specific requests, needs, etc. Examples of such application specific call centers are emergency services call centers, navigation route call centers, in-vehicle function call centers, or the like. Since the advisors62assist callers in obtaining various services, it is desirable to have the call center24staffed appropriately for the number of calls received.

Examples of the method for staffing the call center24will now be described. It is to be understood that all of the steps of the staffing method are performed at the call center24via one or more software programs and/or algorithms that are executable by a computer, such as the processor84. As such, the staffing method disclosed herein is an automated process, whereby no manual intervention (e.g., by one or more members of the call center24staff) is required to perform the method steps.

Further, the staffing method disclosed herein is an efficient way of generating a predicted work schedule, recording the actually performed work schedule, and from this data be able to check the accuracy of the staffing for the time intervals on a particular day. In some instances, the staffing methods may be used to make appropriate adjustments to the predicted work schedule throughout the work day. In instances where adjustments are made to the predicted work schedule (e.g., an additional one or two hours of overtime at the end of the advisor's shift), these adjustments are first proposed to the call center advisor62and, if agreed upon, are incorporated into the advisor's work schedule. The adjustments may be incorporated into the advisor's schedule via suitable scheduling software programs executed by the processor84at the call center24.

The software programs and/or algorithms utilize actual data or information pertaining to various planned and unplanned (or shrink) activities of one or more service advisors62to update the predicted work schedule. Both the predicted work schedules and the actual work schedules are used to ultimately generate a predicted work schedule for a particular service advisor62for a subsequent work day. Typically, a predicted work schedule is generated for each service advisor62employed at the call center24, and then all of the predicted and actual work schedules (i.e., one for each of the service advisors62) are utilized, by the processor84, to generate individual ramp schedules for particular times of the work day. These individual ramp schedules are then used to create a graduated shrink ramp schedule. The graduated shrink ramp schedule is utilized to check the accuracy of staffing and to make adjustments to the staffing at a particular call center24if necessary or desirable based upon the data. The daily data collected to generate the graduated shrink ramp schedule may also be used to i) adjust a then-current work day's schedule if needed due, at least in part, to one or more occurrences of shrink activities, and/or ii) generate a new work schedule for a service advisor62for a subsequent work day. Further details of the single ramp schedules and the determining of the graduated ramp schedule from the single ramp schedules will be described below in conjunction withFIG. 2D. Generally, the graduated ramp schedule is ultimately used to anticipate an appropriate number of advisors for the call center24needed for the subsequent work day(s) and so that staff may be notified of changes due to consistent shrink activities. The graduated shrink ramp schedule allows the call center24staffing person to give the advisors notice, so they can arrange for childcare etc. in the event of shrink activities.

The generation of the time-based, graduated shrink ramp schedule200(seeFIG. 2D) begins by creating a first ramp schedule102(shown inFIG. 2B), which is created from i) the predicted work schedules of all of the call center advisors62for a particular work day, where each predicted work schedule includes planned activities of the respective advisor alone, and ii) the actual activities engaged in by the call center advisors62during that particular work day.

Prior to creating the first ramp schedule102, the predicted work schedule and the actual activities are plotted in a table104to determine the percent variance for each of the time intervals of the day. This is shown inFIG. 2A. For example, the predicted work schedule (shown in row R1) for all of the advisors62working from 8:00 am to 8:30 am includes 22 minutes of shrink time, and the actual shrink time recorded (shown in row R2) during this time interval is 30 minutes. As such, the percent variance (shown in Row R3) during the 8:00-8:30 time frame for that day is 27%. The calculation of the percent variance is discussed further hereinbelow.

The predicted work schedule of a number of call center (or service) advisors62for a work day is generated using the appropriate software programs executable by the processor84. The predicted work schedule for each respective call center advisor62includes i) information related to at least one planned activity, and ii) information related to at least one anticipated shrink activity. As mentioned above, the planned activities include those activities that were prepared for or known in advance, such as planned time for servicing subscriber calls, a lunch hour, a break time, etc. In the predicted work schedule, the shrink activities are simply estimated or anticipated unplanned events, such as leaving work early, taking an unexpected break in the middle of the work day, etc. An example of a predicted work schedule for call center advisor A is shown below:

In the predicted schedule, the information related to the shrink activities is, for example, predicted or forecasted from a ramp schedule determined at least from information taken from the previous work day's schedule. For instance, information related to shrink activities (e.g., the type of shrink activity, the time spent while engaged in the activity, and the like) engaged in by the call center advisors62on at least the previous work day is utilized, by the processor84, to generate the predicted work schedule.

The actual activities are, for example, recorded throughout the day as such activities occur. The workstation88of the advisor62is configured to submit, to the database(s)72, information making up the previously mentioned data files at predetermined intervals, and whenever a shrink activity is detected. The database(s)72collects the information, summarizes the information into the data files, and stores the data files therein. For example, the activity recording data files may be created every half hour after an advisor62logs in until the advisor62logs out. A recording may also be made, e.g., whenever the advisor62leaves his/her workstation during a time interval that was not accounted for in the advisor's predicted work schedule. In an example, the workstation88records the time when the advisor62indicates he/she is leaving the workstation88(via, e.g., a mouse click of an icon on the advisor's work page, where the icon represents the fact that the advisor62is away from his/her workstation88), or the workstation88records the time after the screensaver appears on the monitor. The workstation88will also record the time when the advisor62returns, which can be detected, for example, by a mouse click on another icon on the advisor's work page, where the other icon represents the fact that the advisor62has returned, or by removing the screensaver.

The data files in each group are text or other suitable files that are dynamically and sequentially generated throughout the work day by the processor84. For each advisor62, each data file is time-stamped and includes information pertaining to an activity (which may or may not be planned) of the advisor's work schedule for the then-current work day. For instance, one data file in the group may include information pertaining to a planned activity for call service time between the hours of 9:00 am to 10:00 am, another data file may include information pertaining to a planned break time from 10:01 am to 10:10 am, and yet another data file may include information pertaining to shrink time from 2:00 pm to 2:04 pm. In an example and as mentioned above, the shrink time is measured whenever the advisor62leaves his/her workstation88during a time period that he/she should otherwise be at the workstation88. Of course, other data files may be generated so that all of the time is accounted for throughout the work day.

These generated individual data files (which are indicative of the actual activities that are performed in real time throughout the work day) are stored in the appropriate advisor profile at the call center24. The storage of these files may take place, for example, every half hour, hour, or at another desired time interval throughout this work day, or each time a new data file is created. These data files are stored, for example, in one of the databases72.

Once the then-current work day is finished, a final work schedule (or record) is generated, via the workstation88or via the main processor84, for each call center advisor62. These final work schedules are individually based, at least in part, on the respective group of stored individual data files for the advisor62on the work day. As such, the final work schedule represents the activities actually performed by the advisor62on the then-current work day (which may, in some cases, deviate from the advisor's original predicted work schedule for that work day). In an example, each final work schedule includes a complete set of work information (e.g., time spent on phone calls, time spent in meetings, etc.) of the call center advisor62associated therewith for the then-current work day, as well as all of the time that the advisor62was engaged in shrink activities (which is referred to herein as “shrink time” or “shrink exception time”). The final work schedules are stored as, e.g., data files in the appropriate advisor profiles in the database72at the call center24.

Once all of the final work schedules (i.e., for all of the advisors62that worked that day) have been created, the shrink time (if any) from each of these data files is parsed into the predetermined time intervals. In the examples shown in theFIG. 2series, the shrink time is parsed into 30 minute time intervals. It is to be understood, however, that other time intervals may be applied, such as, for example, 10 minutes, 60 minutes, or the like. Thereafter, the shrink time that occurred within each of the time intervals for all of the final work schedules (i.e., for all of the advisors62) is added up and recorded (e.g., from 8:00 am to 8:30 am, the shrink time is 30 minutes). An example of the actual recorded shrink time from the final work schedules is shown in the second row R2of the table104depicted inFIG. 2A.

The table104also includes the first row R1, which includes the predicted shrink time for each time interval for the day. As mentioned above, the predicted shrink times are originally based upon previous days shrink time data, previously generated shrink ramp schedules, or the like. In the example shown inFIG. 2A, the predicted shrink time for each time interval is based on data obtained prior to 8:00 am on that work day (i.e., actual shrink data that has been recorded for previous days).

The table104inFIG. 2Afurther includes a third row R3containing the percent variance calculated from the predicted shrink time (see R1) and the actual shrink time (see R2) for each time interval. More specifically, the cumulative amount of shrink time (in minutes) during each 30 minute time interval throughout the work day predicted is shown in the first row R1, and the cumulative amount of shrink time (in minutes) during each 30 minute time interval throughout the work day deduced from the final work schedules is shown in the second row R2. The amount of shrink time between the two rows is compared, and then a percent variance of the compared shrink time is computed for each 30 minute time interval. In an example, the percent variance is computed via equation (A):

%=(ShrinkPredicted-ShrinkObservedShrinkObserved)×100(Eqn.⁢A)
where the ShrinkPredictedthe amount of shrink time recorded from the predicted work schedules, and the ShrinkObservedis the amount of shrink time recorded from the final work schedules (based upon the recorded data files). The percentage for each time interval is shown in the third row R3of the table104shown inFIG. 2A.

It is to be understood that, as shown inFIG. 2A, the percent variance ramps up over time. This ramping up is due, at least in part, to the fact that long shrink periods affect the entire day, whereas short shrink periods may cause a blip, but generally do not alter the staffing for the duration of the day. In the example shown inFIG. 2A, the percent variance calculated for the time interval starting at 8:00 am shows that there was a 27% increase (comparing predicted versus actual shrink time) in the number of minutes spent engaged in shrink activities during that time interval. In other words, the amount of shrink time in the final schedule was 30 minutes, which is an 8 minute increase from the predicted 22 minutes of shrink time. In the example shown inFIG. 2A, the percent variance continues to increase throughout the work day.

Upon computing the percent variance for each 30 minute time interval throughout the day (as shown inFIG. 2A), the percent variance is assigned to a number interval category (as shown in the interval table102inFIG. 2B). The interval number category is shown for each file F1, F2, F3of a particular day as a heading of the columns of the respective files F1, F2, F3. In an example, the assignment of the interval number category is accomplished by measuring the distance (in terms of time) from the time-stamp on the data file F1, F3, F3to the interval, assigning the column a number representative of the distance. For example, for the 8:00 am data file F1, the first column of information is labeled “0”, because the distance between 8:00 (the time stamp of data file F1) and 8:00 (the time associated with the first column) is zero. Similarly, for the 8:00 am data file F1, the second column of information is labeled “1”, because the distance between 8:00 (the time stamp of data file F1) and 8:30 am (the second column) is 30 minutes or 1 interval. As such, in the interval table102, the clock time (ofFIG. 2A) is replaced with a numerical column heading starting at the number zero. It is to be understood that the number zero represents the then-current time interval, and the numbers that follow (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4 . . . N) represent subsequent time intervals in sequential order. As such, for the 8:00 data file F1the information (e.g., shrink time predicted, shrink time actual, and percent variance) pertaining to the time interval starting at 8:30 am is listed under column heading1(which is the interval category number), while the information pertaining to the time interval starting at 9:00 am is listed under column heading2, and so on. At 8:30, the 8:30 time interval is the closest to the 8:30 data file F2, and thus the time interval for 8:30 is listed under column heading0, and so on. As illustrated, 8:00 time interval is blank because the time associated with this interval has past.

The interval table102is generated during a subsequent work day, using the table104from the previous work day as the first file F1(i.e., the data file for 8:00 am). The interval table102takes into account changes that occur on the actual day. For example, during the time interval of 8:00 am and 8:30 am, data files that are generated in real time of the activities of the advisors62during that work day are factored into the first row containing the predicted amount of shrink time in the next data file (e.g., F2for the 8:30 am time interval). As such, when the next time interval starts (i.e., from 8:30 am to 9:00 am), the predicted shrink time in the first row of that file F2will adjust based on any shrink time that was accumulated during the previous time interval (i.e., from 8:00 am to 8:30 am). This process continues for each time interval throughout the work day, thereby dynamically adjusting the predicted work schedule as the day progresses.

The information pertaining to the shrink activities used to formulate the tables shown inFIGS. 2A and 2Bmay, for example, be obtained either directly or indirectly from the call center advisor62. For instance, the advisor62will notify his/her supervisor or other staffing personnel that he/she will be arriving to work late, leaving work early, etc. The supervisor enters the shrink-related information into the processor84, which executes appropriate scheduling software programs that apply the information (along with other snap shots of schedule information from the advisor or one or more other advisors) to determine the graduated shrink ramp schedule.

Referring now toFIG. 2C, the results of the interval table102are organized in a summary table106.

Similar data (as shown and described in reference toFIGS. 2A through 2C) is collected for each work day, and after a predetermined number days, a statistical analysis is performed (e.g., variance) using the summarized data.FIG. 2Dshows a plurality of files labeled File1,2,3. . .1440, where each of these files is a ramp schedule RS of predicted or anticipated shrink time for a particular time interval on a particular day. In the example shown inFIG. 2D, each work day includes 16 individual files, where each of these files represents a particular time interval (e.g., between 8:00 am and 8:30 am for File1, between 8:30 am and 9:00 am for File2, and so on) during a respective work day. For instance, Files1through16may represent ramp schedules RS for particular or designated time intervals throughout the first work day, and Files17through32(not shown) may represent ramp schedules for time intervals throughout a second work day. In the example shown inFIG. 2D, 1440 files representing shrink ramp schedules RS are generated (i.e., 16 files per day, for 90 days), and these files are used to determine the graduated shrink ramp schedule GSRS. Specifically, the data from the 1440 files may be assembled into a database (e.g., database72) having a record for each of the 1440 files. The records may include 12 fields (shown as columns0-11inFIG. 2D), each field storing a value corresponding to a determined percent variance for a time interval in a sequence of time intervals. The graduated shrink ramp schedule GSRS may be a record in the database having 12 fields wherein each field stores an average of the values in corresponding fields from the 1440 records. Thus, the 0 field in the graduated shrink ramp schedule GSRS record would be an arithmetic mean of the 0 field of the 1440 records, and the 1 field in the graduated shrink ramp schedule record would be an arithmetic mean of the 1 field of the 1440 records, and so on for all of the 12 fields.

The foregoing process continues for a predefined number of days (e.g., 90 days) to create a shrink ramp schedule interval. In other words, new ramp schedules are created from all of the previous ramp schedules. Upon reaching the end of a predetermined period (e.g., a 90-day shrink ramp schedule interval), new ramp schedules are thereafter generated based, in part, on the data and ramp schedules RS of the previous 90 days, while any data and ramp schedules RS that are older than 90 days from the then-current day is not directly used in generating the newest ramp schedule RS and graduated shrink ramp schedule GSRS. For example, a ramp schedule generated on the 95thday is determined from the ramp schedules of the 4thday through the 94th day, while the ramp schedules from the 1st day through the 3rdday is not directly factored in. However, it is to be understood that since the previous ramp schedules were developed using the 1stthrough 3rddays, and the daily ramp schedules are each calculated based on the graduated ramp schedule, the 95thday's schedule is not independent of the 1stthrough 3rddays.

The graduated shrink ramp schedule GSRS may be used to plan or otherwise predict an amount of expected shrink time for each time interval remaining throughout a work day. In an example, the shrink factor (i.e., the amount of time (e.g., in terms of percentage) that is added/subtracted from the advisor's work schedule at a particular time interval) is applied to a predetermined number of advisors62previously scheduled to work during those remaining time intervals of that day in order to determine a net staffing (i.e., the number of advisors62that will remain after the shrink time is accounted for). The net staffing may be compared with a required staffing amount (i.e., the number of advisors62needed to deliver an appropriate level of service given a forecasted number of calls and an average handling time to service each call) to determine if adjustments need to be made. In instances where the net staffing is less than the required staffing amount, adjustments to one or more advisor schedules may be made.

While several examples have been described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed examples may be modified. Therefore, the foregoing description is to be considered exemplary rather than limiting.