Patent ID: 8326667

Claim:
A method for staffing a call center, comprising: by a processor at the call center running computer readable code embedded on a non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium: creating a time-based, graduated shrink ramp schedule by: generating a plurality of individual shrink ramp schedules, each of the plurality of individual shrink ramp schedules including a percent variance of shrink time computed from predicted and observed amounts of shrink time performed during a respective predetermined time interval of the work dam wherein the generating of the plurality of individual shrink ramp schedules includes generating a single individual shrink ramp schedule for each of a predetermined number of time intervals defined throughout each of a predetermined number of work days, the generating of the single individual shrink ramp schedule including: comparing i) an amount of shrink time from a plurality of individual work schedules of the call center advisor, the plurality of individual work schedules being generated throughout the work day and each of the plurality of individual work schedules representing the predicted work schedule for the particular time interval of the work day, and ii) an amount of shrink time from the observed work schedule of the call center advisor for the particular time interval of the work day; and computing a percent variance of the compared shrink time for the particular time interval; and computing an arithmetic mean of the plurality of individual shrink ramp schedules, the arithmetic mean representing the time-based, graduated shrink ramp schedule; generating a work schedule of the 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 forecasted from the time-based, graduated shrink ramp schedule, wherein the at least one shrink activity is an unplanned event; and in response to one or more occurrences of a shrink activity during the then-current work day, utilizing the time-based, graduated shrink ramp schedule to adjust the work schedule of the call center advisor throughout the remainder of the then-current work day, wherein an adjustment to the work schedule of the call center advisor includes an amount of time that is added or subtracted from the work schedule of the call center advisor at a particular time interval of the then-current work day.