Call Center Store
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What is Agent Schedule Adherence and Why Is It Important
What good are schedules if your agent’s don’t adhere to them consistently? Answer – of no
value. Even if only one or two agents fail to adhere to the schedules this can have a dramatic
impact on service level and customer service. Imagine if every agent was one or two minutes
late taking breaks or returning from their lunch.
Schedule adherence is one of the main ways call center managers achieve labor efficiencies
and improve customer service. Not only must call center managers ensure that agents aren’t
showing up late or clocking out early, they also must ensure that each agent is staying on
schedule for “intra-shift” activities, such as scheduled breaks and training or coaching
sessions.
The reason this is so important is that every minute counts when it comes to customer service.
Many organizations have cut their call center staffing to the bone, as a result of the recession,
therefore they must ensure that each agent’s time is being used as efficiently as possible.
Schedule adherence is particularly important for ensuring smooth transitions between shifts:
For example, if an organization has cut its call center staffing to the bone, there is an increased
risk for “dips” in service levels when an agent – or agents – show up late. The period of time
during which these agents are not on the phones – even if only minutes – can result in
increased hold times which in turn results in decreased customer satisfaction.
Call center schedules tend to be very complex – which means there can be a lot of junctures
during a shift where an agent will go out of adherence. For example, an agent might show up for
his shift five minutes late; log on to the ACD seven minutes late; show up for a training session
eight minutes late; and go over their break time by 10 minutes -- resulting in the agent being a
total of 30 minutes out of adherence for that one shift!
Multiply these “out of adherence” events across a center with dozens if not hundreds of agents
-- and then multiply that by the total number of shifts -- and its easy to see how schedule
adherence can quickly become a serious problem.
What good are schedules if your agent’s don’t adhere to them consistently? Answer – of no
value. Even if only one or two agents fail to adhere to the schedules this can have a dramatic
impact on service level and customer service. Imagine if every agent was one or two minutes
late taking breaks or returning from their lunch.
Schedule adherence is one of the main ways call center managers achieve labor efficiencies
and improve customer service. Not only must call center managers ensure that agents aren’t
showing up late or clocking out early, they also must ensure that each agent is staying on
schedule for “intra-shift” activities, such as scheduled breaks and training or coaching
sessions.
The reason this is so important is that every minute counts when it comes to customer service.
Many organizations have cut their call center staffing to the bone, as a result of the recession,
therefore they must ensure that each agent’s time is being used as efficiently as possible.
Schedule adherence is particularly important for ensuring smooth transitions between shifts:
For example, if an organization has cut its call center staffing to the bone, there is an increased
risk for “dips” in service levels when an agent – or agents – show up late. The period of time
during which these agents are not on the phones – even if only minutes – can result in
increased hold times which in turn results in decreased customer satisfaction.
Call center schedules tend to be very complex – which means there can be a lot of junctures
during a shift where an agent will go out of adherence. For example, an agent might show up for
his shift five minutes late; log on to the ACD seven minutes late; show up for a training session
eight minutes late; and go over their break time by 10 minutes -- resulting in the agent being a
total of 30 minutes out of adherence for that one shift!
Multiply these “out of adherence” events across a center with dozens if not hundreds of agents
-- and then multiply that by the total number of shifts -- and its easy to see how schedule
adherence can quickly become a serious problem.