- Determine the base staff forecasted by hour or half hour for the day.
- Make a list of activities that prevent ACD agents from handling calls.
- Add the base staff to the number of agents who are unavailable to handle calls because they are absent, on break, at an unanticipated meeting, etcetera.
- Calculate the Shrinkage Factor for each time interval by dividing
the scheduled staff by the base staff required to handle telephones.
The result is a set of Shrinkage Factors that represent the expected shrinkage by half hour.
See the following figure.
Figure 1. Calculating the Shrinkage Factor
You multiply shrinkage values against the base staff required on telephones when setting future schedules. If your agent requirements vary considerably on certain days of the week, you can calculate a separate set of Shrinkage Factors for these days. You must use your good judgment in identifying absences that are relevant to include in your Shrinkage Factor calculations. Anticipating higher absenteeism on Fridays and Mondays is a safe bet while factoring in daily compassionate leave is not. As with all of the steps in contact center planning, routinely assess the accuracy of your shrinkage predictions and adjust them as required.