Outbound WFM Calculator

The calculator helps estimate the number of agents needed for running an outbound campaign.

The calculator uses the following input parameters:

• Type of dialing method. The current version provides two types of dialing methods: progressive and predictive.
• Average call handling time. (talk+wrapping up). Normally, average handling time for outbound campaigns is substantially shorter than for inbound campaigns due to the large numbers of short calls.
• Calling list size.
• Campaign duration. The time interval within which the campaign should be completed, in minutes.
• Hit ratio. The percentage of outbound calls that will reach live customers.
• Average customer patience time before they hang up. Typically, for outbound campaigns, this time, is quite short.
• Max abandonment rate. A percentage of calls that will be abandoned by impatient customers. This value is a subject of regulations and must not exceed a mandated value (e.g. 3% in The United States);
• Max average waiting time. This optional value imposes a restriction on average waiting time. The waiting time is a time a customer spends in a queue waiting for an agent.

The calculator consumes these parameters and comes up with a minimum number of agents needed that will satisfy campaign service objectives. The calculation is performed as a series of simulations to find the optimum values.

As an output the calculator returns the following values:

• The minimum number of agents needed for running the campaign.
• The expected average abandonment rate the campaign will have;
• The expected average waiting time;
• The expected agent occupancy;

When a staffing demand is calculated, the user can adjust a number of agents to obtain more convenient service indicators.

If the user wants to change campaign values he/she should use a button “Change Input Parameters”.

Example 1. Let us take default values:

• Dialing type is ‘Predictive’;
• Average handling time is equal to 30 seconds;
• Calling list comprises 10,000 numbers;
• The campaign should last 120 minutes;
• Average patience time is equal to 3 seconds, and
• Max abandonment rate id equal to 3% that corresponds to industry standard.

Let press the “Start Calculation” button and after several seconds of calculations we obtain the following values and service indicators:

Min number of agents is set to 15. Average abandonment rate is 1.8%. Average waiting time is shown to be 0.13 second. Agent occupancy will be 81.6%.

Example 2. Let us take the same default values but change type of dialing to “Progressive”. In this case, we obtain a number of agents to be equal to 20. That is a progressive type is less effective that predictive one.