Example
The scheduling administrator, Alice, can create a simple shift that covers 8-5 Monday through Friday. Alternatively, Alice can also create a Shift that covers 8-5 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with a 10-7 shift on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or any other preferred time combination.
Example
The scheduling administrator, Alice, created a single Shift for 8-5 with three equal parts of Voice, Video, and Messaging queue time. Alice can assign this shift to agents Bob and Maurice, as well as any additional agents needed.
However, if Alice creates a second Shift for 8-5 covering different Activities, she cannot assign Bob and Maurice or any other Shift-assigned agents unless they are removed from their currently assigned Shift.
Example
The scheduling administrator, Alice, is based in New York (UTC-5) and creates a Shift for 8-5. When Alice assigns an agent to this Shift, the agent will see the Shift's times and duration based on their Zoom account’s configured time zone.
So, if an agent in Los Angeles (UTC-8) is assigned to the 8-5 Shift, they will see the schedule from 8-5 within their local time zone (UTC-8). Similarly, if an agent in New York is assigned to the same Shift, they will see the schedule in their local time zone as well.
In this scenario, both agents are working from 8-5 according to their respective time zones. However, due to the time zone difference between their locations, they will begin working with a three-hour difference. From the perspective of Alice in New York, the Los Angeles-based agent will work from 11-8 based on the time zone-specific display for each agent.
Example
In the month of December, the scheduling administrator, Alice, can create a Schedule beginning January 1st, extending four weeks until January 28th. To schedule beyond January 28th, Alce must create a separate schedule, which she can do immediately.
Example
The scheduling administrator, Alice, created a Forecast for the next four weeks. This Forecast uses historical data to predict daily engagement volume in 15-minute increments. Each day's forecasted volume is based on data from corresponding days in the past, meaning Monday’s Forecast is derived from previous Mondays, and Tuesday’s Forecast from previous Tuesdays. As a result, if the hours between 8AM and 2PM are typically busier on Mondays than on Tuesdays, the Forecast will reflect a higher staffing demand for Monday compared to Tuesday.
New customers can import historical queue interval data via CSV files, with up to 10MB of data in each file
Customers new to Zoom Contact Center and Workforce Management can import historical queue interval data via CSV files, with up to 10MB of data per file, to establish baseline Forecasts. Over time, new data will populate through use of the service to continue creating accurate Forecasts.
Forecasts can account for key performance indicator metrics, like a service level target, average speed of answer, occupancy levels, and shrinkage
Scheduling administrators can create Forecasts that include a variety of key performance indicator metrics, such as a service level target answer rate, average speed of answer, average agent occupancy levels, and unexpected staff shrinkage (i.e., absenteeism). Scheduling administrators can use these metrics in any combination as a part of the forecasting process.
The service level target metric helps estimate the necessary staffing to answer a certain percentage of calls within a specific timeframe
Creating a Forecast with the service level target metric will calculate the necessary level of staffing required to answer an average number of engagements within a specific time frame.
For example, if a company’s service level agreement is to answer 75% of all inbound engagements within 30 seconds, the Forecast will account for necessary staffing within each 15-minute period to meet the expected goal.
The average speed of answer metric helps determine the staffing needed to respond to engagements within a specified timeframe
Creating a Forecast with the average speed of answer metric will calculate the necessary level of staffing required to connect a customer placed in a queue to an agent within the specified number of seconds. This metric is similar to the service level target, but does not specify a precise percentage goal of calls answered within the time frame. Instead, the average speed of answer metric will project staffing required for the total number of expected calls.
For example, if a company aims to maintain an average answer speed of 30 seconds, the Forecast will consider the required staffing to meet that target. However, it's important to note that this metric calculates the mathematical mean of the waiting time. For instance, if one call is answered in 1 second and another call in 60 seconds, the cumulative average speed of answer for both calls is approximately 30 seconds.
The occupancy metric forecasts staffing based on the percentage of an agent’s average engagement time
Creating a Forecast with the occupancy metric will calculate staffing to achieve a specific percentage of time that agents spend handling engagements every hour.
For example, if an agent is involved in a customer engagement for 54 minutes out of an hour, the user’s occupancy level is 90%. Consequently, creating a Forecast with a 90% occupancy rate is likely to result in each agent supporting customers for approximately 54 minutes out of every hour.
The shrinkage metric acts as a staffing buffer, and accounts for non-productive Activities and routinely unavailable or absent agents
Creating a Forecast with the shrinkage metric will increase staffing by a designated percentage to account for agents assigned to non-productive Activities, or those who are unavailable or absent, while still meeting necessary staffing levels.
For example, if a Forecast is expected to require 10 agents, but has a 20% shrinkage rate, 12 agents will be forecasted to account for two potential absences. In the event 20% of agents are absent, minimum staffing levels for the Forecast are still met.
Forecasts include suggested staffing levels to meet projected engagement volumes and defined metrics
After a Forecast is generated, Workforce Management can generate staffing suggestions in 15-minute increments to meet both forecasted call volume and calculated performance metrics.
Forecasts can be edited in specific intervals for fine tuning
When reviewing a Forecast, scheduling administrators can edit the Forecast in each 15-minute interval for fine tuning and coverage.
For example, if a company expects unusually high call volume for an hour, a scheduling administrator can manually increase the expected volume to compensate for the expected change.
The following image provides an example of an edited Forecast where the anticipated call volume is significantly raised to account for a short term increase in call volume within a specific frame of time.
Forecasts can also be edited in bulk to account for anticipated changes not captured by historical data
When editing a Forecast, a scheduling administrator can bulk edit the Forecast to account for anticipated changes that would otherwise not be captured through historical data. For example, if a company is launching a new marketing campaign in an upcoming week and expects a 10% increase in volume, the Forecast can be updated to reflect a 10% increase to ensure adequate staffing.
This bulk editing method allows supervisors to modify volume either by a specific number, such as 10 additional (or fewer) calls every 15 minutes, or by a percentage, such as a 20% increase (or decrease) in calls every 15 minutes.
The following image provides an example of a bulk-edited Forecast with an anticipated 10% increase in volume.
Forecast data can be created in increments of up to four weeks
Similar to Schedules, a scheduling administrator can Forecast data in up to four-week increments.
For example, beginning a Forecast on January 1st will forecast out until January 28th, and a second Forecast can be generated for January 29th, extending out to February 25th.
Reviewing a Schedule with an applied Forecast shows total staffing levels and can be fine-tuned to meet requirements
When reviewing a Schedule with an applied Forecast, scheduling administrators can compare scheduled and required staffing levels to determine if staffing requirements are met.
The Staffing sub-section of a Schedule provides a list of all Scheduling Groups applied to the week’s schedule, compares the Scheduled versus Required staffing, and provides the Net Staffing difference. This table allows a scheduling administrator to quickly determine staffing levels for each 15-minute increment, and can dynamically adjust a user’s scheduled Activities to maintain adequate staffing.
The Adherence dashboard measures real-time agent compliance with a published Schedule
The Adherence dashboard tracks the live agent activity against the published Schedule. If an agent's current status does not align with their scheduled Activity, they are marked as out of adherence, and the agent’s daily adherence score is dynamically updated.
For example, if an agent is scheduled for a Phone Queue Activity between the hours of 8 and 10AM, but goes on an unscheduled break at 9, the agent is marked as out of adherence and their daily adherence percentage is dynamically updated until their status returns to their assigned Activity.
