Workforce Engagement Management

Hi folks,

I'm hoping someone can help me understand what's happening with the schedules I'm trying to generate for a customer.

The customer has agents who spend off queue time each day either in the morning or afternoon to do casework that's not routed through GC. So I've created a number of Work Plans and Rotations that should cater for this.

However, when I generate a schedule it seems to place too many agents with Off Queue time at the same time. 

It's even worse when a work plan with a defined team meeting is in play:

I feel like I've adjusted every setting possible, but I'm not getting the coverage I'd expect. Does anyone have any ideas about what's happening and what I can do to fix it?

Cheers,

Tristan.

Isn't that top line of numbers the required staff row? Without more details it looks like your need is in the second part of the day where less of that large Off Queue block is being scheduled. Not sure if there are more agents I cannot see, but it looks like a fairly tight range, percent wise, of understaffing throughout the day.

If you have multiple planning groups, then viewing across all planning groups make the gross required number less meaningful the more tactical (e.g., intraday) you are working.

Your work plan is very rigid (no variability in start time of shift or activities other than break; 5 variations only for each of the two possible shifts). You probably designed it this way, but I'd suggest making those big off queue blocks simply have a large start window. Then you could go down to exactly one shift (example pasted at the bottom). That type of shift has flexibility in a number of ways and will be significantly more likely to produce better coverage.

If nothing stands out, then I would recommend opening a support ticket.

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Jay Langsford
VP, R&D
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Hi, 

I don't have full visibility into the current configuration or the exact requirements for the rule.

However, if this "off-queue" time is mandatory and follows a set pattern, I suggest creating distinct work plans and alternating between them using rotation plans.

If it is based on availability, I suggest creating a single work plan that allows for flexibility regarding these activities throughout the day-similar to what was shown in the screenshot shared earlier. But this could lead to issues: if your distribution isn't optimized based on your forecast, the system tends to constantly reassign staff to where they are needed most. You might end up with a schedule like the one you showed, where everyone's shifts remain largely static.

Regarding the specific issue with off-queue activities: the system treats them as a break. You need to configure the activity code to allow for activity overlapping; doing so should help you prevent this problem.

I hope I've been able to help in some way.