5 Tips for Your Call Center Staffing Plan

December 21, 2021 | Staffing Blog

If you’re new to the call center game, figuring out how to create the ideal call center staffing plan can be tricky. Not only do you need to determine the correct number of workers for your call volume, but you also need to keep those workers happy to avoid turnover.

That’s why we’ve assembled this “quick-start” guide for optimizing your staffing plan. Take a look at some of our top tips for call centers and start planning for your success.

1. Crunch the Numbers

The most important step for any call center is determining how many employees you’ll need. If you’re overstaffed, then you’ll just be throwing away money. If you’re understaffed, you won’t be able to meet your goals. You also run the risk of losing employees to burnout.

Fortunately, there are tools to help you figure this out, such as this free online Erlang Calculator. You’ll need to input information about your center, such as the number of incoming calls over a certain period of time, your average call handling time, and your required service level. With accurate data, you should be able to determine a good baseline for your staffing needs.

2. Plan for the Unexpected

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that because you’re fully staffed, you won’t have daily surprises. Too many employers seem to forget that their workers are going to need to call in sick, go to appointments, and take vacation time. Your staffing plan has to account for these absences.

Once you’ve figured out your ideal staffing based on data alone, you’ll need to adjust for life. Remember: call center employees are not robots. Make sure you have enough people onboard that a few sick employees won’t throw your entire center into chaos.

3. The Holiday Rush

Let’s face it. No one wants to work during the holiday season. The closer you get to Thanksgiving and especially Christmas, the more employees you’ll have requesting time off to be with family. So how do you maintain enough staff to answer the calls coming in without your employees starting a mutiny?

One solution is to allow some workers to temporarily go remote during the holiday season. Recent events have familiarized many companies with the process, so it’s nothing new. It may not sound like much, but eliminating the commute and allowing meal breaks with family and friends can go a long way toward maintaining your staffing quotas.

4. Reduce Call Center Attrition

One of the biggest problems facing any call center is attrition or high turnover. If your call center could reduce the need for constant hiring and training, you’d be able to save money and increase customer satisfaction.

The two most common reasons for employees leaving a call center job are a lack of recognition and a lack of motivation. Fortunately, you can alleviate both of these problems by ensuring that you have competitive compensation, rewards or recognition programs, and, again, work-from-home options.

5. Hire the Right People

Finally, your call center is only as good as the people you have answering the phones. Ideally, you want to hire workers with not only the skills and experience to do a great job but also career goals that line up with your needs. To remain profitable, you have to find people who want to work for you for a long time.

You’ll find many formulas online for calculating exactly how many workers you need, but it won’t matter if you don’t have the right people in place.

Allegiance Staffing is Your Solution

If you’re looking for dependable workers with the skills and experience to provide your customers with an outstanding call experience, Allegiance Staffing is the only resource you need. We’ll bring you the candidates that will make your call center staffing plan work.

Take a look at what Allegiance Staffing can do for your call center today.