Platform
Workforce management
The CONTACT.WORK workforce management module builds agent schedules from the same history your contact center already runs on. The platform forecasts call volume, calculates how many people you need at each hour of the day, and helps you lay out shifts to match, taking skills, time off, and backups into account. During the workday, the plan is checked against agents' real-time statuses.
10:00-11:0048 callsneed 611:00-12:0053 callsneed 614:00-15:0039 callsneed 5Scheduled11:005 peopleFeatures
What workforce management can do
Stages
How scheduling works
First we calculate staffing needs, then build the schedule, check backups, and track adherence.
Volume forecast and staffing calculation
The platform takes all inbound inquiries, voice and written, in 30-minute intervals, along with talk time and after-call work, and builds a forecast for the next seven days, accounting for holidays and seasonality. Using the Erlang formula, it determines the headcount needed in each interval to hold your chosen target and compares it with actuals: where you were understaffed and where people sat idle.
- Seven-day forecast
- Target by hour
- Shortfall and surplus
Mon1,180 callspeak 11 AMWed980 callspeak 10:30 AMSat520 callspeak 12 PMTarget 80/20by hourcalculatedShift schedule for every agent
The month view looks like a familiar spreadsheet: agent rows grouped by team, day columns, and shift counts per person and headcount per day. Shifts are filled from 2-on/2-off or 5/2 templates, with lunches, breaks, and maximum shift length built in; vacation and sick leave are marked by picking a code. Agents see their schedule in their workspace and get a notification when anything changes.
- Shift templates
- Lunches and breaks
- Schedule for each agent
Anna9:00-21:002/2Mike9:00-18:005/2EmilyPTOPTOSteveTrntrainingBackups and coverage check
A person can have several backups, and their schedules may differ. When you save, the platform shows dates when no one is covering an extension and dates when no specialist in a skill is working. The person in charge gets the list of those days in advance, and an agent transferring a call sees who's in today and who's covering.
- Multiple backups
- Days with no coverage
- Suggestions during transfers
PrimaryMike2-on/2-offBackupEmilyweekendsTodayAnnaon-siteTransfertipvisible to agentTracking the schedule during the day
The plan is compared with actual statuses and logins: who was late, whose break ran long, who left the line at peak volume. The supervisor gets a summary, agents submit requests, the manager approves them, and every schedule change stays in the history.
- Late logins and breaks
- Supervisor summary
- Request approvals
Late2 peopleup to 15 minBreakMike40 of 15 minPeak 11 AM5 of 6on the lineRequestsshift swappending approvalRules for shifts, breaks, and overtime are set for your company.
How it works
How workforce management works
Skills
Who can do what
Each agent profile stores skills – lines of business, languages, product lines, queues – marked as primary or backup. You can fill them in from inquiry history and have managers confirm them. They drive coverage checks and backup selection.
- Lines of business and languages
- Primary or backup
- Filled in from history
Referral"Wholesale"primaryReferral"Service"fallbackLanguageEnglishprimarySourceticket historyconfirmedData
Where the numbers come from
Call volume, talk time, after-call work, statuses, logins, and logouts are already in the platform. So the forecast and adherence tracking run on source events, with no daily exports.
- Calls by interval
- Statuses and logins
- No exports
Calls30-min intervalsin platformConversationand after-call workin platformStatuseslogins and logoutsin platformExportsnot needednonePartners
Partner schedules
Partner companies and branches use a simplified version in their own section: who works which day, time off, backups, and Excel export – without the forecast or Erlang calculations. For a partner's manager, it replaces spreadsheets.
- Schedule in the portal
- Time off and backups
- No extra calculations
Staff8in the scheduleVacationMariafrom Nov 20Covers forPeterscheduledExcelexport1 clickLaunch
How we launch workforce management
- 01AgentsWe clean up agent profiles: full name, team, office, extension – the foundation of the schedule.
- 02SkillsWe build a list of lines of business, languages, and products and mark who covers each one full time and who backs it up.
- 03RulesWe record your answer-time target, shift and break rules, overtime rules, and who signs off on the schedule.
- 04ImportWe load your current shift schedule and show which entries weren't recognized so you can fix them.
- 05BackupsWe assign backups and run a check for the coming month to find empty dates before work starts.
- 06First monthWe run the schedule together with your managers, compare plan with actuals, and adjust the rules to how you really work.
Comparison
An Excel schedule vs. planning in the platform
| Platform | Excel | |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | Forecast-based | Guesswork |
| Skills | Checked | Not visible |
| Coverage gaps | Visible when you save | Show up mid-call |
| Time off | Flagged in advance | Overlaps go unnoticed |
| Plan vs. actual | Compared automatically | Compared by hand |
| Backup on transfer | Shown in the record | Look it up in a spreadsheet |
Requirements
What you'll need
- History
- Past months of calls in the platform
- Agents
- A list with teams
- Skills
- A list of skills and languages
- Rules
- Service level and shift rules
- Schedule
- Your current shift schedule
- Cost
- No license fee; setup billed in support hours
Preparation
What to decide up front
Q&A
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a separate WFM system?
No. Workforce management runs on platform data – no integration, second login, or license fees.
What is the Erlang formula?
It's a method that takes known call volume and average talk time and gives you the number of agents needed to meet your chosen answer-time target.
Can we bring over the schedule we keep in Excel?
Import brings over shifts and time off and shows any entries it couldn't recognize.
Does it account for agent skills?
The platform checks that every line of business and language in a shift has a specialist with that skill.
Are chats included in the volume forecast?
The forecast covers phone and written inquiries together and accounts for holidays and seasonal spikes.
How do agents find out their schedule?
They see it in their workspace and get a notification whenever it changes.
How do agents swap shifts?
They submit a request, and the manager approves it. The AI assistant helps with schedule questions.
Can partners manage their own schedules?
The partner portal has a simplified section: agent shifts, time off, backups, and export.
How does workforce management cut agent costs?
Shifts follow hourly demand instead of padding the whole day: more people when calls are heavy, fewer when it's quiet. Compare scheduled agent hours and the share of abandoned calls in the busiest hours – for the month before launch and the first month after.
How much does workforce management cost?
There's no separate charge for it. You pay only for setting up skill lists and rules and moving your schedule over – in support plan hours.
Glossary
Terms on this page
- Backup
- Data is regularly copied to a separate place so it can be restored if something goes wrong. Learn more →
- Workforce management (WFM)
- Workload forecasts and agent shift schedules. Learn more →
- Service level (SL)
- The share of calls answered within a set time – for example, 80% in 20 seconds. Learn more →
- Supervisor
- Leads a team of agents: watches the queue and quality, helps and coaches. Learn more →
- Erlang C formula
- Tells you how many agents you need so customers don't wait longer than they should. Learn more →
- After-call work (ACW)
- What an agent does right after a call: outcome, customer record, tasks. Learn more →
- Customer portal
- A secure area of the website where customers track their requests. Learn more →
- Abandonment rate
- How many callers hang up before an agent answers. Learn more →
Updated: