Dynamic Shift Extension for Contact Center Staffing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Contact centers face challenges in managing unexpected surges in call volume, leading to understaffing and overstaffing issues, which can result in increased wait times, poor customer experience, and increased operational costs.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method for adjusting agents' staffing levels by determining the number of agents needed for a successive work-shift during an ongoing work-shift, comparing this number to a threshold, and using a shift-extension module to select and schedule extra agents with the required skills to handle the increased call volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If agents are scheduled in advance for fixed work-shifts, then staffing levels are predictable and manageable, but the system cannot respond to unexpected call volume spikes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic shift extension by allowing agents to extend their work-shifts beyond pre-assigned schedules based on real-time call volume conditions. The system dynamically adjusts staffing levels by extending shifts of available agents rather than relying on fixed schedules, enabling adaptation to unexpected call surges while maintaining operational control.
2Reliability
If more agents are scheduled for work-shifts, then call volume spikes can be handled, but operational costs increase due to overstaffing during low-volume periods
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts staffing by extending shifts only when call volume exceeds thresholds, rather than maintaining static high staffing levels. This allows the contact center to scale staffing up during spikes and down during normal periods, optimizing the balance between service reliability and operational cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of shift duration based on call volume conditions. By adjusting shift length as a variable parameter rather than a fixed value, the system can extend shifts during high-volume periods to maintain service levels while avoiding the continuous cost of permanently scheduling additional agents.
3Reliability
If agents extend their work-shifts during call volume spikes, then understaffing is prevented, but agent burnout and morale issues may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by monitoring call volume in real-time and using this information to trigger shift extensions only when necessary. This feedback-driven approach prevents unnecessary extensions during normal periods, reducing burnout risk while maintaining staffing adequacy during actual spikes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes shift duration as a dynamic parameter based on objective call volume thresholds rather than arbitrary extensions. By setting clear parameters for when extensions occur, the system provides predictability and fairness, reducing the harmful psychological impact on agents compared to unpredictable or excessive extensions.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method for adjusting agents staffing levels of a successive work-shift of a preassigned ongoing work-shift, during the preassigned ongoing work-shift, in a contact center. The computer-implemented method includes: (i) during the preassigned ongoing work-shift, determining a number of agents to handle inbound-interactions that require one or more skills for the successive work-shift; (ii) comparing the number of agents to handle inbound-interactions that require one or more skills to a threshold; (iii) when the number of agents to handle inbound-interactions that require one or more skills is above the threshold, calculating a number of extra-agents; and (iv) operating a shift-extension module to: (a) select the calculated number of extra-agents from agents having the one or more skills which are assigned to the preassigned ongoing work-shift; and (b) update corresponding schedules of the selected number of extra-agents, in a database of a Workforce Management (WFM) system.