Digital Scheduling System for Shift Trade Queues
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Solution Overview
Problem
Contact center agents often face frustration and dissatisfaction due to the inability to request shift trades for shifts that are not currently available, leading to burnout and decreased job satisfaction, as existing workforce management systems fail to predict or anticipate specific shift requirements and agent preferences.
Innovation Solution
A digital scheduling method that periodically checks for queued schedule trade requests, identifies corresponding or cyclic requests, and approves or rejects them based on criteria such as tradeable activities and shared skills, allowing agents to trade shifts even if they are not currently available, and updates schedules accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If agents can only request trades for currently available shifts, then shift availability control is maintained, but agent satisfaction and work-life balance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows agents to submit trade requests in advance for future shifts that are not yet available, storing these requests in a queue. When the target shift becomes available, the pre-submitted requests are automatically processed and matched, enabling agents to plan ahead without compromising shift availability control.
Solution Approach 2:
A trade queue mechanism acts as an intermediary between agent trade requests and shift availability. The queue stores pending requests and automatically processes them when conditions are met, mediating between the need for agent flexibility and the requirement for controlled shift allocation.
2Productivity
If the system waits for shifts to become available before processing trade requests, then shift availability is ensured, but processing time and agent frustration increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of waiting passively for shifts to become available, the system continuously monitors shift availability and automatically processes queued trade requests as soon as conditions are met. This continuous active processing eliminates idle waiting time and accelerates trade fulfillment.
Solution Approach 2:
Trade requests are submitted and queued in advance before shifts become available. The system prepares these requests beforehand and automatically executes them when the target shift is available, eliminating the need for agents to wait actively and reducing overall processing time.
3Extent of automation
If manual approval processes are used for trade requests, then control over schedules is maintained, but administrative overhead and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated self-service processing of trade requests by matching queued requests with available shifts based on predefined criteria. The system automatically approves, rejects, or notifies agents of trade status without requiring manual administrative intervention, reducing overhead while maintaining control through automated rule-based decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automated feedback mechanisms that notify agents of trade request status (approved, rejected, or pending) and automatically update schedules. This feedback loop enables automated processing while maintaining system control through predefined approval criteria and notification protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for digital scheduling, include periodically checking a data storage for queued schedule trade requests; identifying two corresponding queued schedule trade requests; else, if two corresponding queued schedule trade requests are not identified: identifying a set of cyclic queued schedule trade requests; else, if a set of cyclic queued schedule trade requests are not identified: repeating the step of periodically checking; approving or rejecting the identified schedule trade requests based on one or more approval criteria; and if the identified schedule trade requests were approved, outputting one or more updated schedules reflecting the approved schedule trade requests.