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Home - Call Center - Call Center Occupancy vs Utilization: Key Differences
Reviewed by : Prasanta Raut
Do you want to know how much time your agents actually spend handling call-related activities so that you can manage their work schedules more effectively?
To measure things like these, a professional needs to measure several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). However, in this article, we will be looking at only two vital metrics. Call Center Occupancy Vs Utilization with their Importance and differences.
Both of these provide valuable insights into an agent’s activity and help managers distribute workloads and conduct daily operations more smoothly and efficiently.
Now, let’s begin.
Table of Content
Call center occupancy refers to the amount of time call agents spend on call-related activities while they are logged in. The call related activities may include handling customer interactions, being on hold, doing any after-call office work, documenting, etc.
What separates call center occupancy from call center utilization is that call center occupancy does not take into account break time, idle time, or time spent on non-call related activities such as training sessions and meetings.
So, basically, the call center occupancy rate represents how busy your call agents are.
The formula to calculate the occupancy rate in a call center is as follows:
Call Center Occupancy = (Time spent on productive task / Total logged-in time) X 100
Where,
Time spent on productive task = Total talk time + Total hold time + Total after-call work time
Total logged-in time = The time spent in the system (Between sign-in and sign-out)
For example: If the agent handles call-related activities for only about 4 hours but is logged in to the system only for about 6 hours, excluding breaks and idle time, then the occupancy rate can be calculated as:
Call center occupancy = (4/6)X100 = 66.67%
85-90% is considered to be the ideal occupancy rate for call centers. However, this may vary depending upon the type of call center, its operational goals, and the nature of the services provided.
A number more or less than the ideal limit might lead to more agent burnout, increased stress, decreased service quality over time, and reduced customer satisfaction.
Call center occupancy is an important metric because it directly impacts the efficiency and performance of both agents and businesses. Some key importance of call center occupancy metrics are as follows:
By monitoring occupancy rates, hiring managers can address the issues of overstaffing, underutilization of existing staff, and resource procurement. Occupancy helps optimize labor costs by ensuring that agents are being paid to actively engage with the customers and not for sitting idle.
By monitoring occupancy, managers can ensure that all agents have enough time for all call-related activities along with breaks without feeling overwhelmed. This kind of balance reduces workload and stress, promoting job satisfaction and a healthier work environment.
Keeping track of call occupancy not only saves businesses a great deal of money but also helps identify areas of improvement to incorporate and optimize more advanced features, such as ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) system, IVR (Interactive Voice Response) systems, CRM softwares, etc., into their business phone systems.
Thus, decisions made with these data-driven insights increase customer satisfaction and improve brand reputation in the market.
A good occupancy rate helps meet metrics such as Average speed of answer (ASA) and First call resolution (FCR), ensuring all its service level agreements (SLAs) are met.
Furthermore, agents present are actively engaged and answer customer queries more quickly, leading to reduced wait times and frustration for the customers. This greatly improves the overall customer satisfaction levels.
Call occupancy directly affects other Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as call abandonment rates, average handling time (AHT), customer satisfaction scores (CES), etc. Quickly responding to the undesirable changes in call occupancy rates ensures that all KPI targets are consistently met and service levels remain high without any compromise in agent efficiency.
Some people confuse call center occupancy with agent utilization. However, these are two very different things.
Agent utilization refers to the total amount of time agents spend on call-related activities, including breaks and idle times, while they are logged in.
What separates call center utilization from call center occupancy is that agent utilization takes into account break time, idle time, or time spent on non-call related activities such as training sessions, meetings, additional company projects during free time, etc.
So, basically, the agent utilization represents the total working period of an agent.
The formula to calculate call center agent utilization is as follows:
Agent Utilization Rate = (Total worked hours / Total available hours) X 100
For example: If the agent is involved in call-related activities for only about 4 hours, but his total working hours are 8 (including breaks, meetings, training, etc.), then the agent utilization rate can be calculated as:
Agent Utilization = (4/8)X100 = 50%
80-90% is considered to be the ideal agent utilization rate.
Agent utilization is a critical metric in call centers and customer service environments for several reasons. Let us look at some essential factors:
Agent utilization is a vital Key Performance Indicator (KPI) in call centers. It helps managers identify the top-performing agents and strategies applied by those agents and replicate those plans elsewhere. It provides an accurate comparison of performance across teams, shifts, and locations.
By monitoring agent utilization, team leaders and managers can forecast staffing requirements, adjust working schedules, redistribute workloads, and reassign tasks based on demand patterns and active working hours. This ensures the optimal utilization of all available resources effectively and efficiently in real time.
If the agent utilization is properly managed, then agents are neither overworked nor remain idle for a long time. This balance leads to quicker response time and reduced wait times for the customers, improving overall customer satisfaction and experience.
Agent utilization tracks the productivity of the agents by assessing time spent on productive tasks, such as handling calls and answering queries, in relation to time spent idle. A high utilization rate indicates that the agents are making the most out of their working hours.
Thus, keeping track of agent utilization rates helps managers decide how to distribute tasks and resources more effectively and efficiently.
With these agent utilization data, call centers can be made more flexible, agile, and scalable. This helps manage and allocate resources and staffing more accurately, ensuring smooth remote and on-site operations.
It enables constant monitoring, upgrading of techs, and upskilling of workers, leading to sustainable business development.
Call center occupancy and utilization might sound similar, but they are different. Both agent utilization and occupancy rate are vital to balance productivity and agent well-being.
Occupancy is about how much time an agent is busy while they’re logged in. Utilization looks at how much of the agent’s total work hours are spent working. So, don’t mix them up! The differences between these two key metrics in call center management are as follows:
Constantly keeping track of these metrics and optimizing strategies to improve them, are a must for the advancement of a call center. Doing so, not only aids in an effective call center management but also enhances calling experience for both the agent and the customer.
This, in turn, improves overall employee well-being, team productivity, business status, and credibility in the market.
80-90% is considered to be a good utilization rate. Within this optimal range, agents are able to handle every task quickly, take breaks, and recover between interactions, thus maintaining job satisfaction and performance quality.
85-90% is considered to be a good occupancy rate. Within this optimal range, agents can efficiently manage their workloads. This leads to greater minimization in customer wait times and reduces agent burnout.
Some other important call metrics are as follows:
Room utilization in a call center refers to the effective use of physical space, such as working space, training rooms, break areas, and meeting rooms, within a call center facility. It measures how efficiently the available space is being utilized for operations and other activities.
Room utilization can be improved by using scheduling softwares and making workstations flexible and scalable.
Prasanta is the founder and visionary CEO of Dialaxy. He is on a mission to redefine the landscape of SaaS solutions, infusing creativity and ingenuity into every aspect of Dialaxy’s offerings. His fervent dedication to simplifying sales and support processes drives Dialaxy’s forward momentum, delivering unparalleled value to businesses of all sizes. Embark on a transformative journey with Prasanta and Dialaxy as they pave the way for a new era of sales and support excellence.
Prasanta Raut