Table of contents
Table of contents
Table of contents

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.

🔑 Key Highlight
  • Call center occupancy and call center utilization are two distinct key metrics used to measure agent efficiency in call centers.
  • Both of them focus on various aspects of agent productivity and agent usage.
  • Call center occupancy differs from utilization in that occupancy only considers the total time spent on productive tasks, whereas utilization considers the total time the agent is at work.
  • Besides these, some other common metrics of call center operations are call arrival rate, call abandonment rate, average handling time, customer satisfaction score (CES), etc.
  • Keeping track of these metrics is usually done by call center managers, supervisors, workforce planners, and business analysts to improve productivity and manage agent workloads effectively.

What is Occupancy in a Call Center?

What is Occupancy in a Call Center?

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.

How to Calculate Call Center Occupancy?

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.

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Why is Call Center Occupancy Important?

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:

1. Cost control

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.

2. Agent well-being and morale

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.

3. Profitability and business growth

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.

4. Customer service levels

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.

5. Impact on key metrics

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.  

What is Agent Utilization in a Call Center?

Agent Utilization

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.

How to Calculate Call Center Agent Utilization?

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.

Why is Agent Utilization Important?

Why is Agent Utilization Important?

Agent utilization is a critical metric in call centers and customer service environments for several reasons. Let us look at some essential factors:

1. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

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.

2. Resource Management

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.

3. Customer Satisfaction

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.

4. Operational efficiency

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.

5. Long-term business growth

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.

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Call Center Occupancy vs Utilization: Differences

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:

Criteria Agent Utilization Call Center Occupancy
Definition Agent utilization rate can be defined as the percentage of time agents spend on their productive tasks, such as handling calls, answering customer queries, etc., relative to their total available time. Occupancy rate can be defined as the percentage of time agents actively spend on handling customer interactions, such as calls, emails, chats, etc.
Break Inclusion It considers employee breaks and idle time as part of the total working time. It considers only the time spent in handling interactions, excluding idle or break times.
Measures The overall productivity of the agent is measured in terms of the actual work done out of the total time available. It specifically focuses on interaction handling time.
Uses It is mainly used for workforce management, agent performance evaluation, and scheduling.  It is used to determine how fully agents are being utilized in terms of customer interaction handling.
Formula Agent Utilization Rate= (Time spent on productive tasks/Total time available) X 100% Occupancy Rate= (Time Spent handling interactions/ Time spent logged in and ready) X 100%
Ideal Range 80-90% utilization is often considered optimal to avoid burnout but maintain productivity. 85-90% occupancy is usually targeted to ensure agents are busy but not overwhelmed.
Perspective It provides a broader view of agent productivity over the total available time. It provides a narrower view since it focuses mainly on time spent handling tasks.
Impact on Agents A higher utilization rate means it allows agents for breaks and recovery periods. High occupancy rates lead to agent fatigue since there is little time between interactions.

Final Words

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.

FAQs

1. What Is a Good Utilization Rate?

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.

2. What Is a Good Occupancy Rate?

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.

3. What Are Some Other Important Call Center Metrics?

Some other important call metrics are as follows:

  • Average Handle Time (AHT)
  • First Call Resolution (FCR)
  • Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
  • Net Promoter Score (NPS)
  • Service Level (SL)
  • Call Abandonment Rate
  • Average Speed of Answer (ASA)
  • Average Queuing Time
  • After-call Work (ACW)
  • Agent Turnover Rate
  • Call Resolution Time

5. What is room utilization in a call center?

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 Raut

Prasanta, founder and CEO of Dialaxy, is redefining SaaS with creativity and dedication. Focused on simplifying sales and support, he drives innovation to deliver exceptional value and shape a new era of business excellence.

Prasanta Raut

Prasanta, founder and CEO of Dialaxy, is redefining SaaS with creativity and dedication. Focused on simplifying sales and support, he drives innovation to deliver exceptional value and shape a new era of business excellence.