Call Center Occupancy: Why It Matters?

While call center occupancy seems like a mysterious metric, especially in a small call center, it’s actually one of the most important KPIs. It reveals how much time your agents are spending on calls in comparison to the amount of time they’re available or idle. 

Seems simple, right?

However, while many people assume 100% occupancy amounts to full productivity, you should aim for a slightly lower number.

We’ll explain why shortly and by the time this short article is done you’ll have a clear understanding of the definition of occupancy in call center and exactly why it matters. 

Definition of occupancy in call center

Occupancy refers to the time that agents are handling customer inquiries/calls and doing related activities such as after-call work. To make the definition of occupancy in call center more clear, it’s often expressed as the percentage of the representative’s total availability. 

For instance, if the occupancy rate is 75%, it means that agents are completing essential tasks for 45 minutes in an hour. 

For successful supervisors, the occupancy rate is one of the most important KPIs because it allows them to run a contact center efficiently and balance the speed of delivery, optimize costs, and most importantly keep agents happy.

With the definition of occupancy in call center out of the way, the next important question is how to calculate it. 

Quantify the total time each agent spends on call-related activities and divide it by the amount of time scheduled on their customers. When it comes to call-related activities, this doesn’t only include time spent talking, but also ACW times and hold times. 

Why does occupancy matter so much?

By becoming familiar with the occupancy rate, you can forecast your staffing needs accurately. Moreover, by measuring this number frequently, you can understand the slowest, busiest, and standard hours, allowing you to have the right amount of agents on board when the need arises. 

Doing so also helps boost your average speed to answer, and helps eliminate calling in too much stuff during slow periods, ultimately helping you run the contact center more efficiently. 

If you realize that your occupancy rates are too high, it generally means you’re understaffed, leading to poor customer service and agent burnout. On the other hand, low occupancy rates mean you’re overstaffed or your agents are not utilizing their time effectively. 

How does occupancy differ from utilization?

Although often mistaken for one another, these metrics are completely different. 

Utilization is the percentage that agents spent logged in, available to work, or engaged, in comparison to their overall shift time. 

Utilization also accounts for other activities such as toilet breaks, training sessions, or team meetings. 

What occupancy rates should you aim for?

There’s no singular number you should aim for as it varies between communication channels.

For phone calls, a good rule of thumb is 80% to 90% rate. You can’t expect agents to be occupied every minute of each hour as they would practically burn out within a few days. They would also have no time to hone their skills. 

Keep in mind that lower occupancy rates might be acceptable depending on the industry.

Live chats, on the other hand, are completely different. Agents can be engaged in multiple chats meaning their occupancy may go over 100% while also leaving them time for other work-related.

Higher occupation rates also apply to emails where you should aim anywhere between 90 to 100%. While emails are less common nowadays as a support channel, plenty of people still communicate with businesses through this channel. Fortunately, since email doesn’t require the same amount of attention as phone calls, idle call agents can handle them with ease.

How to improve your occupancy rates

Improving occupancy rates in a call center is generally a balancing act. For instance, if you increase your average speed of answering calls, the occupancy rates will automatically decrease. The opposite is also true. 

Fortunately, here are some tips you can use to come to a perfect balance:

1. Monitor your occupancy rates by the hour

The general occupancy rate is useful as a baseline metric, but it doesn’t offer much in terms of nuance. 

For instance, you may deal with busy and slow periods or receive more complex calls at certain times. Simply calculating the general occupancy rate can hide these issues and lead to poor optimization.

But if you monitor these rates on an hourly basis, you’ll get a more comprehensive understanding of the variations involved, allowing you to make accurate staffing choices. 

2. Reduce the amount of after-call work

After-call tasks are an integral part of your reps’ handling time, especially during the wrap-up of a call. This includes emailing updates to management or colleagues, scheduling follow-ups, or inputting data. 

Naturally, if you minimize the time spent on these tasks, agents will have more time to communicate with customers.

Fortunately, there are plenty of automation options available in modern call center software. You can even integrate your software with a CRM to reduce the time spent doing after-call work. 

3. Consider implementing self-service solutions

If your agents can’t handle the influx of calls your company is receiving, you may be able to alleviate the pressure by implementing IVR, a simple FAQ page, or a chatbot. 

This will automatically work wonders for your occupancy rates because your employees will have to spend less time rerouting calls or gathering call intent - all of which have a huge impact on handling times. 

4. Outsource a part of your operations

Handling a rising volume of calls may simply be impractical for you due to a lack of monetary and human resources. Luckily, you don’t have to do everything in-house. 

You can outsource some parts of your processes, or you may even choose to surrender your entire customer service to a third-party call center. This is an excellent choice for smaller organizations that have no means to handle a large number of customer communications. 

Let the pros handle it

The definition of occupancy in call center can be confusing for many business owners and managers. However, you now have a basic understanding of this essential metric and can make changes to your daily operations to ensure your agents’ workflows and time are fully optimized.

It’s worth stressing that improving the efficiency of your call center may not be possible due to a lack of manpower or budget. In such cases, outsourcing may be cheaper than purchasing new software or hiring extra employees. 

Aspen Media has been at the forefront of contact center services for over three decades. We have the expertise and the infrastructure to take your customer service to a whole new level of efficiency. Regardless of your call volumes, we can handle it with ease. 

Want to learn more? Call us at 800-853-2240 or fill out our contact form for more information.