[mikael]

The link Joe has provided is definitely worth the reading. While the math may seem daunting, it's worth a manager's while to dig into it. You don't have to be a math whiz in order to understand the basic concepts and how they very definitely affect your center's operation.

It concerns me that so few contact center managers seem to have any understanding of basic forecasting and staffing tools & calculations. I was literally stunned at a recent HDI local chapter meeting to hear a Director of a large bank help desk tell the group about how she'd just discovered that "there was this thing called an Erlang calculator or some such that would help you with staffing." She hadn't had the time to use it herself, she admitted, but somebody had told her that it was a good thing. A *Director!*

A common complaint of contact center managers is that they "can't get no respect." I have to suggest that if you want to be respected as a professional, then you need to *be* a professional -- which includes knowing the basics of your chosen profession and being able to communicate them effectively.