Forecasting call volume for outsourcers- sales vs. trend

[C-ONE]

Anyone have any insight on forecasting call volumes for your outsourcers.

Our current volumes are very erratic which makes it hard to predict coming months volumes. Some months will be lower than others, so using regression thoughs us off.

Also, this is all done via excel. Company will not allow for a purchase of WFM software.

Any good readings that you can recommend? Has anyone ever delt with a Outsourcer relationship where forecasts where unreliable?

[Joseph2777]

I would agree with you it's not easy to forecast call volume. I currently manage an inhouse call center supporting application deployment to a mutli-corporation. Everytime we lauch an application to the end users our call center will be hit with a high amount of call volume less expected and at times the volume is moderate. It is really hard to forecast the calls expecially when the application environment changes. I wonder variables like application complexity, end user IT knowledge, end user training..etc could be important variables leading to a formula of regression analysis to get an ideal formula for forecasting call volume. Sharing the same taught.

[kistaitis]

I currently work for an outsource provide of call center services and there a couple of different tools we have developed to monitor call volumes and staff accordingly. We are able to track actual call volumes every 30 minutes and staff accordingly to ensure your customers dont get busied out. If you are interested in discussing some of the tools we use, give me a call at 402-965-7048.

Have a Great Day!

Jody Kistaitis

[Joseph2777]

Thanks for the input on tools available to capture call volume and staff agent time. I believe the tools are CMS ( Call Management System ). Correct me if i am wrong? But i am still curious is there a formula to do call prediction in terms of application landing to an environment of users and predict how many % of the users using the newly launch application to the call center. Is there a formula proven using regression analysis with variables like end user training, application complexity...etc ....i am interested in this finding if there is any out there. Thanks

[jp2time]

Originally posted by Joseph2777
Thanks for the input on tools available to capture call volume and staff agent time. I believe the tools are CMS ( Call Management System ). Correct me if i am wrong? But i am still curious is there a formula to do call prediction in terms of application landing to an environment of users and predict how many % of the users using the newly launch application to the call center. Is there a formula proven using regression analysis with variables like end user training, application complexity...etc ....i am interested in this finding if there is any out there. Thanks

Joseph that is a tough one to crack. I forecast application support volume and have never been able to use one particular formula. The first thing to go after is the initial assumption of how big is the deployment of the application and what would generate a call. If the application would be rolled out to X number of users you must know what the worst case would be for each user calling your center. Then I would factor in the schedule of the rollout, is it going to hit all at once, will the rollout increase incrementally and if so how long will it be before the initial group that received the rollout should show a decrease in volume. Hope this helps.. J.P.