Agent utilisation calculator
Utilisation and occupancy are both 'how busy are the agents' and they have different denominators. Enter a week's paid, logged-in and handling hours for an agent or a team and the calculator gives both, shows the shrinkage that sits between them, and adds seat utilisation if you enter the seats.
Handling time ÷ paid time.
- Occupancy
- 80.8%
- Shrinkage
- 30.7%
- Idle hours
- 5.0 h
- Seat utilisation
- 82.0%
Handling time ÷ logged-in time.
Paid time not available to the queue.
Logged in, waiting for a contact.
Peak agents ÷ seats.
Show the working
- Utilisation = 21 handling ÷ 37.5 paid = 56.0%.
- Occupancy = 21 handling ÷ 26 logged in = 80.8%.
- The gap is shrinkage: 1 − 26 ÷ 37.5 = 30.7% of paid time was not available to the queue, so utilisation = occupancy × (1 − shrinkage) = 80.8% × 0.693 = 56.0%.
- Seat utilisation = 82 at the peak ÷ 100 seats = 82.0%.
Doing this for every interval of the week? Pebble WFM computes the requirement from your forecast and builds the roster. Free month, no card needed.
How utilisation is calculated
Utilisation is handling time divided by paid time. It is the number finance recognises, because it says what share of the money spent on an agent produced handled contacts. Occupancy is handling time divided by logged-in time, which is the number a planner controls interval by interval.
The two are linked by shrinkage: utilisation equals occupancy multiplied by (1 minus shrinkage). An agent 80 per cent occupied for the 70 per cent of paid time they are logged in is 56 per cent utilised. Raising utilisation therefore has two levers, and pushing occupancy is the wrong one past about 85 per cent; reducing internal shrinkage is usually the right one.
Seat utilisation is a different question with a similar name: how many of the seats or licences you pay for are in use at the busiest moment. A low figure says the estate is too big or the shifts too concentrated; it says nothing about the agents.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a good utilisation figure?
- For voice, 55 to 65 per cent of paid time is typical once realistic shrinkage and occupancy are in place. A figure much above 70 per cent usually means occupancy is being run too hot or shrinkage is being under-reported.
- Should I target agents on utilisation?
- No. Agents control neither shrinkage nor how many contacts arrive. Utilisation is a planning and finance measure; adherence and quality are the agent measures.
- If shrinkage is 23%, what should occupancy be?
- They are independent. Shrinkage says how much paid time reaches the queue; occupancy says how busy agents are once there. A 23% shrinkage with 85% occupancy gives 65% utilisation; the same shrinkage at 75% occupancy gives 58%. Set occupancy from service level and burnout, not from shrinkage.
- What is a typical utilisation rate for call centre agents?
- Between 55 and 65 per cent of paid time for voice, which is 80 to 85 per cent occupancy after 25 to 35 per cent shrinkage. Figures quoted above 75 per cent usually measure occupancy and call it utilisation.
- Is productive time the same as logged-in time?
- Usually. Productive time is the time available to the queue: ready plus handling. Some centres count after-call work as productive and some as not-ready; be consistent, because it moves occupancy by several points.
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