Call center shrinkage can be quite jeopardizing. So, the call center managers should consider taking measures to minimize it. Here, we have mentioned some tips that would help with the same:
1. Consider tracking the negotiable categories of shrinkage:
The non-negotiable category of call center shrinkage includes paid holiday time and paid breaks, as well as training, meeting time, and more. Since all these categories are fixed and can be defined clearly. On the other hand, the negotiable category consists of off-phone time, sick leave or unexplained absence. All these should be tracked closely to maximize productivity and minimize call center shrinkage.
Chris Dealy
Sick leave
2. Treat it as a critical planning assumption:
Shrinkage requires the same focus and analysis as workload forecasts and performance metrics. You need to know that shrinkage is the sum of the parts, so if you conduct two x one-hour communication sessions per week, per Full-Time Employee (FTE) , then you have to calculate what this number is for the week, the month and the year.
3. Split up the categories further:
While creating categories for shrinkage you need to be extremely careful. The best practice is to split categories down further. As an example, sickness may be split into long and short-term, annual leave may be split into bank holiday and annual leave, communication can further be split into one-to-ones and team meeting. Using this approach can help you monitor performance and identify specific areas for improvement. Thus, you can work on these areas and increase call center productivity.
4. Planned and unplanned shrinkage:
Consider split your shrinkage categories into planned and unplanned ones. Planned shrinkage would include holidays, lunches and training that can be planned in advance, while unplanned shrinkage would point out to last-minute meetings and unplanned training. This would make your categories more organized.
