WORKFORCE PLANNING
BY NATHAN STEARNS, NiCE
ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY ADOBE STOCK
PLANNING FOR CHAOS? THERE’ S A SMARTER WAY.
In workforce management( WFM), there’ s a tempting idea floating around that if you can’ t predict the chaos, you can just plan for it. Some teams overstaff on purpose, building in buffers to cover unexpected absences or schedule changes. If the day runs smoothly, that extra capacity is often redirected to training sessions, coaching, or administrative tasks. On paper, it sounds smart. But in practice, it’ s just expensive.
You shouldn’ t have to overspend to manage volatility. Planning for chaos by adding excess capacity on top of a shrinkage-adjusted forecast is an oldschool workaround that belongs to a different era when staffing adjustments were manual, data was lagging, and change was the enemy.
28 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE
But that’ s not today. Today, we have better tools and better strategies.
STOP PAYING FOR UNNEEDED CAPACITY
Here’ s the truth: You don’ t need more overhead. You need more adaptability.
Forecasting that includes shrinkage is standard and necessary. What I’ m challenging is the practice of padding on top of that with " just-in-case " staffing that often goes unused.
That extra cushion comes at a cost: You’ re paying wages for hours that might never be fully utilized and inflating your labor spend based on what might happen, not on what actually does.
Even a modest staffing buffer can create significant financial drag. A 5 % overage in a 200-agent contact center adds the equivalent of 10 additional full-time roles.
Once wages, benefits, and overhead are factored in, that excess easily translates to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, often without a measurable return.
... WITH A REAL-TIME WFM APPROACH, THERE’ S NO NEED TO GUESS.