Forecasting 101

In a contact center, accurately forecasting the expected volume of calls, emails, and messages is crucial for optimizing staffing levels. By anticipating contact volume and converting it into staffing requirements, you can ensure that you have the right number of agents with the necessary skills to handle customer inquiries promptly and efficiently.

Let's dive into the details of how forecasting works with Dialpad WFM.

Who can use this

Dialpad WFM is available to all Dialpad users.

Contact your Customer Success Manager to discuss adding Dialpad WFM to your plan.  

What are forecasts?

WFM forecasting is a process used in contact centers to predict the future volume of incoming contacts, such as calls, emails, or chats. By analyzing historical data and identifying trends and patterns, forecasting tools help organizations anticipate the number of interactions they will receive and plan accordingly.

Dialpad's forecasting models analyze your historical data and then estimate the number of interactions your team will receive in the next 12 weeks. This allows you to optimize staffing levels and ensures you have the right number of agents online at all times.

Setting up your forecasts

Setting up your forecasts is simple.

First, you need to connect your customer service platforms.  

Once your connections are set up, you can filter your contacts by creating queues. Queues allow you to define which contacts you want to forecast and assign to agents.

Additional details on the expected productivity of the team and the desired level of service (SLA) are required to turn the forecasted volume into something actionable – a staffing requirement.

After you create your queues, Dialpad will analyze the historical data for each queue to predict the number of interactions your team will receive 12 weeks into the future.  

These forecasted volumes are translated into a staffing requirement, which lets Contact Centers efficiently match supply and demand when scheduling.

Viewing your forecasts

To view your forecasts, head to Dialpad WFM, then select Forecasts.

Here, you’ll see two graphs displaying agent coverage and contact volumes.

Tip

The Forecasts page defaults to your browser or device's timezone, but you can easily adjust it using the date range filter, timezone selector, or arrows. Select from a pre-set dates or create a custom date range.

Coverage forecast

The Coverage Required Graph displays how many agents you’ll need per hour to meet your SLAs (including shrinkage).

You'll also see see the median and peak agent counts during the selected time period.

Contact volumes forecast

The Inbound Contacts Graph displays the forecasted number of contacts (customer interactions) your Contact Center will receive, including any adjustments.

You’ll also see the total contact count over the selected time period.

Forecast breakdown

Want to see how how your coverage and contact volumes are dispersed by queue? No problem.
Check the Breakdown by queue box to quickly see how each queue is performing.
Hover over any time period to view the count per queue.

Compare against previous periods

By comparing current data to historical trends, you can identify significant deviations and make informed decisions about staffing adjustments or process improvements.

For example you might be thinking “is this volume widely different from last week or last month?”, or “how much have our ticket volumes have grown since last year?”.

That’s where our comparing feature comes in handy.

Use the date selector to choose any date in the past, then select Same period from the Compare Actuals menu.

This lets you see the actual contact volume received for that period and the number of agents you needed to handle those interactions.

Adjusting a forecast

While our forecasting systems predict general contact volume trends, external factors can significantly impact your actual workload. Maybe you’re about to launch a new feature, or even a door-breaker sale and you know your volumes will suddenly increase. That’s why Dialpad lets you manually adjust forecasts during events that cause substantial spikes or dips in contact volume.

Read this Help Center article to learn how to adjust a forecast.