Schedule Coverage Optimization helps you adjust published schedules when staffing needs change throughout the day. It uses your coverage requirements to identify opportunities to reduce staffing gaps by moving scheduled breaks or shifting agents between activities.
Let’s dive into the details.
Who can use this
Dialpad WFM is available to all Dialpad users and as a standalone product.
Refer to our Pricing Page to see if you have access to this feature. If you have any questions about your plan, reach out to your Customer Success Manager or Dialpad Customer Care.
Optimizations work at the activity level in 15-minute intervals, helping you make targeted schedule changes without rebuilding the entire schedule.
Schedule Coverage Optimization offers two methods:
| Optimization | When to use |
| Move breaks | You have enough scheduled coverage overall, but moving breaks could help cover a staffing gap. Keeps each break's original duration and moves eligible breaks within the interval you're optimizing. |
| Move agents across activities | You need to move agents from other activities to an activity that needs more coverage. Reassign the scheduled activity time to your target activity. You can control which agents and source activities can be used and protect a minimum coverage for those source activities. |
Note
Optimization adjusts what agents are scheduled to work on. It doesn't change their shift times, agent profiles, shift plans, or activity plans.
Optimization goal
Choose an optimization goal to determine how Dialpad prioritizes coverage gaps for break or activity optimizations.
| Goal | How it works |
| Prioritize the biggest gap | Focuses on intervals with the largest difference between required and scheduled agents first. |
| Cover the most gaps | Tries to improve coverage across as many intervals as possible rather than focusing on the largest gap. |
| Prioritize the biggest gap, then cover the rest | Addresses the largest gaps first, then improves the remaining gaps where possible. |
The third option is the default for activity shifting.
Note
An optimization might not remove every coverage gap. Dialpad looks for the best schedule changes it can make within the settings and limits you've selected.
Move breaks
Use Move breaks to adjust when agents take their scheduled breaks and improve coverage for your target activity.
The optimization can move eligible breaks earlier or later within the selected interval based on the settings in your optimization template. Break durations stay the same, and breaks aren't removed from the schedule.
Create a break optimization
Break optimizations are templates that define how Dialpad can adjust scheduled breaks. Create a template with the parameters you want Dialpad to follow, then use it when running an optimization.
To create a break optimization, go to Dialpad WFM settings.
- Select Schedule Optimizations
- Choose an optimization goal:
- Prioritize the biggest gap: Focus on the interval with the largest staffing deficit first.
- Cover the most gaps: Improve as many understaffed intervals as possible.
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Prioritize the biggest gap, then cover the rest: Address the largest deficit first, then improve other gaps where possible.
- Select the break optimization parameter:
- Allow breaks to move earlier
- Allow breaks to move later
- Allow breaks to move into scheduled activities
- Stay within break windows
- Stagger break start times.
- Stagger break start times.
- Assign a maximum time for the break movement from its initial slot
- Select Next
- Assign a name for the optimization
- Select a Target Activity
- Select Break schedule > Apply
- Select Save Optimization
| Break parameters | How it works |
| Allow breaks to move earlier | Move breaks to an earlier time to improve coverage. Breaks that have already ended or are currently in progress won’t be moved. |
| Allow breaks to move later | Move breaks to a later time to improve coverage. Breaks that have already ended or are currently in progress won’t be moved. |
| Allow breaks to move into scheduled activities | Move breaks into other scheduled activities when needed to improve coverage for the target activity. When turned off, breaks can only move within the target activity they’re next to. |
| Stay within break windows | Move breaks within the break windows set in the Activity Plan. Turn it off to set limits based on the start or end of a shift. |
| Stagger break start times | Uses the Activity Plan to break rules to limit how many agents can take a break at the same time. Turn it off to set the limit manually. |
Tip
Set a Maximum break movement to prevent breaks from moving too far from their original time and minimize disruption for agents.
Run break optimization
Once you've created a break optimization template, you can reuse it when similar coverage gaps come up.
To run an existing break optimization, go to Dialpad WFM schedule tab
- Select Optimize
- Select Move breaks
- Choose the template you want to use
- Select the team you want to optimize
- If needed, change the selected breaks or target activity for this run
- Select Run the optimization
Changes to the breaks or target activity for a specific run override the selections in the template.
Move agents across activities
Use Move agents across activities to quickly shift agents between activities and improve coverage.
For example, you can move qualified agents from lower-priority activities, such as Emails, to Phones when call volume increases. You can control which agents and activities are considered and set minimum coverage levels to protect the activities you're moving agents from.
Unlike break optimization, activity optimization doesn't use templates. You'll choose your settings each time you run it.
Run moving agents across activities optimization
To run move agents across activities optimization, go to the schedule tab.
- Select Optimize
- Select Move agents across activities
- Select the team you want to optimize
- Select the target activity
- Choose the target coverage
- Select who can be moved
- All agents
- Only agents skilled for this activity
- Only agents already scheduled for this activity
- Select the scheduled activity to move agents from
- Select Run optimization
Note
Use Protect coverage to set the minimum coverage that must remain for each source activity. Dialpad won’t move agents if doing so would cause that activity’s coverage to fall below the percentage you set.
Tip
Enable Only switch full activity blocks to move an entire scheduled activity block. Leave it off to let Dialpad split an activity block and move only the time needed to improve coverage.
Run an optimization
Each time you run an optimization, use these settings to define which agents and activities Dialpad can adjust.
| Settings | What it does |
| Target coverage | Sets the coverage level of the optimization targets. |
| Target activity | The activity whose coverage you want to improve. It must have a staffing requirement. |
| Interval | The period you want to optimize, starting from the current time or a future time, up to 24 hours. |
| Team | The team whose schedule you want to optimize. |
| Agents to move | Limits the number of agents that can be reassigned. |
| Who can be moved | Choose all agents, agents skilled for the target activity, or agents already scheduled for it. |
| Move from | Choose which activities agents can be moved from and set minimum coverage levels to protect those activities. |
| Publish automatically | Automatically publishes the optimized schedule. When turned off, the optimization creates a draft for you to review first. |
Frequently asked questions
Why didn't the optimization make any changes?
Sometimes there aren't any schedule changes that would improve coverage. This can also happen when:
- Your optimization settings are too restrictive.
- The target activity doesn't have a staffing requirement or coverage deficit.
- There aren't any eligible breaks or activities to move.
For break optimization, the target activity must already exist in an agent's shift. Moving a break redistributes existing scheduled time; it doesn't add a new activity to the shift.
Can I optimize specific hours?
Yes. You can optimize current or future intervals for up to 24 hours. Past intervals can't be optimized.
Can I optimize multiple teams at the same time?
No. You'll need to optimize each team separately.
Can I optimize a draft schedule?
No. Schedule Coverage Optimization only works with published schedules.
What happens if I don't publish the optimization automatically?
When Publish automatically is turned off, the optimized schedule is created as a draft, allowing you to review the changes before publishing.