IP Library Granted Patent US 11,055,645
Granted Patent B2
US 11,055,645 · App. 16/439,716 · Granted Jul 6, 2021

Method and system for optimizing distribution of incentive budget for additional time interval allocation in a multi-week work schedule

Inventors: Robert Michael Dvorscak, Jr. (Dallas, TX); Charles William Gulledge (Richardson, TX); Rob Harris Duplantis (Frisco, TX)
Assignee: NICE LTD
G06Q10/063116G06N20/00G06Q10/04G06Q10/06315
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,055,645
App. No.
16/439,716
Granted
Jul 6, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

A computer-implemented method for optimizing distribution of incentive-budget for additional time interval allocation in a multi-week work schedule is provided herein. The computer-implemented method comprising: (i) training a model to forecast future net staffing; (ii) generating a multi-week work schedule; (iii) using the model to forecast for each time interval a net staffing value; (iv) classifying time intervals as understaffed; (v) displaying the understaffed time intervals to suggest agents to take as additional time interval; (vi) providing a tier incentive structure and an incentive budget to be updated by a user; (vii) training the model to forecast a degree of elasticity of agents demand for each time interval based on historical agents schedule changes; and (viii) calculating a combination of incentives of each tier of the tier incentive structure in the incentive-budget to accommodate understaffed time intervals and maximize agents demand for time intervals based on forecasted degree of elasticity.

Claims (21)

1. A computer-implemented method for optimizing distribution of an incentive-budget for additional time interval allocation in a multi-week work schedule, the computer-implemented method comprising:

in a Workforce Management System (WFM) application, using machine learning algorithm to train a WFM model to forecast future net staffing based on historical data, wherein the historical data is stored in a WFM database that is associated to the WFM application;

using the WFM application to operate the trained WFM model to:

(i) generate a multi-week work schedule having a predetermined amount of time intervals;

(ii) forecast for each time interval a net staffing value;

wherein the WFM model is trained to calculate a relationship between input variables and the forecasted net staffing value;

(iii) classify time intervals in the multi-week work schedule as understaffed based on the forecasted net staffing value; and

(iv) rely the classified time intervals in the multi-week work schedule as understaffed to an Employee Engagement Manager (EEM) platform,

providing a tier incentive structure and an incentive-budget for additional time interval allocation in a multi-week work schedule to be updated by a user via a user interface of a work schedule of a predefined period;

using machine learning algorithm to train an EEM model in the EEM platform to forecast a degree of elasticity of agents demand for each time interval in the multi-week period of the work schedule based on historical agents schedule changes;

using the EEM platform to operate the trained EEM model to forecast a degree of elasticity of agents demand for each time interval in the multi-week period of the work schedule;

calculating a combination of incentives of each tier of the tier incentive structure in the incentive-budget for additional time interval allocation in a multi-week work schedule to accommodate the time intervals in the multi-week work schedule classified as understaffed and maximize agents demand for time intervals based on the forecasted degree of elasticity of agents demand for each time interval in the multi-week period; and

using the EEM platform to display, via a display unit that is associated to the user interface of the work schedule of the predefined period, (i) the time intervals that were classified as understaffed, to suggest agents to take as additional time interval to their schedule and (ii) the calculated combination of incentives of each tier,

thus, optimizing the distribution of incentive-budget for additional time interval allocation in the multi-week work schedule.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the historical data comprises of monitored agents schedule changes over predetermined number of weeks or net staffing value.

3. The method of claim 1 , the method further using the EEM model to simulate various incentive combinations of incentives from each tier of the tier incentive structure in the incentive-budget to further train the model to determine degree of the elasticity of agents demand for a time interval in the multi-week period.

4. The method of claim 1 , the method further using the EEM model to simulate various incentive combinations of incentives from each tier of the tier incentive structure in the incentive-budget to select the combination of incentives of each tier of the tier incentive structure that will achieve the greatest change in expected forecast.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the incentive-budget is not fully exploited.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the incentive-budget is not utilized.

7. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising offering to agents to elect incentivized time intervals according to the calculated combination of incentives via the user interface of the work schedule of the predefined period.

8. The method of claim 7 , the method further comprising adding the agents schedule changes due to the offered incentivized time interval to the historical data.

Assignments (2)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 26, 2026
From: NICE LTD; NICE SYSTEMS INC.; NICE SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES INC.; INCONTACT, INC.
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 074986/0208 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 25, 2019
From: DVORSCAK, ROBERT MICHAEL, JR.; GULLEDGE, CHARLES WILLIAM; DUPLANTIS, ROB HARRIS
To: NICE LTD.
Reel/Frame 049572/0392 →