Systems and methods for synchronizing agent staffing and customer call volume in contact centers

1. A method for synchronizing agent staffing and customer call volume within a contact center, the method comprising:

estimating a number of agents that will staff the contact center during a specified future time;

using historical data, estimating a number of customer calls anticipated during the specified future time;

performing a first comparison of the number of agents with the anticipated customer calls for the specified future time;

based on the first comparison, determining one or more preferred contact-center callback windows within the specified future time, wherein the one or more preferred contact-center callback windows are selected based on an overall customer call volume with the estimated number of agents staffing the contact center during the specified future time;

communicating with a customer to request one or more preferred customer-selected callback times;

performing a second comparison of the one or more preferred contact-center callback windows with the one or more preferred customer-selected callback times; and

based on the second comparison, providing the customer with one or more suggested callback times, wherein the one or more suggested callback times are selected to synchronize the overall customer call volume with the number of agents staffing the contact center, the preferred contact-center callback windows, and the preferred customer-selected callback times to improve a customer experience and contemporaneously improve an efficiency of the contact center during the specified time.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the historical data includes at least a number of past customer calls received by the contact center during a past time, agent staffing during the past time, average call length during the past time, and customer complaints during the past time.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein estimating the number of agents that will staff the contact center during the specified future time includes receiving a staffing schedule for the specified future time.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein estimating the number of customer calls anticipated during the specified future time includes determining an average call time for customer calls received during a past time, wherein the specified future time chronologically aligns with the past time.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the first comparison of the number of agents with the anticipated customer calls for the specified future time includes determining whether the contact center would receive too few calls for the number of agents scheduled for the specified future time or receive too many calls for the number of agents scheduled for the specified future time.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first comparison uses an average customer call duration based on a past time that is chronologically similar to the specified future time.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the one or more preferred contact-center callback windows within the specified future time includes modifying the number of preferred contact-center callback windows based on an anticipated topic to be discussed between the agent and the customer.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein communicating with the customer to request the one or more preferred customer-selected callback times includes interacting with the customer using a written communication, a verbal communication, an interactive voice response (IVR) communication, or some combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the IVR communication includes providing the customer with a selectable menu of the preferred contact-center callback windows.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the customer with one or more suggested callback times includes interacting with the customer using an interactive voice response (IVR) communication; and

wherein the IVR communication includes providing the customer with a selectable menu of the suggested callback times.

11. A system for synchronizing agent staffing and customer call volume within a contact center, the system comprising:

a database of past customer calls received by the contact center;

a processor; and

a memory, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of:

determining a number of agents that will staff the contact center during a specified future time;

using the database of past customer calls, estimating a number of customer calls anticipated during the specified future time;

performing a first analysis of the number of agents as compared with the estimated customer calls for the specified future time;

based on the first analysis, determining one or more preferred contact-center callback windows within the specified future time, wherein the one or more preferred contact-center callback windows are selected based on an overall customer call volume with the estimated number of agents staffing the contact center during the specified future time;

communicating with a customer to request one or more preferred customer-selected callback times;

performing a second analysis of the one or more preferred contact-center callback windows with the one or more preferred customer-selected callback times; and

based on the second analysis, providing the customer with one or more suggested callback times, wherein the one or more suggested callback times are selected to synchronize the overall customer call volume with the number of agents staffing the contact center, the preferred contact-center callback windows, and the preferred customer-selected callback times to improve a customer experience and contemporaneously improve an efficiency of the contact center during the specified future time.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein communicating with the customer to request one or more preferred customer-selected callback times includes using the workforce management system to provide an automated message to the customer or using the workforce management system to provide an automated message to at least one of the agents for transmission to the customer.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein providing the customer with one or more suggested callback times includes using the workforce management system to provide an automated message to the customer or using the workforce management system to provide an automated message to at least one of the agents for transmission to the customer.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein providing the customer with one or more suggested callback times to contemporaneously improve an efficiency of the contact center includes flattening a call volume curve during the specified future time.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the database of past customer calls includes at least a number of past customer calls received by the contact center during a past time, agent staffing during the past time, average call length during the past time, and customer complaints during the past time.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein performing the first analysis includes determining whether the contact center would receive too few calls for the number of agents scheduled for the specified future time or receive too many calls for the number of agents scheduled for the specified future time.

17. The system of claim 11 , wherein determining the one or more preferred contact-center callback windows within the specified future time includes modifying the number of preferred contact-center callback windows based on an anticipated topic to be discussed between the agent and the customer.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein communicating with the customer to request the one or more preferred customer-selected callback times includes interacting with the customer using a written communication, a verbal communication, an interactive voice response (IVR) communication, or some combination thereof.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the IVR communication includes providing the customer with a selectable menu of the preferred contact-center callback windows.

20. The system of claim 11 , wherein providing the customer with one or more suggested callback times includes interacting with the customer an interactive voice response (IVR) communication; and

wherein the IVR communication includes providing the customer with a selectable menu of the suggested callback times.