SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COUNTER OFFERING SHIFT TRADES

1 . A counter shift trade request management system comprising:

at least one processor and a non-transitory computer readable medium operably coupled thereto, the non-transitory computer readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions stored in association therewith that are accessible to, and executable by, the at least one processor, to perform operations which comprise:

monitoring a shift schedule for a set of agents using parameters affecting staffing needs and shift trade approval criteria, wherein shift trade requests and counter shift trade requests are submitted by an agent through a graphical user interface;

identifying a shift trade request from a source agent;

identifying a set of tradeable shifts for the source agent;

sending the shift trade request and the set of tradeable shifts to a set of target agents, wherein the shift trade request and the set of tradeable shifts are displayed through the graphical user interface;

receiving a counter shift trade request from a target agent from the set of target agents, wherein the counter shift trade request comprises a tradeable shift within the set of tradeable shifts selected by the target agent;

sending the counter shift trade request to the source agent,

wherein the counter shift trade request is displayed through the graphical user interface; and

wherein when the source agent accepts the counter shift trade request, the shift schedule is updated based on the counter shift trade request; and

sending a schedule notification to the source agent and to the target agent regarding the updated shift schedule.

2 . The counter shift trade request management system of claim 1 , wherein the parameters comprise one or more of unplanned absenteeism, contact volume inflow, shift characteristics, skills needed, understaffing, overstaffing, or any combination thereof.

3 . The counter shift trade request management system of claim 1 , wherein the parameters are determined by a contact center supervisor or administrator.

4 . The counter shift trade request management system of claim 1 , wherein the shift trade request from the source agent may be a request to exchange a full shift assigned to the source agent, or a portion of a full shift assigned to the source agent.

5 . The counter shift trade request management system of claim 1 , wherein the set of tradeable shifts for the source agent are identified using the parameters affecting staffing needs and shift trade approval criteria.

6 . The counter shift trade request management system of claim 1 , wherein, when a counter shift trade request from a target agent is not received or when the source agent does not accept a counter shift trade request from a target agent, the operations further comprise closing the shift trade request.

7 . The counter shift trade request management system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise sending the schedule notification to a supervisor of the source agent or of the target agent.

8 . A method of facilitating counter shift trade requests, comprising:

monitoring a shift schedule for a set of agents using parameters affecting staffing needs and shift trade approval criteria, wherein shift trade requests and counter shift trade requests are submitted by an agent through a graphical user interface;

identifying a shift trade request from a source agent;

identifying a set of tradeable shifts for the source agent;

sending the shift trade request and the set of tradeable shifts to a set of target agents, wherein the shift trade request and the set of tradeable shifts are displayed through the graphical user interface;

receiving a counter shift trade request from a target agent from the set of target agents, wherein the counter shift trade request comprises a tradeable shift within the set of tradeable shifts selected by the target agent;

sending the counter shift trade request to the source agent;

wherein the counter shift trade request is displayed through the graphical user interface; and

wherein when the source agent accepts the counter shift trade request, the shift schedule is updated based on the counter shift trade request; and

sending a schedule notification to the source agent and to the target agent regarding the updated shift schedule.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the parameters comprise one or more of unplanned absenteeism, contact volume inflow, shift characteristics, skills needed, understaffing, overstaffing, or any combination thereof.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the parameters are determined by a contact center supervisor or administrator.

11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the shift trade request from the source agent may be a request to exchange a full shift assigned to the source agent, or a portion of a full shift assigned to the source agent.

12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the set of tradeable shifts for the source agent are identified using the parameters affecting staffing needs and shift trade approval criteria.

13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein, when a counter shift trade request from a target agent is not received or when the source agent does not accept a counter shift trade request from a target agent, the operations further comprise closing the shift trade request.

14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise sending the schedule notification to a supervisor of the source agent or of the target agent.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions executable by at least one processor to perform operations which comprise:

monitoring a shift schedule for a set of agents using parameters affecting staffing needs and shift trade approval criteria, wherein shift trade requests and counter shift trade requests are submitted by an agent through a graphical user interface;

identifying a shift trade request from a source agent;

identifying a set of tradeable shifts for the source agent;

sending the shift trade request and the set of tradeable shifts to a set of target agents, wherein the shift trade request and the set of tradeable shifts are displayed through the graphical user interface;

receiving a counter shift trade request from a target agent from the set of target agents, wherein the counter shift trade request comprises a tradeable shift within the set of tradeable shifts selected by the target agent;

sending the counter shift trade request to the source agent,

wherein the counter shift trade request is displayed through the graphical user interface; and

wherein when the source agent accepts the counter shift trade request, the shift schedule is updated based on the counter shift trade request; and

sending a schedule notification to the source agent and to the target agent regarding the updated shift schedule.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the parameters comprise one or more of unplanned absenteeism, contact volume inflow, shift characteristics, skills needed, understaffing, overstaffing, or any combination thereof.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the parameters are determined by a contact center supervisor or administrator.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the shift trade request from the source agent may be a request to exchange a full shift assigned to the source agent, or a portion of a full shift assigned to the source agent.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein, when a counter shift trade request from a target agent is not received or when the source agent does not accept a counter shift trade request from a target agent, the operations further comprise closing the shift trade request.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise sending the schedule notification to a supervisor of the source agent or of the target agent.