This document outlines the steps for creating contact volume and staffing requirements forecasts for a typical date range (i.e., no “what-if” forecasting, holidays, or other forecasting options). For non-typical forecasting, please refer to other documentation.
Step-by-step
Forecast Profiles
▶ Navigate to Forecast > Forecast profiles.
- Configure a Forecast Profile appropriate to the date range you’re forecasting for. You can use an existing profile or create a new one depending on your forecasting needs.
- Choose Yes, use as the quick forecast default.
- Click Next.
- Select the data source type.
For contact volume, determine whether to use past data (either a recent number of consecutive past weeks [dynamic profile], specific weeks from the past [static profile], a historical date range [Date range profile], manual entry or Excel upload, or past weeks with special calendar events [Static profile from Special Calendar Events]).
After you’ve accumulated more data in the system, you’ll have more options.
- Complete additional information based on the data source type.
- Click Finish.
Working Forecast
Once the Forecast Profile is in place, go to Forecast > Working Forecasts and either create a new one or open an existing one, depending on your preference.
Best practice is to use the same working forecast for a year at a time (e.g., working forecast site 1 2024). This will allow you to run reports of forecasted vs actuals from one set of data.
▶ Working Forecast Contact Volume: follow the Steps to Success:
- Generate Forecast Data
Step 1: Basic properties. Choose the Activity level and date range. Note: you can forecast at any level in the Enterprise Model.
Step 2: Select forecast profile. Choose the appropriate Forecast Profile, which determines how your volume will be forecasted. Click Next.
Step 3: Configure profile details. There may be additional steps depending on the selected Forecast Profile.
Step 4: Import forecast data. Click Import data. When complete, click Next.
Step 5: Select forecast method. Choose Classic Community or Weekly Weighted Average. Classic Community is the default and will weight each week of past actual data equally (according to the chosen Forecast Profile) to come up with the forecast for the chosen date range. Weekly Weighted Average allows you to determine how each week should be weighted. - Click Next until you get to Generate Forecast.
- Click Generate Forecast.
- Click Finish and you’ll be back at the Forecast Worksheet.
View Forecast Reports - Best practice is to view the results of the contact volume forecast before proceeding to the next step.
Revise Forecast Data if needed. - Revisions can be made by interval, day, week, or month.
- Revisions can be deleted by selecting View this forecast revision history in the Revision history tile.
Navigate to Working Forecast Staffing Requirements. You’ll typically complete steps 1, 2, 4, and 6.
Step 1 - Generate Clusters
- Typically choose Agent Activity Assignments (the default) here.
- Forecast Participants list is for what-if forecasting.
- Click Generate clusters then click Finish.
Step 2 – Generate Forecast
- Choose the Activity level and date range, typically the same as previously chosen.
- You will usually click Next on next screen to use the default service metrics (as defined in the Enterprise Model).
- You will also usually click Next on the screen after that to use the default shrinkage percentages as defined in the Enterprise Model.
- Steps on what-if forecasting using different service goals and/or shrinkage percentages are provided in a separate document.
- After the forecast generates, click Finish.
- You’ll be back at the Forecast Worksheet
Step 4 – View Forecast Reports
- Good idea to review the results before proceeding to the next step, publishing the forecast.
Step 6 – Publish Forecast Data
- Choose the Activity level and date range (again, typically the same as in previous steps).
- Click Publish Forecast then Finish.
- The Published Forecast is the one typically used for generating schedules and is referenced when viewing many reports (published schedule, adherence, intraday analysis).
To view the published forecast, navigate to Forecast > Published Forecast.
You can view the report and make revisions.