Many contact centers are shifting away from the traditional shift patterns to improve customer service and increase productivity.
Now, they are implementing several innovative shift patterns to better meet forecasted demand and employee preferences. Here are five excellent examples.
1. Split Shifts
A split shift divides the workday into two or more sections. The gap in between is longer than an hour-long lunch break, allowing employees more time to enjoy hobbies, complete tasks like picking up their children from school or simply relax.
Planners must schedule split shifts in advance; a request for an extended break does not count. After all, WFM teams often implement split shifts to ensure most employees handle contacts during peak periods, which requires meticulous planning.
Indeed, most operations experience a lull in contact volumes in the middle of the day. So, implementing split shifts with a three-hour break from 11am to 2pm is standard practice.
The pandemic fuelled this growth in split shifts, as they are convenient for remote agents. However, it is often not the best shift pattern for in-office teams. Why? Because it is not ideal for most employees to travel to work twice a day.
2. Micro Shifts
Like split shifts, micro shifts are an excellent option for remote agents. These shifts can last as little as two hours or perhaps even 30 minutes and are ideal for contact centers that experience high contact volumes at particular points in the day.
These shifts are particularly beneficial for contact centers that hire college students, as they will likely have a couple of hours free in between lectures and seminars to log on.
Offering these shifts also helps gain more hours from the team. For example, some part-timers might enjoy doing one or two extra hours every week, as long as they can fit it around their schedule. Given the current cost of living crisis, many agents will welcome such opportunities while the contact center enjoys greater coverage.
3. Slant Shifts
Coined by leading WFM provider injixo, slant shifts offer agents the opportunity to work the conventional 40-hour week. However, hours are not split evenly between each day.
Instead, the working week compromises of ten hours of work on Monday, nine hours of work on Tuesday, eight hours on Wednesday, seven hours on Thursday, and five hours on Friday.
Such a shift pattern is ideal in operations where contact volumes drop as the week progresses. Also, many agents appreciate such a schedule as it allows them to enjoy a more relaxed end to the week.
4. Casual Shifts
Many contact centers have a base of casual workers on zero-hour contracts to whom they offer shifts when low on staff. With a WFM system, these agents may instead view the schedule and create their own schedules.
Enterprise labor services like Shiftsmart help businesses accrue such a workforce. Their solutions are ideal for many companies that suffer from continuous understaffing, supplying the casual workers to plug schedule gaps.
5. Banked Hours
Banked hours offer teams the opportunity to add hours to the end of their shift if the contact center is bustling. Agents can then redeem these hours at a later date.