In call center language, occupancy is the total amount of time which the call center agents spend while engaging with the customer. Engaging with the customers can mean anything from taking their calls and providing them solutions to after call documentation or even putting the call on hold when required. An ideal occupancy rate for a call center is expected to be 85-90%. Occupancy is an important metric for all call centers as it is based on customer engagement. More customer engagement will mean better customer satisfaction and hence more business for the call center.
However, higher occupancy rate isn’t always a good thing. An occupancy rate as high as 90% might seem good but it will result in agents losing opportunities like upselling or skill-sharpening. Higher occupancy basically means that agents are mostly busy doing their jobs. A flip side to this is that agents do not have any spare time and they are almost always in a rush. This means that the agents will have no time left to upsell or resell to the existing customers or to sharpen their skills which could have made them more efficient. Using a call management system , toll free number and IVR, call centers can take some load off the agents and maintain a sweet spot of about 75-80% occupancy.
