Workforce Management 101 for New Managers

Created by: Danielle Hibbert

October 2014
EDTC 5465, F1, 2014 Instructional Design
OVERVIEW
Workforce Management 101 for New Managers is a module created to help newer managers in a call
center environment understand workforce management concepts. One concept that can better assist
managers in understanding how we determine the number of people needed to handle call volume is a
basic workload calculation.
ANALYSIS
Needs Analysis
Current training for this occurs during management training program but is not refreshed once a
promotion occurs.
Managers are the front line when it comes to staffing concerns, retention, and coaching employees on
attendance, schedule adherence, and other schedule-related concerns in a call center environment.
Creating this module will provide a more in-depth refresher for the knowledge initially obtained during
management training program but provides more information that managers can use in day-to-day
scenarios to assist with workforce management issues.
Learning Environment Resources
This training can be delivered as virtual instructor-led training (VILT) or classroom instructor-led training
(ILT). In a virtual classroom, participants will dial in and engage via a web-session using Adobe Connect.
In a classroom, the participants would attend with a PC available to each student, and a PC with
projector for the facilitator. The facilitator needs access to IEX-TotalView Workforce Management
software, Articulate Storyline or SCORM package uploaded to a learning management system,

PowerPoint, Adobe Connect for VILT sessions, excel, and Word with printing capabilities. Participants
need access to the internet and a phone for VILT sessions, login credentials for the learning
management system, a PC, a printer to accommodate job aids and handouts for VILT to follow along. In
a classroom, a PC will be required and everything else is provided.
Task Analysis
The purpose of the training module is to create a familiarity amongst call center managers about
workforce management concepts and practices. After this training module participants will be able to
apply their knowledge to daily call center staffing concerns, understand how our base staffing
requirement is calculated and calculate a base staffing requirement, and recognize how planned and
unplanned shrinkage factors into our daily call forecast. The type of learning outcome represented by
the purpose and goal of this training module is cognitive. While calculations serve as a practical base for
the knowledge they will acquire, participants will need to apply the information in day-to-day scenarios
in a live call center environment.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will be able to define key call center terms and their relation to managing in a call
center environment.
2. Participants will accurately calculate base staffing requirements to demonstrate how call center
staffing is determined prior to applying Erlang-C and accounting for shrinkage.
3. Participants will illustrate the impact managers can have when using their knowledge of
workforce management concepts through instructor-led discussion and completion of a quiz.
Prior to taking this training module, managers must have an understanding of basic math and prior
knowledge of the currently used call center metrics in their call center environment, including
situational relevance of those metrics. This knowledge is inherent to call center managers, so while

some may have a better grasp of this basic knowledge, an elementary level of understanding the metrics
and basic math will be enough to help them get through this training module.
Participants will be
introduced to all
parts of the base
staffing
calculation
Learner
Analysis
through lecture.

Participants will
demonstrate the
calculation through an
activity in ILT session or
through viewing a
simulation of the activity
in a VILT session.

Upon completion of the

activity, participants
will use a self-paced
lesson that requires
them to complete
calculations in a variety
of scenarios.

Participants will receive a pass/fail grade

based on their completion of the
scenarios in the self-paced mini-lesson.

Learner Analysis
The target audience will be adult learners who are all call center managers with a variety of
experience and tenure. All participants will have completed a 4-year college degree, and a minimum of 6
months in their current role as a call center manager. Participants who have been in their role longer will
likely have some existing knowledge of the concepts being trained that will help them excel but may also
result in being more difficult to engage in the training session. Depending on the mixture of individuals,
some may be in the training module with their direct supervisor, resulting in an increased awareness
that their interactivity and participation is being reviewed not only by the facilitator but by their own
manager. This may lead to higher levels of participation from some individuals.
LESSON DESIGN
The lesson is designed to allow facilitators to use the module in a virtual environment but also to
allow facilitators to use in a traditional classroom with participants. As a result, activities may be less
interactive in a VILT session for participants but will still have the same impact, as the end goal.

Introduction
The facilitator will start the training session with a few examples of the cost of incorrect staffing
calculations. This will engage the audience by creating awareness and also by introducing how the issues
could have been avoided or better managed. This will give some time for the audience to relate their
role to the importance of the concepts we will talk about during the lesson. The facilitator will also ask
individuals to provide an example of times they have personally seen the impact of incorrect staffing in
their call center environment. Adult learners like to use their own experience when learning, so this will
start them off in a way that helps them engage the information in a practical way, as well. Learning
objectives will be communicated verbally with a shorter version in an accompanying PowerPoint
presentation.
Body
The introduction will have provided a little more information to the facilitator about the learners
in the training session, if they gave some examples or participated in the discussion. To review the
prerequisite knowledge, the facilitator will review key call center concepts and terminology. The
participants will engage in discussion led by the facilitator about how the concepts and terminology are
used in their specific call center environment. All participants will be required to answer a question or to
provide an example. After the initial discussion, the introduction of the various parts of the base staffing
calculation will be introduced. In an ILT session, participants will create donuts, following a set of
instructions, and will be timed in their completion to demonstrate the various elements of the
calculation. Participants will cut the donut out of their piece of paper, color it using two different colors,
use decorations, and clean-up their supplies. This exercise will represent average talk time and after-call
work. As participants complete their donuts, the time it takes will be recorded by the facilitator using
excel on a projection screen. This will allow the facilitator to average the time to complete the rest of
the demonstration. The facilitator will provide additional information related to the donut activity until a

base staffing calculation is completed, using the time and examples that the participants created during
the activity. After a discussion and a few examples, the facilitator will introduce the next activity.
Participants will now use the PC available to them to go through a self-paced mini-lesson
created in Storyline. This will allow the mini-lesson to be interactive and provide each participant
feedback based on how they are doing within the mini-lesson. The purpose of this activity is to introduce
various scenarios in a call center environment that requires the learner to identify which numbers are
which in the calculation, and accurately calculate the base staffing requirement given each scenario.
Each scenario will have a point value assigned. Participants will be required to work through exercises
until they have passed 80% of the scenarios, over the course of 45 minutes.
Both sessions will also wrap up with a facilitator led discussion, a brief video about call center
metrics and basic workforce management concepts to reiterate the information in a slightly different
manner. Each participant will also be required to share a goal that they will use for the post-training
work they will be asked to complete and get immediate feedback.
In a VILT session, the donut activity will not be possible so participants will see a video
simulation of a similar activity. It will require the facilitator to pause the video and ask questions
throughout to keep participants engaged. Participants will also be required to respond to questions
through the interactive features available through the Adobe Connect platform. Participants will
complete the same scenario-based mini-module and will have 45 minutes to complete this portion.
In both the ILT and VILT sessions, the facilitator is available, even during the self-paced minilesson to provide assistance and ongoing feedback. As discussions are led and participants provide
responses or anecdotes, the facilitator will acknowledge the participation, clarify and relate the
comments and anecdotes back to the entire class for the purpose of providing a clear and cohesive
message. Throughout the session, the facilitator will also lead knowledge-check discussions to review

what has already been covered by the module, this will allow the facilitator to highlight important
concepts and make sure the audience is keeping up with the information.

Assessment
Learning will be assessed through the previously explained self-paced mini-lesson, which is a
scenario-based quiz that has interactive elements and provide immediate feedback to the learner. This
will provide assessment for the ability to accurately calculate base staffing requirements. The facilitator
is going to provide immediate feedback to participants answering questions and through discussion
throughout the training module.
Additional methods of assessment to demonstrate the knowledge gained during this training
would be a 30-day and 90-day follow-up test, which would be multiple choice. This would provide a
reference for how much knowledge was immediately gained and if it was effectively retained by the
participant.
Conclusion
Participants will be required, as post-work, to meet with their manager and discuss the module.
They are also asked to make two goals that they must meet within 90-days related to their
understanding and real-world application of the information. It is the responsibility of the manager to
follow-up on this item. The facilitator is then to provide an opportunity and reminder to the manager to
obtain this information and provide feedback to the trainer on any gaps that may be identified as a
result of this follow-up exercise.
Because participants are required to follow-up with their manager, this will put the immediate
ownership on the participant. The training module will end with a discussion and review of the lesson
using a brief video about call center metrics and then a facilitator-led discussion about the importance
and the role of management in helping make sure the call center is well-staffed and costs are kept in

check. The facilitator will be asking each participant to create one of their two required goals on the spot
and share with the class, this will give them the opportunity to get final feedback on their understanding
of how to apply the knowledge they just obtained. This wraps up the module and allows the facilitator
to have a little knowledge prior to checking in with the participants managers.