Capacity planning refers to the strategic approach by which organizations determine the total resources that need to be deployed against the given time constraints and parameters like achieving SLAs and reducing shrinkages.  

Accurately calculating the resource or capacity levels at a given time of the day and day of the week of year helps companies reduce overtime costs, and improve the employee efficiency.  

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Sprinklr’s solution for workforce forecasting: 

Our workforce management platform is the one-stop solution to predict any organization’s capacity requirements accurately across multiple channels. This platform is heavily driven by Sprinklr’s proprietary AI, enabling organizations to predict their incoming case volumes of any given day and utilise that report to generate capacity plans.  

To create a Capacity Planning report: 

A workforce planner persona should open the Sprinklr platform and head over to the workforce management dashboard.  

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Pre-requisites:  

• The workload is configured keeping in mind the queue and skill requirements to deal with the incoming case volume, this configuration is seldom changed.  

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• The volume forecast report that is generated on the tool and which predicts the incoming case volume for a specified duration, for which the capacity plan needs to be created. Read more about Workload in Sprinklr Workforce Management here:   

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Step 1:  

After navigating to the Staffing module from the landing page,  

Click on “Create Report” and fill in the necessary details in the staffing creation form.  

Step 2 :  

• Report Name - Name of the Capacity Plan 

• Description - Description of the Capacity Plan (optional) 

• Volume Forecast – Choose the pre-created volume forecast for the required duration on the platform. 

• Staffing group – Choose the workload and/or define the groups of workloads for which the report is being created. 

• Date Range - Duration of the Capacity Plan. 

• Staffing method – choose the type of staffing method to be used like creating the report, example- Erlang C method. 

• Working hours per week – Define the employee working hours per week, such as 40.  

Step 3: Click on Next to select Staffing Metrics: 

Channel Type: Select the channel type that the user wishes to create the staffing report for.  

Workload(s): The workload(s) that will be relevant in the capacity plan. 

Additional metrics: Additional metrics other than Shrinkage, AHT that will be applicable depending upon the channel type, for example concurrency for live chat channel type.  

Fill in the numeric details for each service parameter at a constant or dynamic level. 

More can be read about the staffing metrics here:  

The ‘+’ sign helps add multiple metrics groups for different workloads across several channel types.  

Step 2: 

After saving the above details, click on save to submit the report generation. The staffing plan will then be in the processing status on the staffing record manager page. 

Step 3: 

Click Refresh to see the capacity plan report once it is created & ready to be viewed. 

When the report is ready the status will change to Draft.  

Hover on the 3 dots to view the report. 

You can also edit the values, delete or share with another user. 

More details on Staffing Metrics:

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Staffing Metrics refer to quantifiable measures and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) used to assess and analyze the efficiency and productivity of workforce allocation within an organization. Some of the staffinng metrics that are used within Sprinklr:

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Shrinkage: - Shrinkage, in a contact centre, refers to the percentage of time that agents are not available to handle customer interactions due to breaks, meetings, trainings, or other non-productive activities. It's a critical factor in WFM calculations, impacting staffing requirements and overall operational efficiency.

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Average Handle Time (AHT): - Average Handle Time is the average duration it takes for a customer service representative to handle a customer interaction, from the moment the call is initiaited until its concluded. It's a key metric in contact centres, influencing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

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Concurrency: - Concurrency, in a contact centre, refers to the number of simultaneous customer interactions or tasks that an agent can handle in case of non-voice channels. It's a crucial metric for determining staffing needs and ensuring that the workforce can effectively manage the volume of interactions.

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Read the details of more staffing metrics here:

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How to Create What-if Scenarios using Staffing Metrics:

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For every combination of a channel type and a workload, supervisors can select and define each of the above staffing metrics either by a constant value or by color coding variable values at Day of the Week and Time of the Day level in the metrics chart.

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Constant Value: - They can select "Constant Value" from the Value Level drop-down menu and define each metric accordingly with their corresponding units as required to operate the Contact Centre. The time related staffing metrics such as AHT, Minimum Service Level and Maximum Average Speed of Answer can be defined in minutes or hours as per the channel selected.

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Variable Value: - They can select "Day of Week and Time of Day" from the Value Level drop-down menu and define multiple values in the metric chart with their corresponding units as required to operate the Contact Centre using color codes. The time related staffing metrics such as AHT, Minimum Service Level and Maximum Average Speed of Answer can be defined in minutes or hours as per the channel selected.

They can color code the metric chart in a horizontal manner such that it represents AHT of 3 minutes for Monday and Tuesday, 5 minutes for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and 7 minutes for Saturday and Sunday. They can drag or select cells in the metric chart to color code it with the defined values.

Similarly, they can color code the metric chart in a vertical fashion such that it represents AHT of 5 minutes everyday from midnight to 7 AM, 3 minutes everyday from 7 AM to 6 PM and 7 minutes everyday from 6 PM to midnight. They can drag or select cells in the metric chart to color code it with the defined values.

The same can be accomplished for other staffing metrics and their corresponding defined values as well. Supervisors can flexibly select staffing metrics and define them by making combinations between constant and variable values as mentioned above. Finally, a Capacity Plan Report can be created when the staffing metrics are defined for every Workload and channel type combination.

Some of the Capacity Planning algorithms that Sprinklr employs are:

1. Erlang C:

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The Erlang C model is a widely used mathematical model in contact centers to calculate the number of agents required based on call traffic and service level objectives. It considers the probability that a caller will have to wait for service and is particularly useful for scenarios with large number of call volumes.

​Erlang C is utilized in WFM Capacity Planning to calculate the optimal number of contact center agents needed to meet service level targets, considering call arrival patterns and the probability of callers waiting in queues.

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2. Erlang X:

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Erlang X is an extension of the Erlang C formula that incorporates the concept of abandonment. It considers scenarios where callers may abandon the queue before receiving service, providing a more complex estimate of the number of required agents in the contact center.

​Erlang X is applied in WFM Capacity Planning scenarios where understanding and mitigating the impact of caller abandonment is crucial, providing a detailed estimate of agent requirements by considering both served and unserved calls in the queue.

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3. Unitary Method:

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The Unitary Method is a straightforward mathematical approach used to estimate the number of contact centre agents required based on the relationship between the number of calls and the corresponding workload. It involves determining the work produced by one unit and then extrapolating it to calculate the resources needed for a given workload.

The Unitary Method is employed in WFM Capacity Planning for quick and initial estimations, especially when a basic linear relationship between call volume and workload is sufficient, providing a rapid assessment of staffing needs.

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The value we drive with the features and algorithms described above is the ability to successfully predict the staffing needs of a company to 95% accuracy for a granularity as low as 15 minutes.