Industry standards for call center staff shrinkage

Industry standards for call center staff shrinkage

What is the industry standard for shrinkage? Do you have any numbers you can provide? I am a workforce optimization (WFO) executive, and I would like to know how to set some goals for our organization based on industry standards.

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Unfortunately, there are no industry standards for metrics, including shrinkage. Shrinkage rates we've seen can run from 15% to 35%. You must look at what is included in shrinkage for a given center -- breaks (including meals), absenteeism (holidays, vacations, sick days, etc.), training, meetings, etc. The key thing is to clearly define what is included, and ensure a thorough workforce planning process to account for the various elements that may require you to ramp up staffing -- whether accounted for in shrinkage or other mechanisms.

This was first published in January 2007