Service-Level Variability of Inbound Call Centers

Alex Roubos (), Ger Koole () and Raik Stolletz ()
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Alex Roubos: Department of Mathematics, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Ger Koole: Department of Mathematics, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Raik Stolletz: Business School, University of Mannheim, 68131 Mannheim, Germany

Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 2012, vol. 14, issue 3, 402-413

Abstract: In practice, call center service levels are reported over periods of finite length that are usually no longer than 24 hours. In such small periods the service level has a large variability. It is therefore not sufficient to base staffing decisions only on the expected service level. In this paper we consider the classical M / M / s queueing model that is often used in call centers. We develop accurate approximations for the service-level distribution based on extensive simulations. This distribution is used for a service-level variability-controlled staffing approach to circumvent the shortcomings of the traditional staffing based on the expected service level.

Keywords: call centers; service level; normal distribution; simulations; staffing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormsom:v:14:y:2012:i:3:p:402-413

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