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Profit-oriented shift scheduling of inbound contact centers with skills-based routing, impatient customers, and retrials

Author

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  • Helber, Stefan
  • Henken, Kirsten

Abstract

This paper presents a profit-oriented shift scheduling approach for inbound contact centers. The focus is on systems in which multiple agent classes with different qualifications serve multiple customer classes with different needs. We assume that customers are impatient, abandon if they have to wait, and that they may retry. A discrete-time modeling approach is used to capture the dynamics of the system due to time-dependent arrival rates. Staffing levels and shift schedules are simultaneously optimized over a set of different approximate realizations of the underlying stochastic processes to consider the randomness of the system. The numerical results indicate that the presented approach works best for medium-sized and large contact centers with skills-based routing of customers for which stochastic queueing models are rarely applicable.

Suggested Citation

  • Helber, Stefan & Henken, Kirsten, 2007. "Profit-oriented shift scheduling of inbound contact centers with skills-based routing, impatient customers, and retrials," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-379, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    • Handle: RePEc:han:dpaper:dp-379
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    File URL: http://diskussionspapiere.wiwi.uni-hannover.de/pdf_bib/dp-379.pdf
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Stefan Helber & Katja Schimmelpfeng & Raik Stolletz & Svenja Lagershausen, 2011. "Using linear programming to analyze and optimize stochastic flow lines," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 193-211, January.
    2. Jerome Niyirora & Jamol Pender, 2016. "Optimal staffing in nonstationary service centers with constraints," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 63(8), pages 615-630, December.
    3. Van den Bergh, Jorne & Beliën, Jeroen & De Bruecker, Philippe & Demeulemeester, Erik & De Boeck, Liesje, 2013. "Personnel scheduling: A literature review," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 226(3), pages 367-385.
    4. De Bruecker, Philippe & Van den Bergh, Jorne & Beliën, Jeroen & Demeulemeester, Erik, 2015. "Workforce planning incorporating skills: State of the art," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 243(1), pages 1-16.
    5. Benjamin Legros & Sihan Ding & Rob Mei & Oualid Jouini, 2017. "Call centers with a postponed callback offer," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 39(4), pages 1097-1125, October.
    6. Abdulaziz Ahmed & Elizabeth Frohn, 2021. "A predictive and prescriptive analytical framework for scheduling language medical interpreters," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 531-550, September.
    7. Jaime Miranda & Pablo A. Rey & Antoine Sauré & Richard Weber, 2018. "Metro Uses a Simulation-Optimization Approach to Improve Fare-Collection Shift Scheduling," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 48(6), pages 529-542, November.
    8. Örmeci, E. Lerzan & Salman, F. Sibel & Yücel, Eda, 2014. "Staff rostering in call centers providing employee transportation," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 41-53.
    9. Oyku Ahipasaoglu & Nesim Erkip & Oya Ekin Karasan, 2019. "The venue management problem: setting staffing levels, shifts and shift schedules at concession stands," Journal of Scheduling, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 69-83, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Call center; contact center; workforce scheduling; shift scheduling; stochastic programming.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis

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