BSBCCO606B - Forecast and plan using customer contact traffic information analysis

BSBCCO606B
Forecast and plan using customer contact traffic information analysis

This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to analyse call or contact traffic information to forecast and plan resourcing for customer contact operations.Competence in this unit requires the use of queuing theory to forecast call or contact volumes, and assessing and planning appropriate resourcing levels to meet the requirements of the organisation.

Application

This unit can be undertaken by specialist staff, operational management staff, or those with managerial responsibility, depending on the size and structure of the centre.

Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Elements and Performance Criteria

1. Analyse contact traffic data	1.1 Confirm the accuracy and appropriateness of contact traffic data 1.2 Identify call or contact traffic patterns over short and long intervals 1.3 Identify anomalies and nonrecurring events in contact patterns
2. Interpret the impact of customer contact phenomena on forecasting and planning	2.1 Define and identify the range of contact centre or customer contact phenomena affecting resource planning 2.2 Analyse and explain impact of phenomena 2.3 Identify issues arising from the impact of customer contact phenomena when forecasting and planning
3. Develop contact traffic forecasts	3.1 Provide a baseline for forecast by collecting historical data 3.2 Collaborate with marketing, financial control and other areas to incorporate budget expectations and marketing efforts into forecast 3.3 Break down annual forecast into smaller periods and adjust for seasonality 3.4 Ensure that forecast accuracy is within organisational requirements
4. Plan labour requirements	4.1 Determine basic inputs to queuing tools 4.2 Calculate resources required using queuing tools 4.3 Adjust results to account for quantitative and qualitative factors 4.4 Perform planning process and scheduling for all levels of forecasted call and contact traffic

Required Skills

Required skills

analytical skills to:

analyse workplace information and data

consider all options and support the development of the strategy

use observations of workplace tasks and interactions between people and their activities, equipment, environment and systems

pay attention to detail when making observations and recording outcomes

communication skills to:

communicate effectively with personnel at all levels

conduct effective formal and informal meetings

consultation and negotiation skills to develop, implement and monitor strategies

leadership skills to gain the trust and confidence of colleagues and stakeholders

literacy skills to prepare and present reports on complex concepts and ideas

numeracy skills to:

carry out arithmetical calculations

analyse trends and patterns

manage budgetary resources

planning and organising skills to manage own tasks within required timeframes

presentation skills to articulate information and ideas effectively

problemsolving skills to create innovative solutions to problems that arise

project management skills to:

develop and implement the strategy successfully

achieve ongoing continuous improvement

risk assessment and mitigation skills to fully understand and, if necessary, mitigate potential impacts of activities

selfmanagement skills to:

comply with policies and procedures

seek learning and development opportunities

technology skills to organise, manage and analyse data.

Required knowledge

business planning and budgeting principles

contact traffic measurement systems

external factors and contact centre operational factors potentially impacting on planning and forecasting

operating environment requirements and objectives

organisational communication methods

principles of statistical analysis and reporting

queuing and forecasting tools

scheduling techniques.

Evidence Required

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit	Evidence of the ability to: prepare contact forecasts and calculate resources required to support these forecasts demonstrate knowledge of contact traffic measurement systems.
Context of and specific resources for assessment	Assessment must ensure access to: information and databases for analysis activities standards and guidelines.
Method of assessment	A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit: direct questioning combined with review of portfolios of evidence and third-party workplace reports of onthejob performance by the candidate review of forecasts against actuals review of reports and explanation of historical call traffic data review of reports and explanation of resource calculations review of call and contact traffic forecasts for a range of timeframes, including consideration of contingencies and external factors oral and/or written questioning to assess knowledge of the impact of customer contact phenomena on forecasting review of stakeholder feedback.
Guidance information for assessment	Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example: BSBCCO601B Optimise customer contact operations BSBCCO608B Manage customer contact operational costs.

Range Statement

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Contact traffic datamay include:	data extracted from customer contact systems that: can detail statistics, such as numbers, types and times of calls may be sorted and tabulated for individual agents and groups of agents data on other types of contact: email facetoface letters SMS (text messages) website.
Intervalsmay include periods for reporting, which may be:	annual daily half hourly hourly seasonal weekly.
Contact centre or customer contact phenomenamay include:	administration duties billing and credit issues climate, environmental and health factors equipment failures excessive call lengths excessive leave commitments external influences or factors marketing and competitor activity media attention training periods and team meetings.
Queuing toolsmay include:	Erlang B and C tools facilities within automated call distribution (ACD) systems which provide the capacity to sort and queue different types of calls according to preset business rules.
Quantitative and qualitative factorsmay include:	call cost considerations marketing activity seasonal variations variations in staff availability.
Schedulingmay include:	business demands, goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) forecasting enquiries by using a forecasting model that uses weighted averages from previous scheduling periods, including: calls email escalations mail employee preferences heuristic, where call sequence is ordered by customer balance legislation and regulations operational constraints scheduling methods, such as: batch optimised: hourly scheduling (16-hourly lists) dynamic optimised: hourly scheduling (re-optimised at the beginning of every hour) work function projections, incorporating quality and quantity.

Sectors

Stakeholder relations – contact centre operations

Employability Skills

This unit contains employability skills.

Licensing Information

No licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of endorsement.