Occupancy

What it means

Occupancy is how much of an agent's available time is spent actually handling contacts, as opposed to waiting for the next one. It is a measure of how hard the staffed hours are working, which makes it a workload and wellbeing signal rather than a productivity target.

How it is calculated

Occupancy = handle time / (handle time + available/idle time)

Why it matters

Sustained occupancy above roughly 85 to 90 percent is one of the most reliable leading indicators of burnout and attrition, because it means agents never get the short recovery gaps between contacts. Very low occupancy is the opposite problem and usually means the queue is over-staffed for its volume.

Common mistakes

• Confusing occupancy with utilization. Occupancy is measured against time available to take contacts; utilization is measured against the whole paid shift.
• Managing occupancy upward as if it were efficiency. It is largely a function of how volume and staffing meet, not of how hard an individual works.
• Reading it on a daily average. A day at 80 percent can hide a two-hour block at 98 percent, which is what agents actually feel.

See also

• UtilizationThe share of paid time agents spend on productive work, after shrinkage.
• ShrinkageThe portion of paid time agents are not available to handle contacts, from breaks, training, meetings, and absence.
• AHT: Average Handle TimeThe mean duration of a customer interaction.
• AttritionThe rate at which agents leave, voluntarily or not, over a period.