Erlang Formula for Incoming and Outgoing Calls

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Written by Jonty Pearce

Erlang Formula for Incoming and Outgoing Calls

I have the following queries on the Erlang model

1) In our contact centre, the agents, besides handling incoming calls, also make calls (outbound calls). In this case, is the Erlang Model/formula then suitable? I am under the impression that the Erlang formula is good only for incoming calls. In case it is suitable for both incoming and outbound calls, how or what adjustments do I make for outbound calls in the formula. Can I assume outbound calls to be inbound calls and include them in inbound calls?

2) Also, our contact centre agents are multi-skilled. Is the Erlang model suitable for multiskilled contact centrr? Is there any need to factor multiple skills in the formula?

Question asked by Manish

Erlang is Mostly for Inbound Calls

The Erlang C Formula was designed for inbound calls, but lots of people also use it for outbound to get a rough approximation of headcount.

What most people do is to group their inbound and outbound calls into one bucket and run the Erlang calciulation on that bucket.

For multichannel you can use a simulator.

https://www.callcentretools.com/tools/multi-channel-calculator/

With thanks to Jonty

Author
Jonty Pearce

Jonty Pearce walked into his first call centre in 1989 and has been hooked ever since. He founded Call Centre Helper in 1989.

He is an Engineering Graduate with a background in marketing and publishing. In 2020 he won the AOP Digital Publishing Award for The Best Use of Data.

He writes and speaks on a wide variety of subjects - particularly around forecasting and scheduling. His in depth knowledge of forecasting algorithms has earned him the nickname "Mr Erlang."

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Reviewed by: Robyn Coppell