What Is Adherence?

Schedule Adherence or Adherence to Schedule

A general term that refers to how well agents adhere to their schedules. Can include both:

1. How much time they were available to take calls during their shifts, including the time spent handling calls and the time spent waiting for calls to arrive (also called Availability)
2. When they were available to take calls (also called Compliance or Adherence). See Real-Time Adherence Software and Occupancy.

Schedule Adherence Formula

The formula for adherence is very simple:

There is no universally recognized schedule adherence benchmark, but rates between 85 and 95% are generally considered acceptable. Obviously there does have to be some allowance for factors which are beyond the agents’ control, like calls which overrun into a lunch break. When the contact centre’s average adherence figure is below target, closer analysis is needed to identify the drivers behind this.

Within the schedule adherence calculation, sanctioned activities like meetings and coaching are considered adherent when they are carried out during scheduled hours.

To calculate adherence automatically on an Excel spreadsheet, check out Our Free Schedule Adherence Tool