Maximum Occupancy

Contact centre staffing can be tricky to get right, especially when it comes to managing how much time agents spend on calls.

Too much stress on your team can lead to burnout, inefficiency, and even higher turnover. That’s where understanding maximum occupancy becomes crucial.

To get you off to the right start, Call Centre Helper’s Jonty Pearce, explains how maximum occupancy is the most common resource planning mistake that contact centres make when working out how many staff they need.

Video: The Most Common Resource Planning Mistake

Watch the video below to hear Jonty explain how maximum occupancy is the most common resource planning mistake that contact centres make when working out how many staff they need:

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In the world of contact centre management, one of the most common mistakes made during staffing calculations is overlooking maximum occupancy.

Understanding and managing this metric is crucial for ensuring your agents work efficiently without experiencing burnout or declining performance.

“I’m going to take you through the most common resource planning mistake that contact centres make when working out how many staff they need, and that is maximum occupancy.

And the simple rule is you shouldn’t let maximum occupancy go above 85%.”

What Is Occupancy?

Occupancy refers to the proportion of time an agent spends handling calls or completing after-call work compared to the total amount of time they are logged in and available for work.

“So, what is Occupancy? Occupancy very simply is the total contact handling time divided by the total logged-in time. And if you want a percentage, you multiply that by 100.”

It’s calculated by dividing the total contact handling time (the time agents spend on calls) by the total logged-in time, then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage.

Maximum Occupancy of 85%

“A maximum occupancy of 85% would be basically 51 minutes of total contact handling time, divided by 60 minutes of total logged-in time, times 100 to get a percentage. So in essence, an agent on average should be handling calls for no more than 51 minutes out of 60.”

The general rule of thumb in the contact centre industry is to never exceed a maximum occupancy of 85%.

For example, if an agent spends 51 minutes of their hour actively working on calls, their occupancy is 85%. It’s an important metric that helps determine how efficiently an agent is being utilized during their shift.

This means that out of every 60 minutes an agent is logged in, they should be engaged in actual call work for no more than 51 minutes.

Keeping occupancy at or below this level ensures that agents have enough time for mental resets, breaks between calls, and necessary wrap-up tasks.

Why It Is Important Occupancy Doesn’t Exceed 85%

Keeping occupancy under 85% is critical to maintaining a healthy and sustainable workforce, as Jonty explains:

“So why is this so important that we shouldn’t take this over 85%? Well, I think the analogy is a bit like a car. It’s very tempting to get a car and run it flat out, but you and I know if you do that with a car, there’s a very good chance that if you do that for too long, then things are going to overheat, and it’s exactly the same with your staff.”

If agents are pushed beyond this limit, it’s similar to running a car at full speed for too long without rest, eventually, the engine will overheat. In the same way, when agents are overworked:

Burnout becomes inevitable.
Absenteeism and attrition increase as agents take sick days or leave the job altogether.

Maintaining a lower occupancy allows agents to stay refreshed, think clearly, and continue to provide high-quality service throughout their shifts.

What Happens When You Take Occupancy Over 85%

“So what happens when you take your occupancy over 85%? Well, the simple thing is that if you’re running your staff flat out all the time, then they start to get burnt out. They start not to be able to think straight.

And that leads to one thing, and that is the A-word – Absence. Monday morning staff don’t show up for work.

There’s one other A-word that can happen as well, and that is Attrition. It’s not untypical in the contact centre industry to see attrition rates of 40% or more.”

When you push occupancy above 85%, several negative consequences can arise:

Agent Burnout: Consistent overwork leads to exhaustion, both mentally and physically. Agents can struggle to maintain focus and efficiency.
Increased Stress: Without sufficient breaks, agents may feel overwhelmed and stressed, leading to a drop in morale.
Lower Job Satisfaction: High occupancy rates often correlate with lower employee satisfaction and engagement, making it harder to retain staff.

You May See AHT Increase

One of the most immediate effects of pushing occupancy beyond the 85% mark is an increase in average handling time (AHT), as Jonty continues:

“You might see average handling time and talk time increase. The reason for this is that people are so busy their brains don’t have time to reset between calls. And so effectively they take longer to think. So, talk time increases.

Also, people can’t get a break, so you can get a break if you conceal it in things like wrap time. What you might find is if you’re running at 100% occupancy, you are just hiding your maximum occupancy.”

When agents are working at maximum capacity, they may not have time to mentally reset between calls.

This lack of recovery can lead to:

Longer Call Times: Agents may take longer to process information, think through solutions, or respond to customer queries because their brains haven’t had the time to recharge.
Higher Error Rates: Fatigue can lead to mistakes, causing even more time to be spent on correcting issues.

Ultimately, as AHT increases, it can negatively impact your contact centre’s efficiency and service level targets.

How Do You Factor in Maximum Occupancy?

“So how do you factor in maximum occupancy? Well, in some Erlang calculators, but by no means all, you can factor in maximum occupancy. So very simply, don’t let your maximum occupancy go above 85%.”

To avoid the pitfalls of excessive occupancy, it’s essential to factor maximum occupancy into your staffing calculations.

Many Erlang calculators can help you determine the right number of agents for your call volume and service level goals while factoring in occupancy limits.

In these calculations, always ensure that you’re setting a maximum occupancy rate of 85%. This will give you a more realistic staffing plan and help prevent the negative consequences of overworking your team.

Some advanced Erlang calculators can automatically include this factor, but it’s important to check the settings to ensure that occupancy is being properly accounted for.

If you are looking for more great insights from Jonty, check out these next:

Author: Jonty Pearce
Reviewed by: Robyn Coppell

Published On: 11th Apr 2022 - Last modified: 30th May 2025
Read more about - Video, Editor's Picks, Metrics, Occupancy, Staffing, Videos