The basics
Activities in Planbase are time segments within an employee's shift, designated for specific tasks or work such as handling calls in the morning and chats in the afternoon. They can also include things like breaks or meetings in order to ensure compliance rules are met and unproductive time is measured. By linking activities to data streams (e.g chat activities linked to Zendesk chat volume) and setting up SLAs, you can ensure enough employees are working on servicing customer demand at all times of the day.
Configuring activities
From the Planbase main screen, go to the scheduling screen. Click the settings cog on the upper right-hand side and select 'Activities'. This displays a list of all available activity types in your account.
Activity configuration: In the 'Configure Activities' screen, you can view details like the activity name, applicable teams, roles, or licenses, and linkage to datastreams.
Here, activities can be configured to align with teams, roles licenses and skills as well as operational requirements such as handling calls or managing tickets.
Eligibility settings: Specify who can perform each activity based on roles, skills, licenses, or teams.
Operational rules: Set parameters such as the minimum and maximum duration of activities, frequency requirements (e.g., breaks), and occurrence limits per shift or day.
Advanced configuration options
Mapping to datastreams: Link activities to demand streams like Zendesk calls or Talkdesk volume to directly relate staffing needs to actual customer demand.
Handling times and SLA settings: Define average handle times, target wait times, and service level agreement goals.
Shrinkage consideration: Include time for preparation, delays, or downtime, identified as shrinkage, to more accurately forecast staffing needs.
💡 You can link specific activities to datastreams, allowing you to set SLA (Service Level Agreement) metrics. This linkage helps establish required staffing levels.
Scheduling and managing activities
Adding activities to shifts: In the scheduling view, locate the tick and circle icon under a shift to access and add activities. Select activities from a dropdown list that represents all configured tasks.
View all activities: To view of all activities across shifts, click the 'Activities Detail' button.
How activities impact staffing levels
Impact on staffing requirements: Configured activities can affect staffing levels needed for specific times or events. For example, an activity related to handling customer calls will increase the required number of staff during that activity’s duration.
Metrics and visualization: The metrics chart, enabled from the top right corner, helps visualize the impact of scheduled activities on overall staffing, showing actual versus needed staff based on the activities scheduled.
