Before we get started, make sure you have set-up your forecast already. Our in-depth article will guide you through the process. Read the guide
Getting to know the page
You can view your forecasts at any time by heading to the Forecasts page. On the forecast page you will see two charts:
Inbound contacts - the forecasted number of contacts your team will receive
Coverage required - the calculated number of agents you will need to handle the forecasted tickets whilst meeting your service targets.
Hover your cursor over any interval to view the specific number of contacts and agents required.
How to view different dates
You can quickly jump to different periods of your 12 month forecasts by using the quick actions in the toolbar.
The charts will automatically to show the relevant data and view for the time range you’ve selected.
How to view the forecast per queue
You can view all your forecast as a whole, or break it down by each of your queues. You can do this checking the 'breakdown by queue' box in the top right of your screen.
How to compare forecast vs. actuals
Sometimes it can be hard to understand the impact of a forecast without additional context, making it difficult to know when you might need to make some changes.
For example you might be thinking “is this volume widely different from last week or last month?”, or “how much has our volume grown since last year?”.
When viewing a forecast, you can choose to compare the data against the previous day, week, month or year by selecting an option from the dropdown in the toolbar.
Turning on this tool will show you the actual tickets received for that period and the number of surfers you needed to handle those tickets.
How to view historical data
If you would like to look back at previous days and see what actually happened, you can view your forecast history by selecting a date in the past using the custom date picker in the toolbar.
When viewing a past forecast you can select compare actuals from the toolbar to compare the actual contacts received for that day.
How to manually adjust your forecasts
There are often factors in your business that you’re aware of but an automated systems are not. For example, an upcoming product release, sale, or marketing campaign.
Dialpad WFM allows you to manually adjust your forecast volumes to better represent the type of volumes you expect to receive.
To plan for these events, you need to have an idea of the percentage uplift you expect to receive. You can look back at similar periods in the past by viewing the difference between your forecast and actuals in Dialpad WFM.