Many teams have similar goals when it comes to scheduling. Dialpad WFM's Activity Plans offer endless combinations to find the right rule for the task, but it can be overwhelming to decide.

We've put together a list of some of the most common use cases for activities that we've heard from our customers, as well as tips on how to best configure them within the app.

Scheduling breaks

You can schedule breaks to accommodate multiple shifts, timezones and requirements by using the right filters in your rules. If your rules are too rigid, you may end up needing multiple rules which can become confusing.

Under the schedule timing section, the most flexible options to use are 'time from start/end of shift'. This allows you to set a general rule for breaks, which can then be dynamically applied to lots of different shifts.

In this example shown below, one rule has allowed us to schedule a 1hr break for agents on different shifts, and within different timezones.

If you have different break requirement depending on the hours agents work, you can utilise the filters in the Agent assignment section to target shifts that are under or over a certain length.

In the example shown below, we have target our break at shifts that are more than 4 hours long, but less than 8 hours long.

Scheduling live or real time channels

Channels where the customer is present for the duration e.g. Phones or Live Chat

When scheduling live queues you need ensure you have the right level of coverage to serve your customers and meet your SLAs. The best way to do this is to schedule activities according to the forecasted demand.

The easiest and most efficient way to do this is to use the 'follow forecast' option. This option will will adjust the level of staffing to match the forecasted requirement for each interval of every day. The system does this by looking at the forecast for the queues linked to the activity you're scheduling.

If your email or messaging queues have tight SLAs (e.g. a target response time that's less than 1 hour), you can also schedule email in this way.

View step by step guide

Click 'add activity rule' from the toolbar on the left of your screen. You'll now be taken to the activity rule form.

Select the activity you want to schedule from the dropdown, or click the + button to create a new type of activity, e.g. Tier 1 Phones, Live Chat
When asked "How would you like to schedule it?", Select Follow forecast from the dropdown.
Once selected you will be shown the queues linked to this activity. If no queues are linked, select the relevant queue from the dropdown and click save.
Next, set the minimum coverage required for this activity.
- The system will try to meet all minimum requirement for all activities in the first instance and then assign any remaining capacity until the total forecasted requirement has been met.
- Be careful setting your minimum coverage too high as this could result in other activities not being scheduled.
Now, you can choose to set a session length to control how long agents will be scheduled on the activity in one go before moving onto another task.
- This is helpful to prevent fatigue on high-intensity live channels.
- You should consider how your agent's work best and tailor this to their needs.
Finally, add filters to define who this activity should be scheduled for. If no filters are applied, this rule will apply to all agents within the plan. You can filter with:
1. Agent (e.g. Ben and Sally)
2. Agent skill (e.g. Chat, Phones)
3. Scheduled activities (e.g. agents who are scheduled on Phones)
4. Shift (e.g. Early shift)
5. Shift length (e.g. shifts between 6 and 9 hours long)
When you're happy, click Save

Scheduling asynchronous or non-real time channels

Channels where the customer is not always present e.g. Email, Whatsapp

When scheduling channels with longer first response times, or long, asynchronous conversations, where the customer isn't always present, you may want to take a different approach to scheduling.

For these cases, we usually recommend using either the 'allocate time' option, or the 'fixed staffing' option.

The allocate time option allows you to set the time required per activity. You can choose to share this requirement across the team, or set it as an individual target.

View step by step guide

Click 'add activity rule' from the toolbar on the left of your screen. You'll now be taken to the activity rule form.
Select the activity you want to schedule from the dropdown, or click the + button to create a new type of activity, e.g. Admin, Training
When asked "How would you like to schedule it?", Select Allocate time from the dropdown.
Next, set the time required. You can choose to set this allocation per agent, or to share the time across the team.
Now, you can choose to set a session length to control how long agents will be scheduled on the activity in one go before moving onto another task.
- You should consider how much time agent's need to do this task.
You can choose to add schedule windows to define when this activity should be scheduled. If no window is applied, then the activity will be scheduled whenever time is available. The available options are:
1. at: allows you to choose a specific start time
2. at end of shift: the activity will be scheduled as the last activity in their shift
3. at start of shift: the activity will be scheduled as the first activity in their shift
4. between: allows you to set a window of time
Finally, add filters to define who this activity should be scheduled for. If no filters are applied, this rule will apply to all agents within the plan. You can filter with:
1. Agent (e.g. Ben and Sally)
2. Agent skill (e.g. Chat, Phones)
3. Scheduled activities (e.g. agents who are scheduled on Phones)
4. Shift (e.g. Early shift)
5. Shift length (e.g. shifts between 6 and 9 hours long)
When you're happy, click Save

The fixed staffing option allows you to manually specify the number of agents you need at certain times.

View step by step guide

Click 'add activity rule' from the toolbar on the left of your screen. You'll now be taken to the activity rule form.

Select the activity you want to schedule from the dropdown, or click the + button to create a new type of activity, e.g. Emails
When asked "How would you like to schedule it?", Select Fixed staffing from the dropdown.
Next, create windows to define the coverage you need and when. You can set coverage as granular or as broad as you need to, from every hour to all day long. You can add additional windows if your need different coverage on different days.
Now, you can choose to set a session length to control how long agents will be scheduled on the activity in one go before moving onto another task.
- You should consider how your agent's work best and tailor this to their needs.
Finally, add filters to define who this activity should be scheduled for. If no filters are applied, this rule will apply to all agents within the plan. You can filter with:
1. Agent (e.g. Ben and Sally)
2. Agent skill (e.g. Chat, Phones)
3. Scheduled activities (e.g. agents who are scheduled on Phones)
4. Shift (e.g. Early shift)
5. Shift length (e.g. shifts between 6 and 9 hours long)
When you're happy, click Save

Scheduling offline time

Non-customer facing tasks that needs to be done e.g. Admin, training, development

Agents need to do a lot more than just customer-facing work during their shift. From weekly admin tasks and knowledge work, to training and development, it all needs to be scheduled.

For these cases, we usually recommend using either the 'allocate time' option. The allocate time option allows you to set the time required per activity. You can choose to share this requirement across the team, or set it as an individual target.

View step by step guide

Click 'add activity rule' from the toolbar on the left of your screen. You'll now be taken to the activity rule form.
Select the activity you want to schedule from the dropdown, or click the + button to create a new type of activity, e.g. Admin, Training
When asked "How would you like to schedule it?", Select Allocate time from the dropdown.
Next, set the time required. You can choose to set this allocation per agent, or to share the time across the team.
Now, you can choose to set a session length to control how long agents will be scheduled on the activity in one go before moving onto another task.
- You should consider how much time agent's need to do this task.
You can choose to add schedule windows to define when this activity should be scheduled. If no window is applied, then the activity will be scheduled whenever time is available. The available options are:
1. at: allows you to choose a specific start time
2. at end of shift: the activity will be scheduled as the last activity in their shift
3. at start of shift: the activity will be scheduled as the first activity in their shift
4. between: allows you to set a window of time
Finally, add filters to define who this activity should be scheduled for. If no filters are applied, this rule will apply to all agents within the plan. You can filter with:
1. Agent (e.g. Ben and Sally)
2. Agent skill (e.g. Chat, Phones)
3. Scheduled activities (e.g. agents who are scheduled on Phones)
4. Shift (e.g. Early shift)
5. Shift length (e.g. shifts between 6 and 9 hours long)
When you're happy, click Save

Other common use cases

The task requires a specific number of agents to be working on it at specific times

Use the 'fixed staffing' option
In the Staffing requirement section, define the number of agents required at these specific times.
If this is a very important task, move the rule to a high position in the activity rule list.

The task should be scheduled at the quietest times

Use the 'allocate time' option
We recommend to not add a scheduling window to allow the activity to be placed at quieter times. Alternatively, you can exclude your busiest days using this option too.
In the activity rules list, move this rule to a lower position, below any fixed staffing or follow forecast rules.. This will mean that the activity will be scheduled at times where coverage is not required.

The task needs to be completed at specific times but anyone can do it

Use the 'allocate time' option
Set the time required to be the total amount of time required. This can be done per day or per week. Ensure that you select the 'shared between agents' option, this means that time on this activity can be assigned to any agent.
Add a schedule window to target the specific times you need agents to work on this activity

The task needs to be the first or last thing agents do on their shift

Use the 'allocate time' option
Enter how much time agent's need to spend on this task per day or week and select the 'per agent' option. This ensures that each agent will be scheduled time on this task.
Add a schedule window and select the 'start of shift' or 'end of shift' option. This will set the activity to be the first or last activity agent's are scheduled, no matter what time their shift is.
If it's vital that each agent does this task first or last, set it as the highest priority, above any follow forecast or fixed staffing rules.

The task requires agents to do it for their entire shift

Use the 'fill unscheduled time' option
Select the 'set number' option and enter the number of agents that are required to do this activity
If this only applies to specific agents, e.g. a supervisor or senior agent, apply an agent assignment filter to target agents with this skill, or select them by name.
If this is a very important task, move the rule to a high position in the activity rule list.

The task is a fall-back or default activity when there's nothing else to do

Use the 'fill unscheduled time' option. This means that the rule will fill any gaps in the schedule.
Select the 'everyone' option. This means this rule will target all agents.
In the activity rules list, move this rule to the lower position, at the bottom of the list. This will mean that the activity will be scheduled when there are no other requirements needed.

A guide to scheduling