Among the companies out there with high service levels (read: answer
calls quickly), what software programs do they use? For example, I
want my group of 50 people to answer 90% of our daily calls within 18
seconds. I remember one such program called Blue Pumpkin but I think
it might have been more detailed than what I'm looking for.

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Clarification of Question by brian22-ga on 07 Jul 2005 19:45 PDT

One more thing: The only thing I need help with is staffing and
scheduling. I am completely uninterested in any of the other features
typically offered although I recognize I might not be able to avoid
them.

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Request for Question Clarification by hummer-ga on 08 Jul 2005 06:25 PDT

Hi brian22,

Would either of these be suitable?

AgentTime? Scheduler 
http://www.portagecommunications.com/agt_time.htm

Call Center Designer
http://www.portagecommunications.com/ccd.htm

Portage Communications' workforce management software
http://www.portagecommunications.com/

Regards,
hummer

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Clarification of Question by brian22-ga on 08 Jul 2005 13:57 PDT

All three links are same product.  I'm not sure if that was
intentional but I'd like to see a few options if possible.

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Request for Question Clarification by hummer-ga on 08 Jul 2005 15:33 PDT

Hi brian22,

Actually, I thought AgentTime? Scheduler and Call Center Designer were
two different products. I posted the third link because it gives more
info.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough. I posted the links to find out if
that is the type of software you are looking for (namely, AgentTime).
It always helps to have a good example in hand while searching for
more options.

Thanks,
hummer

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Clarification of Question by brian22-ga on 10 Jul 2005 14:42 PDT

My apologies! Yes, you are definately on the right track.

Hi brian22,

Thanks for getting back to me. No need to apologize, it's just nice to
know that we're on the same page, here are some more possibilities.

1. Ansapoint $1249.00 [for one building, less for one PC]
"Ansapoint is a call center forecasting tool that can help you analyse
your agent staffing requirements at call centres.  Using its unique
graphical interface, charting tools and printed reports, Ansapoint
allows you to design call centre workforce schedules quickly and
easily."
http://www.erlang.com/ansapoint.html

2. AgentTime Scheduler with Call Center Designer and SimACD  $6900.00 
50 - 74 Agents
"Portage's new AgentTime? Scheduler is an affordable new agent
scheduling solution designed specifically for small and medium sized
call centers. AgentTime creates agent employee schedules from a
database of agents, shift definitions, agent availabilities, agent
preferences and agent priorities entered by the call center manager."
http://www.portagecommunications.com/agt_time.htm

3. Easy Start Call Center Scheduler $499.00
Our step-by-step interactive "wizard" makes it easy to set up this
spreadsheet to schedule your call center agents and meet your service
level and response time objectives.
http://www.incoming.com/WebModules/Products/PubDetail.aspx?ProductId=70

4. Call Center Forecaster-Scheduler $199 [or they will customize a version for you]
"Effective daily planning and call center management tool."
http://www.callcenterforecaster.com/

5. SchedulePro Call Center Scheduling Software [call for info: 1-877-501-7776]
"Are you still creating your call center employee schedules by hand?
Are you frustrated with your manual process? Automating call center
staff schedule creation process will save you time, money and
frustration. Schedule Pro, an automated call center scheduling
software, is designed to simplify the process to prepare and maintain
call center staff duty rosters. Call center scheduling software can
save you up to 80% in scheduling time."
http://www.edpsoftware.com/sprocallcenter.html

6. TotalView [call for info: 1 800 433-7692]
 "Powerful work rules build a solid foundation for the TotalView
system?s scheduling processes. You define shift start and end times,
minimum and maximum limits on consecutive days on or days off, how to
schedule breaks, lunches and other activities, and the degrees of
variability in a generated schedule. The TotalView system builds
schedules that maximize your efficiency and still fit your business
environment, whether that environment consists of one site or many,
uses standard or skill-based routing, and handles only calls or
handles multiple contact channels, such as calls, email, and web
chats. Schedules can be unique from day to day, be copied from
previous weeks, or rotate in custom patterns. The TotalView system
even allows you to span schedules over midnight and end-of-week
boundaries, and accounts for overhead, weekend fairness and other
parameters."
http://www.iex.com/TotalView/scheduling.htm

7. Call Center Scheduler [call for info: +972-4-826-6257]
"The Call Center Scheduler (CCS), which has been in development at the
IBM Haifa Research Labs (HRL) since 1996, is a roster planning and
management tool that runs on Windows and NT operating systems. CCS is
used in information call centers with a high volume of incoming calls,
each demanding a skilled agent response.
CCS generates optimal periodic schedules for these call center agents
while maintaining the required level of service. The schedules
optimally utilize the agents' skills while taking into account their
work preferences such as which days they would like to work and which
shifts they want to cover. The manager of the call center creates an
optimal working schedule by entering the skills and preferences of the
agents into the CCS program."
http://www.haifa.il.ibm.com/projects/software/ccs/

Additional Link of Interest:

Staff Scheduling for Inbound Call Centers and Customer Contact Centers
http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~fukunaga/Fukunaga-AIMag-Director-2002.pdf

I hope at least one hits the spot. If you have any questions, please
post a clarification request *before* closing/rating my answer and
I'll be happy to reply.

Thank you,
hummer

Google Search Terms Used: "call center" scheduling agent software
schedules employees management "calling center" call center scheduler
workforce staff

Excellent; provided answers that fit perfectly with the context of my
question which, relative to most of the market (call centers), was
extremely narrow. Thanks!

Thanks, Brian, I'm glad I was able to help you out. Sincerely, hummer

Hello Brian,
you can see InVision WFM as well, it's very powerfull software, which
meets your requirement. Regarding prices contact them
http://www.invision.de/en/contact/canada/usa.htm