Question 1

What is service level in a contact centre?

Accepted Answer

Service level is the percentage of contacts answered within a target threshold — typically 80% within 20 seconds (80/20). It is the primary performance metric for inbound contact centres. Service level directly impacts customer satisfaction, abandonment rates, and agent occupancy.

Question 2

How does losing agents affect service level?

Accepted Answer

Service level degrades non-linearly when agents are lost. Losing 2 agents from a team of 20 has a much larger impact than losing 2 from a team of 200. The Erlang C formula models this relationship. Even small reductions in staffing can cause disproportionate service level drops when occupancy is already high (above 85%).

Question 3

What is ASA (Average Speed of Answer)?

Accepted Answer

ASA is the average time callers wait in queue before being connected to an agent. It is derived from the Erlang C probability of waiting and the average handle time. ASA below 20 seconds is considered good. ASA above 60 seconds typically correlates with elevated abandonment rates.

Question 4

What is occupancy and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

Occupancy is the percentage of time agents spend handling contacts versus waiting for contacts. Formula: traffic intensity divided by number of agents. High occupancy (above 90%) causes burnout and extended handle times. Optimal range is 80-88% depending on contact complexity.

Question 5

How do I use the service level simulator?

Accepted Answer

Enter your baseline parameters (calls per hour, AHT, agents), then model what-if scenarios: agents lost, volume change, or AHT change. The simulator calculates new service level, ASA, and occupancy using Erlang C, and compares against your baseline to show the exact impact of each change.

Service Level Simulator

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