Optimize breaks and lunches

The Optimize Schedules action allows you to maximize coverage without running a new schedule. It is possible that a number of things changed since the schedule was run (exceptions were added, agents took time off, and so on) that affect coverage. Optimizing schedules by moving lunches and breaks helps to compensate for this.

Optimization affects only work condition activities (lunches and breaks) in work shifts that have scheduled activities for the selected service queue or multiskill group that includes the selected service queue for the selected date.

NOTE   This can result in worse coverage for other service queues that the agent is scheduled for on that date. For each existing work condition activity in the shift, the optimizer only moves those activities within their constraints and maximum optimization adjustment field limits (if they are set). This is done for both paid hours and shift length work conditions currently in the agent’s work shifts.
The optimizer will not move breaks and lunches added via the Insert Activity action on the Agent Schedules page. It is a good idea to run the optimizer before you change breaks and lunches manually.

This action is available on the Agent Schedules page for the current and future dates when a service queue is selected and there is at least one agent scheduled. It is not available when you select a service queue group, skill mapping, team, or custom grouping.

NOTE   To optimize current date schedules, lunches and breaks must begin at least one hour from the current time (rounded up to the nearest five minutes), and there must be at least ten minutes available before the end of potential lunches or breaks. Manual changes are always allowed.

Agents are optimized in the order that they appear on the Agent Schedules page. You can change this order by using the Agent column drop-down menu for sorting or by pinning agents to the top of the list. Optimization affects all agents across multiple pages, not just those on the visible page.

NOTE   The optimizer can be configured to run from 1 to 30 times every time you click the action (see “Maximum Schedule Optimization Attempts” on the Configure system-wide WFM settings page). By default it runs through the agent schedules up to 10 times. If it achieves maximum optimization before the configured limit is reached, it stops.

You receive a notification message after the action runs that states how many agents and schedules were optimized. When you close the notification message, the system updates the current page for all agents whose lunches and breaks were optimized. The changed agent schedules are not saved until you click Save.

Schedules for the agents who have been optimized are expanded into two entries for that date, as if you had double-clicked that agent’s schedule. If you select a different date in the schedule week in which the agent is not optimized, the agent’s schedule is not expanded. Clicking back to the date that was optimized causes the agent’s schedule to be expanded again. The two-entry schedule expansion for the agent on a date is maintained until one of the following occurs:

• Another optimization is done on a specified date
• The page is refreshed
• The agent schedule is double-clicked
• The schedule is saved or discarded

The two-entry schedule expansion applies across multiple pages.

You can make additional changes to the optimized schedules by double-clicking a schedule to bring up the two-entry schedule expansion. You can run the optimizer multiple times on the same date without saving and run the optimizer on multiple dates in the same schedule week without saving between each date optimized.

Once you have run the optimizer and are viewing the expanded rows of optimized schedules, the following is true:

• You cannot exclude agents from being optimized. You either have to save or discard all the optimized schedules for the agents.
• You cannot select specific optimized agent schedules to save.

To optimize schedules:

1. On the Agent Schedules page, click Actions and select Optimize Schedules.

2. Configure the optimization action.

   • Select a specific date or a date range. By default, the current date is selected. The date or date range you select must be within the schedule week.
   • If you want to exclude certain agents from optimization, move them from the Assigned pane to the Available pane. By default, all agents in the schedule are listed in the Assigned pane.
   • Select if you want breaks, lunches, or both to be optimized. By default, both breaks and lunches are selected.
3. Click Optimize. The optimizer runs the configured number of times, or until the schedule is optimized, and displays a message telling you how many agents were optimized and how many activities were moved.
4. If desired, optimize the schedule again. You can run the action as many times as you want. Each time it runs the configured number of times through the schedule. After the optimizer is finished, the schedules that were changed are shown in Edit mode (split into two bars). You can review the changes and make manual changes if desired. If you are optimizing a range of dates, you can view the changes made on each date in the range.
5. When you are done, click Save to save the changes made to the schedule.

Limitations on optimization

The optimizer considers these work condition activity constraints when moving lunches and breaks:

• Minimum delay
• Maximum delay
• Minimum interval
• Increment
• Maximum optimization adjustment field limit (if one is set)

The lunch or break will not be moved if these constraints cannot be met, or if the following are true:

• The location the lunch or break could be moved to is currently occupied by another lunch, break, project, or exception.
• The lunch or break crosses midnight.
• The lunch or break has been removed from the work condition, or it has been removed and then added back.

If the constraint for the activity has changed such that the activity cannot be moved in future time, it will not be moved.

The optimizer will not add or delete lunches or breaks, nor will it change their attributes (name, type, duration, paid portion duration, and color).

The optimizer will not move lunches and breaks on top of or partially under existing exceptions, projects, lunches, or breaks. If a lunch or break has both a paid and an unpaid portion, the optimizer will not attempt to swap which appears in the non-overlap portion. It always places the paid portion before the unpaid portion.

Optimization examples

Example 1: Break Manually Moved by Administrator in Single Shift, Maximum Optimization Adjustment Not Set

An agent has a four-hour shift (9:00 AM–1:00 PM) with one break (10:30 AM), and you move the break to 12:00 PM. The break has a one-hour minimum delay and a two-hour maximum delay in a four-hour paid hours work condition.

After you make the manual change the schedule shows the break at 12:00 PM:

After optimizing lunches and breaks, the break is moved between 10:00 and 11:00 AM.

Example 2: Break Manually Moved by Administrator in Single Shift, Maximum Optimization Adjustment Set

An agent has a four-hour shift (9:00 AM–1:00 PM) with one break (10:30 AM), and you move the break to 12:00 PM. The break has a one-hour minimum delay and a two-hour maximum delay in a four-hour shift length work condition with a fifteen-minute maximum optimization adjustment.

After you make the manual change the schedule shows the break at 12:00 PM:

After optimizing lunches and breaks, there is no change to the agent schedule.