What is required is the means to optimise the headcount, skills mix and operating rules of the operation without risk to the business. This is just one of the benefits of using WITNESS process simulation software.

WITNESS provides animated simulation models of business processes with a minimum of effort. These models permit you to perform unlimited 'what if' experiments. Using the WITNESS 'Optimizer', the number of full time employees, the allocation between Shift patterns and the skills mix is automatically optimized.

In the call centre environment, WITNESS models typically consider:

• Call volume and profile
• Transaction mix
• Staff skill profiles and shift patterns
• Inbound and outbound call activity
• Call routing rules
• Front line and back office (e.g. Fulfilment)

and predict measures such as:

• Caller service level
• Abandonment rate
• Associate occupancy / equipment utilisation
• Peak capacity of the centre
• Cost

WITNESS is already used by a number of well-known organisations to help achieve maximum efficiency from telephone centre operations. WITNESS users are able to:

• Improve caller satisfaction (i.e. reduce abandonment, decrease time to answer), thus increase customer retention.
• Improve efficiency: Confidently choose a level of resourcing which will reliably achieve business ends with a minimum of "slack" and thus minimise operating cost.
• Use their WITNESS models as a sales aid to win third-party business, graphically demonstrating to existing and prospective customers their ability to handle increased volume caused by, e.g. an advertising campaign.