What is Shrinkage in Call Centers? How to Calculate & Reduce It?

Call center shrinkage is the metric for the time agents are not available to handle customer interactions due to either planned or unplanned activities. It represents the gap between the time agents are expected to be working and the time they are actually available to take calls.

Shrinkage directly affects staffing needs and call center workflow. High shrinkage can lead to longer wait times, reducing customer satisfaction, and lowering overall operational efficiency.

Call center shrinkage can be caused by both external and internal factors. The external factors include holidays, paid time off, and personal emergencies, while internal causes include breaks, team meetings, training sessions, and After-Call Work (ACW).

External factors are those that are beyond the control of the call center management and often relate to personal events.

• Holidays: Days off for public holidays or company holidays.
• Sick Days: Unexpected agent absences due to illness or medical reasons.
• Lateness: When agents arrive late for their shifts or return late from breaks.
• Personal or Family Emergencies: Unplanned time off for personal or family-related emergencies.

Internal factors refer to those within the control of the call center, involving scheduled activities or operational issues that contribute to shrinkage. These factors are more predictable and can often be managed with proper call center scheduling and planning.

• Team Meetings: Time spent in scheduled meetings that temporarily reduce the number of agents available.
• Training: Time spent on training new hires or improving the skills of current agents.
• Breaks: Scheduled rest periods where agents are not available to handle calls.
• After-Call Work (ACW): Time spent wrapping up tasks after a call, such as updating records or notes.
• System Downtime: Technical issues or scheduled system maintenance that prevent agents from working.

To calculate call center shrinkage, divide the total time agents are unavailable by the total time they are scheduled to work, then multiply by 100. Here’s how to calculate:

Where,
 

• Total Shrinkage Hours = The total time agents are unavailable due to breaks, training, absenteeism, or other reasons.
• Total Available Hours = The total time agents are scheduled to work, minus any planned time off.

Calculation: Let’s assume an agent is scheduled to work 8 hours a day, but due to breaks, training, or meetings, they are unavailable for 2 hours. Here’s how you would calculate shrinkage:

Here, the shrinkage is 25%, meaning that 25% of the agent's scheduled work time is unavailable for customer calls.

Once shrinkage is calculated, you can determine the number of agents required to handle call volume and meet Service Level Agreements (SLA) by using the following formula:

Where,
 

• Staff Demand: Number of agents required to handle the expected call volume.

• Shrinkage Percentage: The percentage of time agents are unavailable.
  
  Calculation: Let’s say your call center needs 60 agents to handle calls in a half-hour period to meet the SLA, and your shrinkage rate is 25%.
  
  Staff Demand = 60 agents
  
  Shrinkage = 25% = 0.25
  
  Now, calculate the staff required:

  Actual Staff Required = (Staff Demand) / (1 - (Shrinkage / 100)) = 60/(1 - 0.25) = 60/0.75 = 80 agents

  Here, to meet your SLA with a 25% shrinkage, you’ll need to schedule 80 agents for that time period.

High call center shrinkage increases customer wait times, causing higher call abandonment and lower customer satisfaction. It also increases operational costs, adds pressure on available agents, and disrupts workforce planning, reducing overall efficiency.

• Longer Wait Times: When agents are unavailable due to shrinkage, customers face longer wait times before speaking to an agent, which can cause frustration.
• High Abandonment Rate: As wait times grow, more customers abandon calls, which impacts your service levels and customer satisfaction.
• Increased Costs: To compensate for shrinkage, call centers may overstaff, raising labor costs.
• Employee Burnout: When shrinkage is high, the remaining agents must handle a greater workload, which can lead to stress, burnout, and lower job satisfaction.
• Inaccurate Workforce Planning: Without properly accounting for shrinkage, managers may miscalculate staffing needs, leading to either understaffing or overstaffing.

To reduce shrinkage, start with accurate scheduling based on reliable call forecasts and set clear attendance policies to lower absenteeism. You can also stagger breaks, cross-train agents to cover multiple tasks, and use real-time monitoring to adjust staffing quickly and avoid service gaps.

Always schedule the right number of agents for your call center. Analyze the historical call data, seasonal trends, and traffic patterns to predict call volumes accurately. Use this data to plan flexible shifts or split schedules to help cover unexpected gaps.

Uncoordinated breaks contribute directly to shrinkage. Stagger breaks and lunch periods, and monitor adherence to rules to ensure enough agents remain available during peak hours.

Train your agents properly to handle multiple call types. This helps them to step in when others are unavailable, keeping operations running smoothly all the time.

Shrinkage often increases due to unplanned absences. Implement clear attendance policies to minimize absenteeism and keep the team fully staffed.

Use workforce management tools to track agent availability, call queues, and shrinkage in real time. Immediate adjustments to staffing, breaks, or task assignments help prevent service disruptions.

Shrinkage is a normal part of call center operations, but managing it well can make a big difference in your efficiency. By forecasting demand, reducing absenteeism, and optimizing agent schedules, you can minimize the impact of shrinkage and ensure your center is properly staffed.

Calilio’s business phone system makes it easy to manage your call center shrinkage. Its real-time monitoring tools provide clear visibility into agent availability, helping supervisors adjust coverage the moment staffing dips.

And, its business hours routing helps to send calls automatically to available teams or backup agents when some staff are offline. Likewise, the features like AI call reports highlight peak hours, call trends, and handle-time patterns, making it easier to create accurate schedules and reduce planned shrinkage.