The State of Contact Centre Workforce Planning 2027

A short, anonymous benchmark survey of how contact-centre planning functions actually work — forecasting, scheduling, real-time, metrics, and AI. It takes about six minutes.

Everyone who leaves an email at the end gets the full State of Contact Centre Workforce Planning 2027 report free when it publishes — so you can see exactly how your operation compares. Responses are anonymous; the email is optional and used only to send the report (see our privacy notice).

1. Your operation

How many front-line agents (FTE) are in your operation? *

Required — used for segmentation.

Which sector best describes your operation? *

Required — used for segmentation.

Where is your operation primarily based? *

Required — used for segmentation. Mainly UK & Ireland, but global responses are welcome and interesting.

Which channels do you plan for? (tick all) Voice Chat / messaging Email / case Social Back-office / processing

Is the operation in-house, outsourced, or both? Wholly in-house Wholly outsourced A mix of both

2. The planning function

How many people are in your planning function (forecasting, scheduling, real-time, MI)?

Who does the planning function report to?

Honestly, which stage best describes your planning maturity?

From the ccPlanning maturity model.

1 — Reactive (firefighting) 2 — Foundational (basics in place) 3 — Managed (runs to a rhythm) 4 — Proactive (anticipates) 5 — Strategic (at the table)

3. Forecasting

What is your primary forecasting method?

Do you measure forecast accuracy? No Yes — mainly MAPE Yes — mainly WAPE Yes — other / multiple

Do you forecast AHT and shrinkage, or apply fixed assumptions? Both are forecast One forecast, one assumed Both are fixed assumptions

4. Scheduling

Do you use a dedicated WFM system for scheduling? Yes, a dedicated WFM platform No — spreadsheets A mix of both

Which shift approaches do you use? (tick all) Fixed rotation Part-time layer Annualised hours Self-rostering Compressed weeks Split shifts

5. Real-time

How is real-time management resourced? A dedicated real-time team Playbook-led, run by operations A blend of both No real real-time capability

Do you use a pre-agreed tolerance grid (when to act vs observe)? Yes No — in-the-moment judgement

6. Metrics

What is your headline service-level target?

Which of these does your operation set targets on? (tick all)

No judgement — this is the benchmark.

Service level Occupancy AHT at agent level Adherence (in appraisals) A composite quality score First-contact resolution

7. AI

Are you using AI / machine learning anywhere in planning? Yes — in production Piloting / evaluating No, and no near-term plans No, but we want to

In one line, what’s your honest view of AI in workforce planning?

8. Challenges & priorities

What is your single biggest planning challenge right now?

Anything else you’d like the report to explore?

Get the report

Your email (optional)

We’ll send you the full report free when it publishes, and add you to the fortnightly ccPlanning newsletter. Anonymous if left blank.