Erlang C still has a place in contact centre workforce planning, but it was built for a simpler world. This article explores where it still works, where it breaks down, and what leading contact centres are using instead.
ACXPA · Call Centre Articles
Call Centre Manager Resources
Global best-practice frameworks, practical insight and current thinking for call centre managers. Lift performance, plan capacity, manage quality and get ahead of AI — without the guesswork.
Everything here is written by people who have run contact centres — practical, current and made for the decisions that land on your desk.
Start here
, start here
Articles for Managers
WFM, quality, AI and leadership insight from people who have run contact centres — scroll down for the latest.
Browse ArticlesCall Centre Glossary
Plain-English definitions for every metric, WFM term and framework your teams rely on.
Search the GlossaryManager Courses
Live training in contact centre management, WFM, quality and leadership for experienced managers.
View Manager CoursesCall Centre Roundtables
Monthly call centre discussions with industry experts on operations, WFM, quality and leadership.
Explore Call Centre RoundtablesPopular Call Centre Metrics
The metrics that matter, what they really tell you, and the ones the industry gets wrong.
Read the GuideCost to Replace an Agent
What attrition really costs your centre — and why retention is a bottom-line issue.
Read the GuideResources built for call centre managers
Running a contact centre means owning the numbers: forecasting demand, planning capacity, managing quality, controlling cost and keeping people engaged — while staying ahead of AI and automation. ACXPA gives call centre managers the frameworks, tools and current thinking to make those decisions well, backed by people who have done the job.
Get your planning right by understanding service level, staffing and shrinkage, and the trade-offs behind average handling time and occupancy. Manage quality with a defensible quality assurance framework, and think clearly about where agentic AI genuinely helps — and where it doesn't.
This category is one part of the wider . Building your people too? Explore the resources for team leaders and call centre employees. Whatever is on your desk this week, you will find practical, current support here — and a whole ecosystem of tools and hubs behind it.
Tools & resources for managers
This is your articles hub — and there's a whole toolkit behind it. Explore the hubs below for workforce planning, coaching, quality and benchmarking tools.
Explore the hubs
Call Centre Hub
Your operational home base — standards, benchmarking, WFM, coaching, complaints, training and response templates in one place.
WFM Hub
Nine workforce planning tools — forecast staffing, model service levels, calculate shrinkage and detect outliers.
Visit the WFM HubCoaching & Performance Hub
Coaching frameworks, goal trackers and performance tools for developing your team leaders and agents.
Go to the Coaching & Performance HubCustomer Service Hub
Frameworks, response templates, induction checklists and training to lift consistency and quality across your teams.
Go to the Customer Service HubCX Hub
CX strategy, journey mapping, personas, NPS and ROI calculators, and the flagship CX Maturity Audit.
Complaints Handling Hub
Frameworks, logging and escalation tools, frontline guides and training for handling complaints consistently.
Go to the Complaints Handling HubTraining & Onboarding Hub
Self-paced courses, facilitator guides, learner workbooks and an induction checklist builder for your teams.
Go to the Training & Onboarding HubBenchmarking Services
Independent benchmarking against the national CX Standards — mystery shopping, competitor and private benchmarking.
Explore BenchmarkingLatest articles for call centre managers
From WFM and quality to cost, engagement and the metrics that actually matter — everything below is written for managers, by people who have run contact centres. Practical frameworks and honest analysis to help you make better decisions and lift performance.
How AI is used across the call centre hiring funnel — market data, 8 practical examples with prompts, pros and cons, and the metrics that matter.
Chasing a single "good" AHT number rarely improves anything. Learn why AHT outliers are the insight that actually changes coaching — and how to act on them.
Real-time management automation reads live ACD data and acts on it — improving agility, shrinkage accuracy, engagement and the customer experience.
Leading managers is a new challenge. Build trust, drive strategy, and inspire impact with these proven tips to succeed as a true leader of managers.
You can't expect what you don't inspect. A practical guide to setting KPIs for call centre team leaders — the metrics that matter, how many to set, what makes a good one, and the leadership and coaching KPIs most centres forget.
Contact centres and digital platforms work when the split is deliberate and the handover is clean. Most organisations get the first part and skip the second.
Overflow calls are calls a call centre's primary team can't answer in time, routed elsewhere — to another team, a callback, an outsourcer or AI.
Call centre hold music shapes a caller's mood before an agent even speaks. What actually works on phone audio, the psychology of waiting, virtual callbacks and iOS 26 Hold Assist, Australian licensing rules, and how to cut abandonment.
Replacing a contact centre agent typically costs around 30% of their annual salary — roughly $19,000–$20,000 for a frontline agent, and more for longer inductions. How to calculate your true cost across recruitment, training and lost productivity, and how to reduce it.
The 10 most popular call centre metrics — Service Level, ASA, AHT, FCR and more — with formulas, benchmarks and how to read each in context.
What actually drives contact centre engagement in 2026 — and 10 practical, low-cost ideas to boost it, from awards nights and trivia to learning circles, gamification and getting offsite.
Keep exploring
Team Leader Articles Coaching, performance and developing your frontline leaders. Call Centre Employee Articles Practical, frontline resources for the agents on your teams. Call Centre Glossary Every metric and WFM term, explained in plain English. Cost to Replace an Agent What attrition really costs — and why it matters. Popular Call Centre Metrics The metrics that matter, and the ones the industry gets wrong. How to Handle Overflow Calls Practical options for managing demand you can't staff for.
ACXPA PLATINUM SPONSORS
ACXPA SILVER SPONSORS
ACXPA BRONZE SPONSORS
