Univerx Workforce
Forecasting
Forecasting predicts contact volume and handling time per channel and skill, from history and from events such as holidays, campaigns or outages. It is where every good plan begins.
Building blocks
Forecasting in detail.
The building blocks at a glance – all in the same workspace and under the same administration.
Per channel and skill
Voice, chat, email and tasks separately, each per skill and interval.
Plan in events
Holidays, campaigns, billing runs and outages as events that shift the volume.
Several methods
Statistical models run side by side; the best fit is proposed per queue.
Checked against reality
Forecast and actuals sit on top of each other, with deviations shown per interval.
Straight from the platform
Volumes and handling times come from the Contact Center, with no export or import.
#What forecasting does
Every shift plan answers one question: how many contacts arrive when, and how long do they take? Forecasting gives that answer per channel, per skill and per interval, usually in quarter hours.
It projects two figures: contact volume and average handling time. Only together do they give the number of people needed, which scheduling turns into shifts.
#History alone is not enough
History shows what usually happens. Service, though, lives on exceptions: the first working day after Easter, the annual bill going out, a network outage.
You enter such events as entries of their own, with a period and an expected effect. The forecast learns from past events of the same kind and proposes the effect for the next one. More in our post Forecasting with events.
#For channels without a queue, too
Emails, messages and back-office tasks do not wait in a phone queue but in workbins. Forecasting treats them differently: it works with arrivals, response deadlines and backlog rather than seconds to answer.
That produces a demand figure that includes work which need not be done at once. Planners can use quiet intervals for backlog on purpose instead of booking them as idle time.
#From proposal to decision
A forecast is a proposal, not a verdict. Planners see which method was chosen and how well it has hit over recent weeks. They can accept it, adjust it or pick another method.
Terms such as service level and average handling time are explained in our glossary.
Univerx Workforce
The right people at the right time, planned with the team.
One cycle from forecast to coaching: predict contact volume, plan shifts, evaluate quality, develop people. Co-determination is a design goal, not an afterthought.
Scheduling
Scheduling turns forecast demand into shift plans that meet service levels and respect the rules. With a swap board, preferred shifts, exceptions and real-time adherence.
- DSGVO
Capacity planning
Capacity planning looks months ahead: how many people with which skills do you need, what does it cost, and what changes when a channel grows or AI agents take over routine requests?
- DSGVO
Quality management
Record conversations and screens with consent, evaluate them with forms, calibrate evaluators. Quality management in Univerx is designed for transparency towards those evaluated and for co-determination.
- DSGVO
Performance & development
Scorecards, goals, coaching and learning modules per person: Performance & development turns KPIs and evaluations into concrete next steps that employees see and help shape.
- DSGVO
Gamification
Leaderboards, badges and contests built on real KPIs, as a complement to development, not a substitute. In Univerx configurable for voluntary participation, team scores and co-determination.
- DSGVO
Employee experience
Your own schedule, preferences and development, on the desktop and on mobile. Employee experience in Univerx gives staff self-service for everything that shapes their working day.
- DSGVO
Frequently asked questions
How much history does the forecast need?
The more, the better weekly and yearly patterns show. A few weeks are enough to start; missing history can be filled with assumptions or imported values.
Can we adjust the forecast by hand?
Yes. Every correction is stored as an adjustment with a reason. That keeps visible what the model proposed and what planning decided.
Does the forecast contain personal data?
No. It works with volumes and times per queue and interval, not with data about individual customers or employees.
Related
ProductsReporting & analytics
Real-time views for running operations, historical reports for management, alerts on deviations and data export for your own analysis. Across every channel, configurable for co-determination.
Use casesPeak load & crisis communication
When everyone calls at once: inform proactively, offer callbacks instead of hold, let AI agents answer the most frequent question and reset teams with forecasting and short-term scheduling. In an order that has been planned in advance.
Use casesCustomer service
Every request on the right channel, with the right person, with the whole context. Routing, workspace, Univerx Assist and knowledge work together in one flow.
IndustriesUtilities & telecoms
High volume, many routine requests: AI agents for meter readings, tariffs and bills, outage communication at peak times, payment reminders with consent checks. Documents for your NIS2 obligations on request.
IndustriesRetail & e-commerce
Order and returns service via messaging, chat and phone, proactive delivery notices, help in the shop at the right moment and accessible customer interfaces as a goal under the European Accessibility Act.
Guides2 November 2026 · 11 min readWorkforce planning in the contact centre: the basics
Forecasting, staffing requirements, scheduling, adherence and capacity: how the parts of workforce planning fit together, which terms you need, where working-time law and co-determination come in, and where best to start.
GlossaryForecasting
Forecasting estimates how many contacts arrive per channel, skill and interval and how long they take. That estimate becomes the staffing requirement every schedule is built on.
GlossaryWorkforce management (WFM)
Workforce management matches people to contact demand: forecasting, scheduling, intraday steering and agent development, run as a continuous cycle rather than an annual plan.
GlossaryService level
Service level is the share of contacts answered within a target time. It drives staffing decisions, but says nothing about whether the customer's request was actually resolved.
GlossaryAverage handling time (AHT)
AHT combines talk, hold and wrap-up time into an average per contact. It is indispensable for staffing, but as a target for individual agents it sets the wrong incentives.
See Univerx on your own example.
In a demo we show the platform along your channels and requests, from AI agents to video, workforce scheduling and analytics.
Online, in German or English, with no preparation on your side.