ErlCAgents()

This function estimates the number of call centre agents required to meet service level targets.

Format

There are two formats for this function depending on the format of the supplied service level target:

•	=ErlCAgents (Calls , Duration , Percentage, Answered in)

•	=ErlCAgents (Calls , Duration , ASA)

Result

A positive integer or zero.

Arguments

Format 1, where four arguments are provided:

Name	Description	Units	Limits
Calls	The number of calls received in one hour	(Unitless)	Between 0 and 300000
Duration	The average length of the calls after they have been answered	Seconds	Between 1 and 3600
Percentage	The proportion of calls that must be answered within a target time	(Unitless)	Between 0.02 and 0.99 & Between 2 and 99
Answered in	The target time within which that percentage of calls must be answered	Seconds	Between 3 and 3600

Format 2, where three arguments are provided:

Name	Description	Units	Limits
Calls	The number of calls received in one hour	(Unitless)	Between 0 and 300000
Duration	The average length of the calls after they have been answered	Seconds	Between 1 and 3600
ASA	The average delay experienced by callers before their calls are presented to an agent.	Seconds	Between 3 and 1800

Example

To estimate how many agents are required during an hour, if 1050 calls of an average duration of 250 seconds are received during that hour, and 80% of calls must be answered within 20 seconds, use:

=ErlCAgents(1050,250,80,20)

The answer should be 80

To estimate how many agents are required during an hour, if 1050 calls of an average duration of 250 seconds are received during that hour and, on average, calls should be answered within 30 seconds, use:

=ErlCAgents(1050,250,30)

The answer should be 78