Real Time Optimisation
Give your operation more control of service, resource and risk during the operating day
Forecasting and scheduling set the plan. Real Time management delivers the best result from available resources.
Effective Real Time management tracks the live position across service, workload, availability, adherence, queue position, backlog, routing and performance. It helps the operation stay aligned to plan, use available resource well and identify risk early enough for leaders to act.
As the day develops, conditions may change. Demand may move, absence may increase, handling times may shift, systems may fail, backlogs may build or priorities may change across queues, channels, sites and partners.
Atlantic WFM helps organisations improve their Real Time function so the operating day is actively managed, decisions are made consistently, and available resource is used where it can make the greatest difference.
When this service is needed
Our Real Time Optimisation service is useful when the operation needs more consistent control of the operating day.
It may be needed when Real Time teams spend too much time watching reports rather than managing outcomes, when decision rules are unclear, when adherence is difficult to manage, or when leaders do not have a reliable view of the live position.
It is also relevant when the team handles day-to-day control reasonably well, but lacks the playbooks, authority, routines or stakeholder support needed to manage more complex conditions, incidents or trade-offs consistently.
The roles of an effective Real Time function
Real Time management brings together several connected roles. Each one helps the operation manage live conditions, protect service, use available resource well and keep leaders informed during the day.
1. Workload balancing
Real Time teams help balance workload across queues, channels, teams, sites and partners. The aim is to focus available capacity where it will add most value and make competing priorities visible before service risk escalates.
2. Absence management
Real Time teams help manage absence as the day unfolds, including sickness notifications, late absence, emergency absence, updates to WFM or HR systems, communication with operational leaders and escalation where service risk is created. The role should support a consistent notification and follow-up process, including supervisor callbacks where these are part of the organisation’s absence policy.
3. Live performance visibility
Real Time teams give Team Leaders, supervisors and operational leaders a live view of how the day is developing. They highlight issues across service, workload, handling time, productivity, backlog, availability and queue position, while operational leaders remain responsible for managing team and colleague performance.
4. Adherence management
Adherence management looks at whether colleagues are working in line with the schedule during the day, including start times, breaks, lunches, offline activity, meetings, wrap, aux states, channel availability and other deviations from the plan. Real Time teams need a fair and consistent approach to monitoring adherence, interpreting exceptions and escalating issues.
5. Rest-of-day resource planning
Real Time teams refresh the view of remaining demand, staffing and risk as the day develops. This supports decisions on breaks, overtime, offline time, channel support, extra resource and recovery action.
6. Incident management
Real Time teams often play an important role when systems, demand, staffing, workflow or customer behaviour change materially during the day. The function needs a defined role in impact assessment, escalation, communication and recovery planning.
7. Workflow and channel control
Real Time teams are frequent users of routing, queue priority and workflow setups. They can help identify where changes are needed, shape practical improvements and manage controlled changes across voice, email, chat, social and other work types.
What clients receive from our work
Clients receive a practical assessment of how Real Time management works today, structured around the roles of an effective Real Time function.
The work identifies where the function is adding value, where it is underused, and which changes to process, ownership, reporting or decision-making would improve in-day control.
The output may include clearer roles and responsibilities, improved intraday reporting, decision rules, action triggers, escalation routes, rest-of-day planning routines, workflow recommendations and a Real Time playbook.
Where needed, we also help define how learning from the day should feed back into forecasting, scheduling, shrinkage planning and future operating assumptions.
The aim is for the Real Time team to have a practical operating framework it can use without ongoing external support.
Outcomes and benefits
An effective Real Time function helps organisations get more value from the resources already available. It gives teams a more reliable basis for acting during the day, rather than waiting for problems to show up after service has already been affected. In practice, this can mean:
- clearer in-day priorities, roles and escalation routes
- faster decisions across workload, absence, adherence, incidents and rest-of-day planning
- improved use of available resource across queues, channels, teams, sites and partners
- less operational firefighting and fewer avoidable service failures
- improved customer experience through earlier service protection
- reduced avoidable cost, overtime and inefficiency
- better colleague experience through more controlled in-day decisions
- stronger protection of revenue where service, response times or backlog affect conversion and retention
Client perspective
Claire Hill, Customer Operations Director
Why Atlantic WFM?
Practical Real Time experience, from the desk to senior leadership
Atlantic WFM brings hands-on Real Time desk experience and senior leadership of contact centre support functions, including responsibility for Real Time and operational support teams.
That experience includes managing day-to-day operational control and live service during demand spikes, severe weather disruption, system failures, local incidents, sporting events and other high-pressure conditions where service, staffing and customer demand can change quickly.
It also includes using WFM, telephony and workflow data to support in-day decisions; improving escalation routes, decision rules and operating routines; and helping Real Time teams improve adherence, rest-of-day planning, workload balancing and incident response.
Philip Stubbs has also chaired and contributed to planning and performance meetings where live operational risk needed senior attention. That gives Atlantic WFM practical experience of both the Real Time desk and the senior forums where live insight needs to influence decisions.
Turning Real Time into a stronger commercial function
Many Real Time teams have the potential to contribute more than they are currently asked or enabled to deliver.
The opportunity often lies in clearer ownership, agreed decision rules, practical playbooks, effective escalation and a wider view of what the function should control during the day. Technology may support this, but it is rarely the whole answer.
Atlantic WFM helps organisations develop Real Time into a broader operational control function, with the processes, routines and decision rules needed to protect service, reduce avoidable cost, use resource effectively, protect revenue opportunities and support better colleague outcomes.
Frequently asked questions
How does Real Time Optimisation differ from Resource Planning & Scheduling?
Resource Planning & Scheduling builds and refines the plan before the operating day. Real Time Optimisation improves how the live operation is monitored, managed and supported once the day begins. Good scheduling gives the operation a better starting point. Effective Real Time management helps the operation stay on track, use available resource well and respond consistently as conditions develop.
Do you provide outsourced real-time management?
No. This service is designed to improve how your own Real Time, Operational Control or Intraday Support function works, so your teams can manage the operating day more effectively themselves.
Can Real Time improve commercial performance?
Yes. Real Time decisions affect service, abandonment, revenue capture, staff utilisation, overtime, backlog, customer experience and colleague pressure. The commercial value comes from acting earlier, using available resource well, protecting important work, reducing avoidable service failure and giving leaders better insight into the live operation.
What is a Real Time playbook?
A Real Time playbook sets out how the team should respond to different live operating conditions. It defines decision rules, action triggers, delegated actions, automation opportunities and escalation points. Some actions may be taken directly by Real Time, some may be supported by automation or AI tools, and higher-impact decisions may need approval from operational or business leadership.
Can you help if we already have a Real Time team?
Yes. Many organisations already have Real Time teams, but the team may be used mainly for monitoring, reporting or escalation rather than broader operating-day control. The work can improve what the team monitors, how it interprets live data, when it acts, when it escalates, and how it supports operational leaders throughout the day.
Do we need new technology?
Not necessarily. New technology may help, but many improvements come from clearer ownership, better reporting, stronger decision rules, improved escalation and more effective use of existing WFM, telephony and workflow systems. Where automation or AI tools can support Real Time decisions, these can be considered as part of the playbook or wider improvement plan.
Request a conversation about Real Time Optimisation
If you want your Real Time team to add more value across service, cost, revenue and colleague outcomes, book a short conversation about Real Time Optimisation.