Real Time Optimisation
Give your operation more control of service, resource and risk during the operating day
Forecasting and scheduling establish the plan. Real Time management helps the operation deliver that plan effectively and achieve the best possible result from the resources available.
Throughout the day, the operation needs a clear view of service, workload, availability, adherence, queue position, backlog and performance. Workload needs to be balanced, adherence managed, emerging issues addressed and available capacity directed towards the right priorities. These disciplines improve performance even when demand and staffing remain broadly as expected.
Real Time management also helps when conditions change. Demand may move, absence may increase, handling times may shift, systems may fail or priorities may change across queues, channels, sites and partners. Identifying these changes early gives the operation more time and better information with which to respond.
Atlantic WFM helps organisations develop 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 our Real Time service can help
- the team spends too much time watching reports and too little time managing outcomes
- leaders lack a reliable view of the live operational position
- priorities, decision rules or escalation routes are unclear
- adherence is monitored or managed inconsistently
- workload and resource are not balanced effectively across queues, channels, teams, sites or partners
- Real Time teams lack the authority or stakeholder support needed to act
- incidents create avoidable confusion, delay or service failure
- learning from the operating day does not feed back into future forecasts and plans
We can also help capable Real Time teams strengthen their playbooks, manage more complex trade-offs and take a broader role in operational control.
The roles of an effective Real Time function
Real Time management brings together seven connected roles. Each one helps the operation manage performance, protect service, use available resource effectively and keep leaders informed throughout the day.
1. Workload balancing
Balancing workload and available capacity across queues, channels, teams, sites and partners. This helps focus resource where it can add most value and makes competing priorities visible before service risk escalates.
2. Absence management
Supporting the consistent notification, recording, communication and escalation of sickness, late absence and emergency absence. This allows the effect on service and resource to be understood quickly.
3. Live performance visibility
Giving Team Leaders, supervisors and operational leaders a clear view of how the day is developing across service, workload, handling time, productivity, backlog, availability and queue position. Real Time teams provide the operational view and highlight areas requiring attention. Operational leaders remain responsible for managing team and colleague performance.
4. Adherence management
Monitoring whether colleagues are working in line with their schedules and applying a fair, consistent approach to exceptions and escalation. This includes understanding the operational effect of deviations before deciding what action is required.
5. Rest-of-day resource planning
Updating the view of remaining demand, staffing and risk as the day develops. This supports decisions on breaks, overtime, offline activity, channel support, additional resource and recovery action.
6. Incident management
Supporting impact assessment, escalation, communication and recovery when systems, demand, staffing, workflow or customer behaviour change materially during the day.
7. Workflow and channel control
Using live insight to identify where routing, queue priorities or workflow settings need attention. Real Time teams can support controlled changes across voice, email, chat, social and other work types.
What clients receive from our work
- clearer roles, responsibilities and levels of authority
- limproved live reporting and operational visibility
- decision rules, action triggers and escalation routes
- stronger adherence and rest-of-day planning routines
- recommendations for workload, workflow and channel control
- a practical Real Time playbook covering regular operating conditions and incidents
- routines for feeding operational learning back into forecasting, scheduling and planning assumptions
The aim is to leave the Real Time team with an operating framework it can use and continue to develop internally.
Outcomes and benefits
A stronger Real Time function helps the organisation improve performance and get more value from the resources already available. It can provide:
- clearer in-day priorities, responsibilities and escalation routes
- faster decisions across workload, absence, adherence, incidents and rest-of-day planning
- better use of resource across queues, channels, teams, sites and partners
- fewer avoidable service failures and less operational firefighting
- improved customer experience through active management of service throughout the day
- reduced overtime, avoidable cost and operational inefficiency
- better colleague experience through fairer and more controlled in-day decisions
- stronger protection of revenue where availability, response times or backlogs 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
This experience includes managing day-to-day service and performance, together with live control during demand spikes, severe weather, system failures, local incidents, sporting events and other high-pressure conditions. It also includes using WFM, telephony and workflow data to support decisions, improve escalation routes and strengthen adherence, workload balancing, rest-of-day planning and incident response.
Philip Stubbs has chaired and contributed to planning and performance forums where live operational performance and risk required senior attention. This provides an understanding of the Real Time desk, the operational teams it supports and the leadership forums where live information needs to influence decisions.
Developing Real Time into a broader operational control function
Many Real Time teams have the potential to contribute more than monitoring, reporting and escalation. Clear ownership, practical playbooks, agreed authority and effective stakeholder relationships allow the function to manage performance actively throughout the day.
Atlantic WFM helps Real Time teams develop the processes, routines and decision rules needed to protect service, control 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 improves the plan before the operating day. Real Time Optimisation strengthens how performance and resource are monitored and managed once the day begins.
Do you provide outsourced real-time management?
No. This service improves how the organisation’s own Real Time, Operational Control or Intraday Support function works so that internal teams can manage the operating day more effectively.
Can Real Time improve commercial performance?
Yes. Real Time decisions affect service, abandonment, revenue capture, resource utilisation, overtime, backlog and customer experience. Active management and effective deployment of available resource can protect conversion and retention while reducing avoidable cost.
What is a Real Time playbook?
A Real Time playbook explains how the team should respond to different operating conditions. It sets out decision rules, action triggers, delegated authority, escalation points and any appropriate use of automation.
Can you help if we already have a Real Time team?
Yes. The work can strengthen what the team monitors, how it interprets live data, when it acts, when it escalates and how it supports operational leaders.
Do we need new technology?
Not necessarily. Many improvements come from clearer ownership, better reporting, stronger decision rules, improved escalation and more effective use of existing WFM, telephony and workflow systems. Technology and automation can be considered where they provide additional value.
Request a conversation about Real Time Optimisation
If you want your Real Time team to provide stronger control of service, resource and risk during the operating day, we can discuss the issues you are seeing and what would help.