Shift scheduling in call centers with multiple skill sets and transportation costs

Abstract

Workforce plans in call centers, which typically operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, must satisfy both customer service level requirements and personnel constraints. Moreover, in large metropolitan areas such as Istanbul, call centers provide transportation for their staff, making shuttle costs a significant component of total operational expenses. We present a mathematical model that minimizes transportation costs while satisfying both service level requirements and personnel constraints. We evaluate our model using data from call centers.