System and method for self-scheduling of service representatives
First Claim
1. An automated computer-implemented method of facilitating telephone agents'"'"' self-scheduling for work, the method comprising, at a computing device:
- identifying a first timeslot during which a media event identifying a product will be broadcast;
estimating a threshold number of telephone agents needed to handle calls for the product during the first timeslot;
creating seats for the threshold number of agents in one or more virtual rooms;
receiving from a first agent'"'"'s client device a request for available work;
transmitting to the client device a personalized schedule of work available to the first agent;
displaying on the client device a plurality of timeslots available to the first agent, including the first timeslot, wherein;
said timeslots graphically represent multiple periods of time selectable by the first agent to self-schedule work; and
at least one of said timeslots includes a graphical icon indicating a status of the timeslot with regard to the first agent;
receiving from the client device a request to to work the first timeslot; and
committing the first agent to work the first timeslot if;
the agent is qualified to work within a virtual room in the first timeslot; and
the threshold number of telephone agents has not already been committed to work the first timeslot;
granting a commit budget to the first agent, wherein the commit budget to the first agent indicates number of commitments the first agent can make within a time period accessible by the first agent to self-schedule work;
enabling the first agent to request an update to the personalized schedule in real time when work availability and/or schedule of another agent change and to un-commit from the first timeslot the agent has been committed to and commit to a second timeslot based on changes in the work availability and/or the schedule of the another agent without exceeding the commit budget granted to the first agent;
keeping the commit budget granted to the first agent unchanged if the second timeslot the first agent commits to is marked as free.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for facilitating service representatives'"'"' self-scheduling of work. Work may be released for a given work period (e.g., one week) in multiple rounds, with the period being broken into multiple timeslots, each timeslot having one or more seats for representatives. A representative may be limited as to the number of timeslots he can commit to in a given scheduling round. A representative operates a user interface to access his personalized schedule, which indicates the status of each timeslot through different appearances (e.g., colors, line patterns). The representative commits to timeslots that have work available for which he is qualified, and the schedule is updated in real-time as work availability changes. Seats may be distributed among multiple virtual rooms in a timeslot, and a representative may need to be qualified to sit in a special room.
39 Citations
44 Claims
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1. An automated computer-implemented method of facilitating telephone agents'"'"' self-scheduling for work, the method comprising, at a computing device:
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identifying a first timeslot during which a media event identifying a product will be broadcast; estimating a threshold number of telephone agents needed to handle calls for the product during the first timeslot; creating seats for the threshold number of agents in one or more virtual rooms; receiving from a first agent'"'"'s client device a request for available work; transmitting to the client device a personalized schedule of work available to the first agent; displaying on the client device a plurality of timeslots available to the first agent, including the first timeslot, wherein; said timeslots graphically represent multiple periods of time selectable by the first agent to self-schedule work; and at least one of said timeslots includes a graphical icon indicating a status of the timeslot with regard to the first agent; receiving from the client device a request to to work the first timeslot; and committing the first agent to work the first timeslot if; the agent is qualified to work within a virtual room in the first timeslot; and the threshold number of telephone agents has not already been committed to work the first timeslot; granting a commit budget to the first agent, wherein the commit budget to the first agent indicates number of commitments the first agent can make within a time period accessible by the first agent to self-schedule work; enabling the first agent to request an update to the personalized schedule in real time when work availability and/or schedule of another agent change and to un-commit from the first timeslot the agent has been committed to and commit to a second timeslot based on changes in the work availability and/or the schedule of the another agent without exceeding the commit budget granted to the first agent; keeping the commit budget granted to the first agent unchanged if the second timeslot the first agent commits to is marked as free. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A scheduling system for facilitating telephone agents'"'"' self-scheduling of work during a plurality of timeslots, the system comprising:
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one or more computer databases configured to store; media event data describing a media event associated with a product; and schedule data reflecting available work, wherein the work is made available in the form of seats that the agents may commit to; and a web server including; a media event editor configured to access the media event data to estimate a number of telephone calls expected to be received for the product during a first timeslot; a room scheduler configured to; create one or more virtual rooms in the first timeslot based on the estimate; and generate seats in the created virtual rooms for a threshold number of agents for handling a number of calls for the product expected to be received during the first timeslot; and storing said seats as available work in said databases; and a schedule server configured to; publish the seats to the agents in the form of personalized schedules the agents may modify in real-time; graphically display the seats as available timeslots, representing multiple periods of time selectable by the agents to self-schedule work, to the agents at the agents'"'"' client devices, wherein at least one of said timeslots includes a graphical icon indicating a status of the timeslot with regard to an agent viewing the display; receive requests from the agents'"'"' client devices indicating selections made by the agents to commit to one or more available timeslots; grant a commit budget to the first agent, wherein the commit budget to the first agent indicates number of commitments the first agent can make within a time period accessible by the first agent to self-schedule work; enable the first agent to request an update to the personalized schedule in real time when work availability and/or schedule of another agent change and to un-commit from the first timeslot the agent has been committed to and commit to a second timeslot based on changes in the work availability and/or the schedule of the another agent without exceeding the commit budget granted to the first agent; keep the commit budget granted to the first agent unchanged if the second timeslot the first agent commits to is marked as free. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of facilitating telephone agents'"'"' self-scheduling for work, the method comprising:
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identifying a first timeslot during which a media event identifying a product will be broadcast; estimating a threshold number of telephone agents needed to handle calls for the product during the first timeslot; creating seats for the threshold number of agents in one or more virtual rooms; receiving from a first agent'"'"'s client device a request for available work; transmitting to the client device a personalized schedule of work available to the first agent; displaying on the client device a plurality of timeslots available to the first agent, including the first timeslot, wherein; said timeslots graphically represent multiple periods of time selectable by the first agent to self-schedule work; and at least one of said timeslots includes a graphical icon indicating a status of the timeslot with regard to the first agent; receiving from the client device a request to commit to work the first timeslot; and committing the first agent to work the first timeslot if; the agent is qualified to work within a virtual room in the first timeslot; and the threshold number of telephone agents has not already been committed to work the first timeslot; granting a commit budget to the first agent, wherein the commit budget to the first agent indicates number of commitments the first agent can make within a time period accessible by the first agent to self-schedule work; enabling the first agent to request an update to the personalized schedule in real time when work availability and/or schedule of another agent change and to un-commit from the first timeslot the agent has been committed to and commit to a second timeslot based on changes in the work availability and/or the schedule of the another agent without exceeding the commit budget granted to the first agent; keeping the commit budget granted to the first agent unchanged if the second timeslot the first agent commits to is marked as free. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification