Mobile isn't everything, it's the ONLY thing! Once the app and mobile site are up, the question I get most often: How many mobile chat agents to I need? In this visual guide, we use Erlang C to statistically estimate how many Mobile Chat Agents are needed in you Customer Support operation.

1. How Many Mobile Chat Agents do I need?
An Easy way to use Erlang C
David Loia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

2. How Many Chat Agents Do I Need?
• Mobile Chat is ubiquitous – EVERYONE USES IT!!
YOU MUST HAVE IT TOO!
• The question I get most often: How many Mobile
Chat Agents do I need?

3. Erlang C provides a statistically valid Answer

4. Here’s an EASY way to apply it…
• Download this simple spreadsheet in xls format:
https://www.box.com/s/c0sa0ju0uni1dbbtu6vx
• Follow the instructions to fill in assumptions
and use Erlang C calculators to make your
calculations. A simple,free Erlang C Calculator
I use often: http://www.erlang.com/calculator/erlc/
• You are DONE!

5. Example: B2C (ecommerce) or B2B (HR/Helpdesk)
• Assumptions to consider:
– Availability: # of pages for
products, services, carts, support, ‘questions’, misc.
– Volume: Unique users per page, accept rates, Hours of
Operation, Follow-the-Sun
– Quality of Service: Acceptable Delay, Concurrent Chats
per agent, Ave. Duration of Chat
The spreadsheet has reasonable starting points for
many inputs, use these or change them to
‘actuals’ if you have them for you operation

6. Example: Using the Spreadsheet

7. Example: Using the Calculator

8. Questions?
Contact David Loia on Twitter: @davidloia
Some common questions:
• Follow-the-sun operations
• Ramp up rate for new agents
• Concurrent and blended multi-channel operations
• Burn-out rates vs. email/phone