Agent scheduling of call center using decomposition technique

This research studies an agent scheduling of a call center where the number of agents and skills are predetermined and varied during each period. Agents must be assigned into work shifts in order to minimize labor related cost and also satisfy working constraints such as worker availability, work duration and break requirements. We decompose this problem into two parts which are solved sequentially. First is to determine the minimum number of required agents for each shift across a month that covers the predetermined number of agents in each period. The outcomes from the first part are used as input for the second part which is to assign agents into work shifts. Mixed integer programming models are proposed to find solutions for both parts.