Workforce planning built on honest math
Turnella is a workforce planning tool for demand-driven operations teams — contact centres, back-office functions, warehouses, and any team that needs to turn demand into a staffing plan. Built for teams that have outgrown Excel but do not need the full weight and cost of enterprise WFM software.
What we believe
The right model for each channel
Voice queues get Erlang C, the analytically exact M/M/N formula. Live chat gets a concurrency model using Little's Law, because agents handle multiple sessions simultaneously. Email and tickets get a backlog flow model, because SLA deadlines matter and there's no real-time queue. We never apply Erlang C to everything.
Honest about what we don't know
Live chat first-response SL is labeled as an approximation, not a proven analytical formula. Forecasting confidence is tiered and shown per interval. We don't show precision we don't have.
No per-seat pricing wall
A 70-person team doesn't need 70× the software a 10-person team needs. Traditional WFM tools often charge for every extra user, which quietly discourages the people who should be looking at the plan from ever opening it. Turnella carries no per-user licence, so cost never scales with how many people need to see the numbers.
Built for teams that plan in Excel
No 6-month implementation project. No IT ticket to get access. Import a CSV from your phone system or ticketing tool, set your assumptions, and see your staffing picture in minutes.
How it works
Import historical data
Upload a CSV export from your ACD, CRM, ticketing system, or reporting tool. Genesys, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Five9, Twilio Flex, Intercom: if it can export a date column and a volume column, it works. Or enter data manually for quick planning.
Generate a forecast
Turnella builds a multiplicative decomposition forecast from your history: base level × trend × day-of-week index × intraday profile. Confidence is tiered based on how much history is available. You can override any interval manually.
Calculate staffing requirements
The right capacity model runs automatically based on your channel type. Voice: Erlang C. Chat: concurrency + Little's Law. Email/tickets/back office: backlog flow model. Requirements are computed per interval across the forecast horizon.
Model what-if scenarios
Duplicate your assumption set and change one thing: AHT drops 30 seconds, you hire 5 people, or the SL target changes. Peak staffing, average agents, and predicted SL update instantly. Compare side by side.
Build your shift schedule
Define shift templates with start/end times, break minutes, headcount, and days of week. The coverage chart overlays your scheduled agents against the calculated requirements: green where you're covered, red where you have gaps.
Track forecast accuracy
After a forecast period passes, re-import your actuals. Turnella matches them to forecast intervals and computes MAPE, bias, and the percentage of intervals within 5% of forecast. Low accuracy surfaces with actionable guidance.
The capacity models
| Channel | Model | What it solves | SL formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice / inbound calls | Erlang C (M/M/N) | Agents to hit X% answered within Ys | Analytically exact |
| Live chat | Concurrency · Little's Law | Agents for N sessions at max M concurrent | Approximation (labeled) |
| Email / tickets | Backlog flow model | Agents to clear backlog before SLA deadline | N/A (throughput model) |
| Async messaging | Backlog flow model | Same as email | N/A (throughput model) |
| Back office / cases | Backlog flow model | Productive hours to clear case volume | N/A (throughput model) |
Try it free
Free calculators, no sign-up. Full planning app, beta access open.
Get in touch
Questions, feedback, or a planning problem you’d like to talk through? Email support@turnella.com — a real person reads every message.