Contact center staffing software that uses the right model for every channel
Erlang C for voice. Concurrency models for live chat. Backlog flow for email and tickets. Turnella applies the correct formula to each channel, and tells you which one it is using and why.
Not every channel is a phone queue
Inbound voice
Erlang CRandom Poisson arrivals, agents handle one call at a time, calls queue until answered. Erlang C is the mathematically correct model. Applying it to any other channel overstates or understates headcount.
Live chat
Concurrency modelAgents handle 2–5 simultaneous sessions. Erlang C assumes one contact per agent, so it is wrong for chat. Use Little's Law: offered load = sessions × session duration, then divide by concurrency and shrinkage.
Email & tickets
Backlog flow modelDeferred work with SLA deadlines, not a real-time queue. Staffing depends on incoming volume, existing backlog, AHT, and the desired backlog reduction rate. Erlang C is meaningless here.
Need all three? The multi-channel calculator combines them in a single view.
How Turnella works
Import your data
Upload a CSV from your ACD, CRM, or ticketing system. Turnella reads interval-level volume and AHT, weekly or half-hourly. No special format needed.
Generate a forecast
Turnella fits a multiplicative decomposition model to your history, capturing day-of-week patterns and trend. Adjust the horizon from 2 to 8 weeks. Add holiday adjustments and volume events.
Compute staffing requirements
Choose your model: Erlang C for voice, concurrency for chat, backlog flow for email. Set your SL target, AHT, shrinkage, and occupancy cap. Requirements update instantly.
Build and price your schedule
Add shift templates or upload a roster CSV. See 24-hour coverage vs. requirements. Turnella shows weekly labour cost and the cost per contact in real time.
Run what-if scenarios
What does a 10% AHT reduction do to headcount? What if chat volume doubles? Create scenarios with different assumptions and compare them in a single table.
What Turnella tracks for you
Service Level
% of calls answered within your target time (e.g. 80/20)
Occupancy
Fraction of agent time spent on contacts, with a cap to prevent burnout
FTE requirement
Full-time equivalent agents needed per interval, week, and month
Shrinkage
Paid time not available for contacts; converts seated agents to schedule
Cost per contact
Labour cost to serve one interaction, updated as you adjust headcount
Forecast accuracy
WAPE and MAPE comparing predicted vs actual volume week by week
Schedule coverage
% of intervals where scheduled agents meet or exceed the requirement
Peak staffing gap
Maximum shortfall between scheduled and required agents in any interval
Long-range FTE trend
12-month staffing projection based on volume trend and deflection
Common questions
Do I need Erlang C for every channel?
No, and this is the most common modelling mistake in contact centres. Erlang C applies only to inbound phone queues where calls arrive randomly, wait in a queue, and are handled one at a time. Live chat requires a concurrency model (agents handle multiple sessions simultaneously). Email and tickets require a backlog flow model (deferred work with SLA deadlines, not real-time queues). Turnella applies the right model to each channel automatically.
How much data do I need to get a useful forecast?
You get meaningful patterns with as little as 4 weeks of history. 8 to 13 weeks is better: it gives the model enough signal to detect weekly seasonality and trend. Very long histories (1–2 years) are not always better, especially if operations have changed significantly. If you have less than 4 weeks of data, you can enter assumptions manually and still run the staffing model.
What is shrinkage and how does it affect headcount?
Shrinkage is the fraction of paid agent time not available for handling contacts: breaks, meetings, training, and unplanned absence. A shrinkage rate of 30% means that for every 100 seated agents you need to handle demand, you must schedule 143 on the roster. Shrinkage is the bridge from the Erlang C result (seated agents required) to the headcount you actually need to employ.
How is Turnella different from an enterprise WFM tool?
Enterprise WFM tools (Verint, NICE, Genesys WFM) are designed for hundreds of agents, multiple sites, and complex IT integration. They require implementation projects, consultants, and per-seat licensing at £10–30/agent/month. Turnella is designed for teams of 5 to 200 agents that need honest staffing math without the cost or complexity. No implementation, no consultant, no per-user fee.
Can I use Turnella for multiple contact centre sites or teams?
Yes. Each team, site, or channel is a separate workstream. Create as many as you need. The dashboard shows an operations overview across all workstreams: coverage %, peak agents, SL compliance, and weekly cost side by side.
Is my data stored on Turnella's servers?
By default, Turnella stores everything in your browser's local storage: volumes, headcount, and costs stay on your device and nothing leaves it. If you choose to sign in, your workstreams are synced to your private account so you can access them across devices. Cloud sync is opt-in; anonymous use requires no account and sends no data.
Staffing guides by sector
Retail & e-commerce
Black Friday, Christmas, and seasonal peaks
Financial services
FCA, Consumer Duty, and DISP complaints
Utilities
Ofgem/Ofwat SLAs and tariff events
Public sector
Councils, housing, and government
Back-office operations
Case processing and admin backlog planning
Healthcare
Patient access and clinical admin staffing
Insurance
Claims FNOL, renewals, and catastrophe planning
Telecom & ISP
Bimodal AHT queues and outage surge planning
BPO / outsourced
Multi-client SLA and bill-to-productive ratio
Hospitality & travel
Seasonal surges, bimodal AHT, and disruption response
E-commerce
WISMO queues, Black Friday peaks, and returns planning
Outbound contact centres
Predictive diallers, RPC rates, and Ofcom compliance
Free resources for contact centre planners
Erlang C calculator
How many agents for your SL target?
Live chat staffing calculator
Correct concurrency model for chat
Email & ticket calculator
Backlog model for async channels
Shrinkage calculator
Convert seated agents to scheduled headcount
Capacity planning guide
End-to-end WFM cycle in 7 steps
WFM glossary
Every contact centre term explained
Start planning your contact centre for free
No sign-up. No implementation project. No consultant. Your data stays in your browser. Build a staffing plan in the time it would take to set up a spreadsheet.
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