FAQ and Troubleshooting

Getting Started

Do I need a WFM background to use Turnella?

No. Turnella is built for operations managers and team leads who need to plan staff without a specialist WFM team. Every metric has a help tooltip that explains what it means. The help chat (bottom-right button) answers questions about specific inputs as you work.

Can I use Turnella without importing historical data?

Yes. You can enter assumptions manually and calculate requirements without any historical data. Navigate directly to the Requirements tab, set your expected volume and AHT, and Turnella calculates headcount immediately. The Forecast tab and accuracy tracking require historical data, but those are optional layers.

What is the difference between a workstream and a team?

A workstream is a planning unit, not necessarily an org chart team. One team might need two workstreams if they handle two channel types (e.g., voice and email). One workstream might represent multiple physical teams if they all work the same queue. Plan at the level of the queue or channel, not the org chart.

Is there a mobile app?

Not yet. Turnella is a web app that works on any browser, including mobile browsers. A native mobile app is on the roadmap.

Data and Forecasting

My CSV is not importing correctly. What format does Turnella expect?

The minimum requirement is one column with a date-time and one column with a numeric volume count. Common column names are auto-detected (date, datetime, interval, start_time for the date; volume, calls, contacts, count for the volume). If auto-detection fails, the import preview lets you select columns manually from a dropdown.

How much history do I need before generating a forecast?

The minimum is 2 weeks, but 4–8 weeks gives you a reliable result. With less than 4 weeks, the day-of-week pattern detection may be unreliable — check the forecast manually and apply overrides for any days that look wrong.

My forecast looks flat or wrong. What should I check?

• Check that operating hours are set correctly in Settings — intervals outside operating hours should be excluded from the model.
• Look for outlier data in the Data tab — very high or zero-volume intervals can distort the intraday profile.
• Check the history length — fewer than 4 weeks can produce unreliable DOW patterns.
• If your operation has changed recently (new hours, new queue routing), older data may not reflect current patterns. Consider excluding data before the change date.

Can I import data from [phone system / ACD / CRM]?

If your system can export to CSV with a date-time and volume column, yes. Most phone systems, ACD platforms, and ticketing tools offer a CSV export from their reporting section. Turnella does not yet have native integrations with specific platforms — everything goes through CSV.

Requirements and Staffing

Why is my scheduled required so much higher than seated required?

Shrinkage. If shrinkage is 30%, then scheduled required = seated ÷ (1 − 0.30) = seated ÷ 0.70 = 1.43× seated. Every 10 agents needed at their workstations requires 14–15 agents rostered to ensure 10 are actually available. This is normal and correct.

My occupancy is above 85% — is that a problem?

Yes, sustained occupancy above 85% is a wellbeing and quality risk. Your options: add agents to the schedule, lower the max occupancy guardrail in Settings (which forces Turnella to require more agents), reduce AHT through coaching or process improvement, or deflect contacts to self-service.

Turnella says I need 20 agents but my manager approved 15. What do I do?

Run a scenario with headcount delta set to −5 to see the coverage and SL impact of running with 15 agents. Use the comparison table to show what service level the 15-agent plan achieves versus the 20-agent plan. The numbers make the decision explicit — it becomes a business decision, not a dispute about who is right.

Should I use the Erlang C result as my final headcount?

The Erlang C result (scheduled required) is the starting point. You then need to check it against your roster (are there enough contracted hours?), your shift plan (can the headcount be distributed across available shifts?), and your budget (does the cost fit?). The number is the answer to "how many agents do I need?" — but delivering that number is a separate planning exercise.

Schedule and Cost

My scheduled FTE is higher than my rostered FTE. Is that a problem?

Yes — it means you are scheduling more agents than you have under contract. Check: are all part-time and fixed-term agents in the Roster tab with their actual contracted hours? Are you planning to use overtime for the extra hours? Resolve the discrepancy before using the cost figures.

How do I model bank holiday staffing?

Create a separate schedule plan for the bank holiday week. Adjust headcounts per shift to reflect your planned bank holiday staffing level (zero if the operation is closed, or a skeleton crew if you run a reduced service). The cost tab will use the bank holiday plan's headcounts for that week.

The cost figures look too high. What could be wrong?

The most common cause is an incorrect on-cost uplift. Check that the on-cost in Settings reflects your actual employer costs (NI, pension, holiday pay). Also check whether shift premiums are set correctly — a night or weekend premium applied to all shifts will significantly inflate the total.

Account and Data

Is my data private and secure?

Yes. Each account's data is stored in an isolated database partition with row-level security — only you can access your workstreams when signed in. Turnella uses Supabase for data storage, which is built on PostgreSQL and hosted in regulated cloud infrastructure.

I accidentally deleted a workstream. Can I get it back?

If you archived the workstream (soft delete), you can restore it from the dashboard. If you deleted it permanently, the data cannot be recovered — deletion is irreversible. For important plans, export the data to Excel before deleting.

Can I export all my data?

Yes. Individual data exports (forecast, requirements, schedule, cost, roster) are available from each tab as CSV or Excel. For a complete backup, go to Account settings and download the full data export.

Can multiple people use the same account?

Currently, each account is for a single user. Team collaboration features (shared workstreams, role-based access) are on the roadmap.

Getting Help

The help chat button (bottom-right corner on every page) answers questions about how the app works and what the metrics mean. For other support — billing, data issues, account problems, feature requests — email support@turnella.com.