Connect to IntercomSupport Capacity Planning
Support Capacity Planning is the process of calculating how many agents are needed to handle forecasted contact volume at target service levels. It combines volume forecasts, AHT measurements, occupancy targets, and shrinkage factors to produce a headcount requirement. Accurate capacity planning prevents the two costly failure modes: under-staffing (SLA breaches, burnout, CSAT collapse) and over-staffing (excessive labor cost, under-utilized agents).
Required Headcount = (Weekly volume × AHT in minutes) ÷ (Weekly available minutes per agent × target occupancy)
Weekly available minutes per agent = shift hours × 60 × days per week. Target occupancy is typically 0.78–0.82 (78–82%). Multiply the result by 1 ÷ (1 − shrinkage rate) to account for breaks, training, and absences. Shrinkage typically adds 25–35% to the raw headcount requirement.
Common capacity planning inputs (B2B SaaS)
Estimate required headcount
- 1Planning headcount for average volume without accounting for peaks — average volume planning leaves peak hours understaffed. Plan to your 90th-percentile volume for synchronous channels.
- 2Forgetting to include shrinkage — a team of 10 agents at 30% shrinkage has the equivalent of 7 productive agents. Forgetting this is the most common cause of chronic understaffing.
- 3Not re-forecasting after product changes — a major product release can double contact volume for 2–3 weeks. Build a reactive forecasting process for planned events.
- 4Using the same capacity model for async and synchronous channels — live chat requires real-time coverage matching; email allows more scheduling flexibility. Model them separately.