Many factors need to be considered when determining how to staff your chat support channel. Ultimately, the final number will depend on your organisation and business objectives. Here are some other considerations to keep in mind when deciding on the number of agents:
What is your chat goal?
If your goal is to reduce your overall support costs, you would naturally want less agents. But if your goal is to increase CSAT, then having a lower agent-to-customer ratio is advisable.
How complex is your product and the expected queries?
Complex products will require more support for the customer. So, agents might need to spend more time with customers, thus driving up the average chat duration. To ensure customers don’t have to wait too long to be served, you should consider adding more agents.
When do you get the most chats?
To get a better idea on the number of chat agents needed during the peak and low volume periods, break down traffic by hour for the busiest day, and estimate the number of chats that will come in across the day. Divide this based on the number of chats that each agent in these shifts can handle.
How experienced are your agents?
An agent without prior chat experience can take only 1-2 active chats simultaneously, while an experienced agent can easily take 4-6 chats. If all your agents are new to chat, you may need to lower the number of simultaneous chats they are expected to take. This can impact your staffing considerations.
