Import forecasts for several skills at a time

Import forecasts from external sources to the default scenario in the web Forecasts tool. You can import forecasts for several skills at a time. In the import file you can choose to include workload information, staffing information, or both.

  • Workload—The number of contacts and the average time to handle and wrap up a contact.
  • Staffing—The number of agents needed to handle the contacts.

NOTE   For Email and Back office skill types, only the Import workload option is available. You cannot import staffing because for these skill types, the number of forecasted agents for an interval changes based on how many agents that are scheduled for other intervals.

The import matches the forecast data to a skill based on the skill name.

We recommend having only one workload for the skills you import forecasts to because it is not possible to select which workload to import to. The forecast is always imported to the workload that was created first.

When you import forecast data, the skills' open hours are set based on the data in the import file.

Prerequisites

  • You have the Web > Forecasts > Modify skill permission.
  • Skills are created that match the skill names in the forecast import file.
  • The forecast import file is formatted according to the specification. See Forecast file formats for more information.
  • The forecast import file must be sorted on the skill name.

Page location

WFM > Forecasts

Procedures

Import forecast data

  1. Click Import and select Import forecast.
  2. Drop your forecast file in the gray area, or click the gray area to select the file. The forecast file must follow the specified format. See Forecast file formats for more information.
  3. A preview of the first 100 rows in the selected file is displayed. Review the rows and address any issues in the file before proceeding with the import.

    Any format issues within the rows are highlighted. This can be for example if the date or time format is wrong, or if fields that should contain numeric values do not. Hover any highlighted field to show a tooltip with details.

  4. Click Import.
  5. A progress bar is shown. When it turns green, the import is completed. Click OK to import another file.

    NOTE   
    • The rows are imported in batches by skill. Any forecasts already imported in earlier batches are kept if the import for some reason fails in a later batch.
    • If the import fails, a message is shown above the table. The message states the issue and on which row it is. Address the issue and then rerun the import. If any values have changed for the already imported batches, the previous values are replaced.

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