For call centers and support teams
Schedules for call centers, with the right people on each queue
Phones, chat and email, busy mornings, and a team that works in shifts across long hours. ScheduleSolve puts the right number of people on each queue and keeps rest between shifts in your rules.
The short answer
Call center scheduling software puts the right number of trained people on each queue for each part of the day. You set how many people Phones, Chat and Email need on the Early, Day and Late shifts, and who knows each queue.
ScheduleSolve drafts the period from those needs and your rules. It keeps rest between a Late and the next Early, shares the late shifts evenly and follows when people would rather not work. It does not forecast call volume. You set the needs from your own numbers.
Written by Maren Vellory, Operations Manager · Updated October 19, 2026
Sound familiar?
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Mornings need twice the people of the afternoon.
With ScheduleSolve: Set more people for Early and Day than for Late. The draft fills them.
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Each queue needs people who know it.
With ScheduleSolve: Mark who knows Phones, Chat or Email. Only they are put there.
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Shift preferences change every month.
With ScheduleSolve: Staff say in the app when they would rather not work. The next draft follows it when it can.
An example week: Phones
10 people and 3 shifts in one area, filled by the same engine as the app. Gray cells are days a person said they can’t work. The rules: at least 11 hours of rest between shifts (Must), nobody works more than 5 days in a row (Must), and weekends are shared fairly (Try to).
- Early 7–3: 3 a day (1 on Sat and Sun)
- Day 9–5: 3 a day (1 on Sat and Sun)
- Late 1–9: 2 a day (1 on Sat and Sun)
| Person | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alicia | Off | Day9–5 | Off | Early7–3 | Off | Early7–3 | Late1–9 | 32 |
| Brandon | Day9–5 | Early7–3 | Early7–3 | Late1–9 | Day9–5 | Off | Off | 40 |
| Chen | Early7–3 | Early7–3 | Off | Early7–3 | Early7–3 | Off | Day9–5 | 40 |
| Dana | Early7–3 | Early7–3 | Day9–5 | Day9–5 | Early7–3 | Off | Off | 40 |
| Femi | Day9–5 | Late1–9 | Late1–9 | Late1–9 | Late1–9 | Off | Off | 40 |
| Gabriela | Late1–9 | Late1–9 | Late1–9 | Day9–5 | Day9–5 | Off | Off | 40 |
| Hiro | Day9–5 | Off | Day9–5 | Day9–5 | Late1–9 | Off | Early7–3 | 40 |
| Imani | Late1–9 | Day9–5 | Early7–3 | Off | Early7–3 | Day9–5 | Off | 40 |
| Jonah | Early7–3 | Day9–5 | Day9–5 | Early7–3 | Day9–5 | Off | Can’t work | 40 |
| Kate | Off | Off | Early7–3 | Off | Off | Late1–9 | Off | 16most 20 |
Every shift is filled: 46 places, and every Must rule holds.
In the app, the same week also takes in each person’s areas and skills, time off and the days they would rather not work. Open this example in the free schedule maker →
How to schedule a call center
A call center schedule matches the people on each queue to the contacts you expect, hour by hour, and keeps the team rested and fair. These steps start from a forecast you already have. ScheduleSolve does the scheduling part: steps 3 to 7.
1. Start from your contact forecast
Use last year’s and last month’s contacts by hour and day to see when the peaks are. Many teams get this from their phone system. ScheduleSolve does not forecast volume, so this step happens outside it.
2. Turn the forecast into people per shift
Decide how many people each queue needs on each shift to meet your service level. Phones may need 6 on the Early and Day shifts and 3 on the Late. Weekends often need fewer. Write the least you can run with and the number you want.
3. Mark who knows each queue
Phones, chat and email need different skills, and some people work all three. Mark each queue a person knows. The draft puts people where they are needed most that day, and only people who know a queue are offered its open shifts.
4. Overlap the shifts at the peak
Staggered shifts, such as Early 7 to 3, Day 9 to 5 and Late 1 to 9, put the most people on at the morning peak. Set a need for each one. The draft fills the “at least” first, then the “ideally”.
5. Keep rest between a Late and an Early
A Late that ends at 9 pm and an Early at 7 am leaves 10 hours. Set the rest you want as a Must rule, for example at least 11 hours, and the draft never puts a Late before an Early.
6. Share late shifts and weekends
Late shifts and weekends are the ones people swap away. Share them with “Try to: Late shifts are shared evenly” and “Try to: weekends are shared fairly”. Why? on a cell explains why a person has one.
7. Follow preferences when you can
Preferences change every month. Staff say in the app when they can’t work and when they would rather not. A “can’t” is never filled. A “would rather not” is followed when the needs allow, and the summary shows when it was not.
8. Breaks and adherence
Breaks and lunches inside a shift, and adherence during the day, are part of workforce management. ScheduleSolve plans whole shifts only, so plan breaks in your phone system or by a simple rule of thumb.
For fixed weeks, see the 5/2 schedule and the 8-hour rotating shift schedule. To try a week now, use the free schedule maker.
Your words, your rules
ScheduleSolve does not come with fixed job types or codes. You name your areas and shifts, and your rules read as plain sentences. For example:
- Areas
- PhonesChatEmail
- Shifts
- Early 7–3Day 9–5Late 1–9
- People needed
- Phones on Early and Day: at least 4 people, ideally 6.
Start from the Call centre template to get areas and shifts like these, then change anything.
The rules you would set
Each rule starts from one of the app’s rule templates, with your own numbers.
- Must: at least 11 hours of rest between shifts.
- Try to: Late shifts are shared evenly, within 2 of each other each month.
- Try to: weekends are shared fairly over 12 weeks.
A Must rule always holds. A Try to rule holds when it can. You can also type a rule in your own words; ScheduleSolve shows the rule it understood before it is added. How rules work
Shift patterns that fit call centers
Each pattern page has a calendar for each crew, the hours per week and a file to download.
- 5/2 schedule · 8-hour shifts, Weekdays, days only
- 8-hour rotating shift schedule · 8-hour shifts, 24/7
- Compare all shift patterns →
What changes for you
A draft, not a blank grid
ScheduleSolve drafts the whole period from your people, needs and rules.
Only the decisions
Home, your list of decisions, shows time off requests, open shifts and changes to approve.
Only the right people told
Post once. Each person gets their shifts. After a change, only the people affected hear about it.
Sick calls, fixed fast
Someone can’t come? Home shows the smallest fix: a free person, a spare person or an offer.
What ScheduleSolve does not do
- ScheduleSolve does not forecast call or chat volume, and it does not connect to your phone system. You set the needs for each shift.
- It plans whole shifts, not breaks and lunches inside a shift, and it does not track adherence during the day.
- It has no time clock and does not run payroll. It exports the hours by pay code.
Questions
Is ScheduleSolve call center workforce management software?
It covers the scheduling part: shifts, queues, skills, rest, fairness, time off and changes. It does not forecast volume, plan breaks inside a shift or track adherence. Many teams use a forecast from their phone system and set the needs in ScheduleSolve from it.
Can I set more people for the morning peak?
Yes. Set a higher number for the Early and Day shifts than for Late, and a different number on weekends. The draft fills the “at least” first, then the “ideally”.
Can people work more than one queue?
Yes. Mark each queue a person knows. The draft puts them where they are needed most that day, and only people who know a queue are offered its open shifts.
How do I handle shift preferences?
Staff say in the app when they would rather not work, for example Late shifts on Fridays. The next draft follows it when the needs allow, and the summary shows when it could not.
Does it work for a remote support team?
Yes. The staff app works in any phone or computer browser. Each person sees their own shifts in their own calendar, and gets told when a shift changes.
Get your evenings back.
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