Definition
Adherence measures whether an agent was doing the scheduled activity at the scheduled time. It is usually calculated as the proportion of scheduled minutes in which the agent's actual state matched the plan, allowing a small tolerance either side.
It is distinct from conformance, which only checks whether the agent worked the right total number of hours. An agent who takes lunch two hours late has perfect conformance and poor adherence, and it is adherence that determines whether the queue was covered when volume arrived.
Adherence is deliberately activity-based rather than outcome-based, which makes it one of the few metrics that is fair to hold an individual agent to.
Why it matters
- A perfect forecast and a perfect roster deliver nothing if people are not in the right place at the right time; adherence is where planning converts into service level.
- Poor adherence in peak intervals causes service level misses that look like forecasting failures in reporting.
- Because it is within the agent's control, it is appropriate for performance management in a way that occupancy and AHT are not.
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