Adherence inputs
One agent or a team average, per day or per week.
Used to estimate the service level impact of the adherence gap.
3.5 points below the 90% target: 65 minutes out of adherence.
Total time worked meets the 95% target.
| Agent | Adherence | Conformance | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent 1 | 93.8% | 99.6% | On target |
| Agent 2 | 83.3% | 95.8% | adherence below target |
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Results are estimates for planning purposes only and should not replace professional workforce management judgment.
Adherence and conformance both compare reality to the schedule, but they answer different questions. Adherence is minute by minute: was the agent doing the scheduled activity at the scheduled time. Conformance is a total: did the minutes worked add up to the minutes scheduled.
Step by step
- Adherence % = minutes in adherence ÷ scheduled minutes. 415 of 480 minutes is 86.5 percent.
- Conformance % = actual worked minutes ÷ scheduled minutes. It can pass 100 percent when agents work through breaks or stay late.
- Minutes lost by reason come from your entries; any out-of-adherence minutes you did not assign show as Other.
- Adherence gap = target minus actual. The impact estimate multiplies that gap by your scheduled headcount to price the missing coverage in agents.
Using it well
- Coach the pattern, not the minute: one late login is noise, a daily one is a pattern.
- Keep targets humane. Chasing 95 percent adherence buys little coverage and costs morale.
- Watch conformance above 100 percent too: it often means skipped breaks, which shows up later as burnout.
- Pair with the Occupancy Calculator and the Shrinkage Calculator to see the full picture of where paid time goes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between adherence and conformance?
Adherence asks whether the agent was in the right activity at the right time, minute by minute. Conformance only asks whether the total time worked matches the total time scheduled. An agent can hit 100 percent conformance and still wreck coverage by taking breaks at the wrong time.
What is a good adherence target?
Most centres set 85 to 90 percent. Above 90 percent agents feel watched minute by minute, and the metric starts punishing normal human variation rather than real coverage problems.
Can conformance be over 100 percent?
Yes. An agent who works through a break or stays late has worked more than scheduled, so conformance exceeds 100 percent even though adherence suffered.
How does the adherence gap affect service level?
Minutes out of adherence are minutes the queue is short. The impact estimate converts the percentage point gap into the extra agents you would need on the floor to buy that coverage back.
Related reading: real-time adherence is becoming a retention risk and giving agents schedule flexibility without breaking service level.
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