Call Center Shrinkage: Definition, Impact, and How to Reduce It

Think of your call center. You’ve got the headsets, the software, and the agents lined up. 

Your goal is to connect with customers fast and solve their problems. But what if a chunk of your team is absent, late, or on extended breaks? 

That’s call center shrinkage. 

Why does that matter? 

Because when agents aren’t available to assist customers, service suffers. In fact, nearly 60% of customers say long hold times are the most frustrating part of service. 

High shrinkage means longer waits, frustrated customers, overworked agents, and higher costs to the business.

In this article, we’ll unpack what call center shrinkage is, why it’s important for inbound and outbound call centers alike, how to measure it, and strategies to reduce it in 2025 and beyond.

A. What is call center shrinkage?

Shrinkage in inbound and outbound call centers is the percentage of time that call center agents are being paid but are not available to handle customer interactions.

In other words, it’s the gap between the total working hours agents are scheduled for and the actual time they spend serving customers. This includes all the minutes and hours lost to activities like breaks, meetings, training, or unexpected absences. 

Shrinkage is essentially the opposite of occupancy or utilization – if an agent is busy helping customers 70% of the time, the remaining 30% is shrinkage​

B. Types of call center shrinkage: Planned vs. Unplanned

Shrinkage comes in two broad types: planned and unplanned. Understanding the difference is important so you can manage what’s controllable and anticipate what’s not.

• Planned shrinkage: This refers to the scheduled or expected time agents are not handling calls . It includes all the activities you can plan for and build into your workforce management strategy. 
• Unplanned shrinkage: This covers the unscheduled or unexpected times when agents aren’t available. These are the surprises that disrupt your day. 

C. What are the causes of shrinkage in a call center?

Shrinkage can be caused by a variety of factors, generally categorized as internal or external causes. Let’s break down common causes in each category, along with some recent stats that highlight their impact:

1. Internal causes (In-center activities)

These occur when agents are on the clock but not actively engaged with customers. They include:

• Breaks and meals: Agents taking their scheduled lunch, coffee breaks, or quick restroom breaks. These are necessary daily pauses. Typically, breaks might account for around 10-15% of an agent’s day.
• Team meetings & coaching: Regular team huddles, one-on-one coaching sessions, quality assurance reviews, or training workshops​. For example, weekly team meetings or monthly training updates are planned shrinkage.
• After-call work (ACW): Time spent wrapping up after a call – updating CRM notes, sending follow-up emails, or logging case details. Some call centers report agents spending up to 45 minutes of every hour on after-call admin tasks (in extreme cases)​.
• System downtime: Technical glitches or system slowdowns that prevent agents from taking calls​. Even reliable systems have maintenance or unexpected outages. One study found call centers experience about 8.76 hours of tech downtime per year on average​– not huge, but it can spike during major IT issues.
• Other in-office activities: These could be agents helping with back-office tasks, processing paperwork, or even office distractions. Essentially, any time during a shift that isn’t spent on customer interactions counts toward internal shrinkage.

2. External causes (Out-of-office factors)

These are reasons agents aren’t available because they’re not at work or not logged in when expected:

• Holidays and vacation: Approved time off for public holidays or personal vacation days. These are planned absences, but they reduce staff available on those days. 
• Sick leave and unplanned absence: Agents calling in sick or emergency time off. This is a major unplanned shrinkage factor. Absenteeism in call centers averages about 6% in-house (and up to 10% in outsourced centers) – roughly 8.2 absent days per agent per year, higher than the 7.4-day average in other industries.
• Personal emergencies: Life happens – an agent might have to suddenly leave work due to a family emergency, medical issue, or other personal crisis. These unpredictable events, though less frequent, can impact coverage.
• Attrition & Open Positions: If an agent quits and that position is unfilled, those missing hours can be viewed as shrinkage from a staffing perspective until a replacement arrives (though officially attrition is separate, it does cause more overtime or understaffing which mimics shrinkage impact).

D. Impact of call center shrinkage

A small percentage of shrinkage is normal and expected, but high shrinkage (beyond the typical 30-35% range) can cause serious issues in your service delivery. Here are the key ways shrinkage affects your call center:

1. Customer satisfaction: Fewer agents on calls can raise average wait times impacting CSAT. Customers get frustrated and might hang up, costing you business.
2. Agent productivity: Agents who remain on the phones shoulder a heavier burden. Burnout risk shoots up. You lose focus, quality, and morale.
3. Costs and efficiency: High shrinkage often forces you to overstaff. You hire more than you need, just to cover times when people aren’t working. That inflates labor costs.
4. Service level agreements (SLAs): You promise quick responses. Shrinkage derails you from meeting your SLAs. This can lead to penalties or lost contracts.

E. How to measure call center shrinkage?

You measure shrinkage to see how many hours are lost to breaks, training, sick leave, and other off-phone activities. A standard formula:

Shrinkage Percentage =

(Total hours scheduled Total hours of internal + external shrinkage​)×100

That’s not a bad number. Most call centers average around 30%. Anything above 35% raises red flags.

F. Strategies to reduce call center shrinkage

You can’t eliminate shrinkage altogether. However, you can keep it low. Here are effective strategies to help you control both planned and unplanned shrinkage.

1. Improve forecasting and scheduling (workforce management)

Use data and analytics to predict call volumes and staff accordingly.

• Employ a Workforce Management tool to analyze historical call data and schedule breaks during off-peak times.
• Factor in planned shrinkage from the start. If you know you have 20% average shrinkage, schedule enough staff to compensate.

2. Implement flexible brake and shift policies

Allow micro-breaks, shift swaps, or remote options. When agents feel they have personal control, they tend to stick to the schedule.

Many call centers see success in letting agents self-schedule. This lowers unplanned absences since staff pick times they prefer.

3. Use technology to minimize downtime

Don’t let outdated tech eat into your productivity. If system downtime or slow software is causing internal shrinkage, invest in reliable call center software and infrastructure.

• AI-driven tools: Use AI to transcribe calls, generate summaries, or tag customer issues. That cuts after-call work.
• Self-service channels: Use interactive voice response (IVR) or chatbots that reduce call volumes and ease the burden on your team.
• System redundancies: Make sure your tech is stable, with backup options for downtime.

4. Streamline training and meetings

Training and coaching sessions are important but they contribute to planned shrinkage. The key is to make off-phone time as efficient as possible. 

Some tips are:

• Schedule training during slow periods (e.g., early morning or late night for a 24/7 center)​
• Use e-learning modules that agents can take at their own pace (perhaps during naturally idle time)​
• Break up workshops into shorter segments spread out over days instead of a long block that takes many agents out at once. 
• Use agent coaching or sales training software.

5. Reduce administrative burden

A lot of shrinkage can come from agents doing things that aren’t talking to customers but are still working – like typing up call notes, updating databases, or performing manual processes. 

Look for ways to automate or streamline repetitive administrative tasks. 

For example, use CRM integrations that auto-fill customer info, or deploy tools that generate after-call summaries automatically using AI. 

6. Enhance employee engagement and morale

Disengaged or unhappy employees tend to have higher absenteeism and adherence issues, which fuels shrinkage. Focusing on agent engagement is a powerful shrinkage-reduction strategy. 

How to do this? 

• Foster a positive workplace culture where agents feel valued. 
• Recognize good performance (a quick shout-out in team chat or an “agent of the week” reward).
• Provide growth opportunities and listen to agent feedback. 

7. Continuously review and adjust

Finally, shrinkage management is an ongoing process​. Regularly review your shrinkage metrics and see which strategies are working and which aren’t. 

Hold periodic meetings with team leaders to discuss shrinkage trends and brainstorm improvements. Also, gather input from agents – they often have insight into why certain shrinkage occurs and can offer practical solutions. 

By staying adaptive and open to change, you’ll keep shrinkage at optimal levels. 

G. Use cases of managing call center shrinkage in 2025 and beyond

As we step into 2025, many call centers are innovating in how they manage shrinkage. Here are a few real-world examples and trends that highlight how businesses are tackling shrinkage with modern solutions:

1. AI-assisted shrinkage alerts

Centers use AI systems that show real-time dashboards. The moment the available agent count dips below a threshold, managers get an alert. They can then reassign breaks or call in backup. This helps reduce hold times during sudden spikes.

2. Hybrid workforce management

Hybrid and remote setups are common. You might have half the team in-office and half at home. Workforce management tools show who’s active, who’s offline, and who’s on break from any location. Managers act quickly if they see unusual inactivity.

3. Flexible self-scheduling

Modern call centers let agents pick shifts from an approved schedule block. Everyone knows coverage requirements. Agents place themselves where they can consistently show up. This fosters accountability. Companies see fewer late arrivals and unscheduled leaves.

4. Advanced chatbot deflection

In 2025, chatbots can handle more complex issues. That means fewer repetitive calls for human agents and less queue pressure when shrinkage happens. Chatbots handle routine tickets, while your best agents focus on high-value interactions.

5. Proactive wellness initiatives

Companies now track absence patterns and conduct short “health checks.” These check agent stress, physical ailments, or personal challenges. Early identification of stress leads to flexible shifts or counseling sessions. This prevents burnout and unplanned absences.

H. How Enthu.AI can help reduce shrinkage?

Enthu.AI brings artificial intelligence to your contact center. It helps tackle shrinkage from multiple angles:

• 100% call monitoring and auto-QA: Automatically evaluates and transcribes all your calls, reducing time spent by managers manually reviewing calls. This frees up agents from lengthy meetings, directly decreasing internal shrinkage.
• Reduced after-call work (ACW): Automatically generates accurate call summaries, cutting down wrap-up times. Less time spent on administrative tasks means agents get back to customers faster.
• Targeted coaching and training insights: Identifies specific agent performance gaps using AI analytics, allowing managers to deliver precise and quick training. Shorter, targeted sessions replace lengthy generalized trainings, reducing planned shrinkage.
• Real-time adherence improvement: Real-time sentiment and performance analytics help managers identify frustrated or overwhelmed agents promptly. Timely interventions improve schedule adherence, lowering unplanned shrinkage.
• Agent self-coaching & engagement: Enthu.AI’s self-service library lets agents review their performance independently. Engaged agents proactively improve without lengthy coaching sessions, saving valuable scheduled time.
• Data-Driven Schedule Optimization: Detailed analytics highlight idle times and call-volume trends. Managers can strategically schedule breaks or shifts to maximize productivity, converting idle periods into efficient downtime.

With Enthu.AI, your team gets more done in less time. Fewer wasted hours means lower shrinkage. Your customers get quicker responses, and your agents feel more supported.

Conclusion

Call center shrinkage is a reality you can’t avoid. But you can reduce it. Start by measuring it accurately. Notice the patterns for planned events like breaks and training. Watch out for unplanned issues like sickness or downtime. Then put in place strategies like better forecasting, flexible scheduling, and automation tools.

You’ll see a virtuous cycle form: fewer coverage gaps, happier customers, and more motivated agents. When your people are engaged, they’re more likely to show up on time and adhere to schedules. 

That means stronger performance and higher profits. Shrinkage won’t vanish, but it will become manageable. Tackle it head-on, and you’ll transform your call center into a thriving, customer-friendly operation.