Focus is a setting that allows Agents to enter Focus mode. In this mode, Agents can pause the Routing Engine from sending Customers to them, eliminating the need to go unavailable when they need extra time to work on after-Contact activities, such as finalizing their Notes. The Focus feature also helps calculate after-Contact work time and occupancy more accurately, providing additional benefits to Agents and Customers.
Determine if activating Focus is suitable for your team #
As an opt-in feature, understanding why the Focus feature was developed will help you better understand if the feature is suitable for your team. Read below for more information.
The Focus feature aims to help Workforce Management analysts better measure Occupancy 
, presented as the Occupied % metric in Gladly.
The formula for Occupied % is: Occupancy % = Contact Handle Time + After Contact Work Time / Available Time
As you can see in the formula, Available Time is the denominator of the Occupied % metric. Many Gladly managers see Agents going Unavailable in their Channels to complete additional after-Contact work (e.g., to complete Notes, create a Task, etc.). When this happens, Agents continue to accumulate After Contact Time but no longer accumulate Available Time, leading to an Occupied % of over 100% as the numerator keeps increasing, but the denominator stays the same.
This is where the Focus feature comes into play. By going into Focus mode, Agents can pause the Routing Engine of pushing new Contacts without going unavailable. This allows them to continue accumulating After Contact Time and Available Time, stabilizing the Occupied % measurement.
It’s best to think of the Focus feature as a pause button instead of a bucket of time spent in that mode. All it’s doing is temporarily stopping the Routing Engine from routing work without needing to go unavailable.
If you measure Occupancy, we highly recommend activating Focus to ensure the Occupancy % metric is measured accurately. Otherwise, you’re not required to use this feature and leave it deactivated.
If you do not measure Occupancy in your contact center, introducing the Focus feature to Agents as part of your process can still:
- Improve Available Time measurement.
- Improve Occupancy % measurement in Gladly and avoid “weird” results with 100% Occupancy in reports that display it.
- Help you start tracking Occupancy in the future to understand how busy your contact center is to help you better manage your Agents’ work schedule.
If you’re concerned about Agents using Focus to avoid work, the other measures you can review to catch these situations:
- Check throughput. For example, if your Agents average 30 phone calls a day but suddenly average just 18, this could indicate Agents are spending more time in Focus mode than they should. Of course, other reasons could contribute to reduced capacity other than Focus that you should investigate.
- Monitor how often and how long Agents use Focus through Agent Liveboard.
- Monitor metrics like Active Time and Available Time.
How Agents should use Focus #
Focus is a tool to help Agents better manage their availability during work times without requiring them to go unavailable on any Channel if they need extra time to work on a Customer between Contacts. Focus allows Agents to temporarily pause the Routing Engine from sending Customers.
Agents should use Focus mode in situations such as:
- When they need extra time to work on after-Contact activities, such as wrapping up their Notes, or if they need extra time to create a Task.
- If they require project time while in Gladly to actively work on Customer-related projects, such as making outbound follow-ups, working on Tasks, etc.
- If they need to get help from a manager or supervisor while in between assisting new Customers.
While in Focus mode, Agents can only work on Customers that have already been assigned to them. They will need to exit Focus mode to receive new Customers to assist from the Routing Engine.
Refrain from using Focus alongside Active Status #
Active Status allows Agents to select a status to tell Gladly what they are doing, but we recommend not using Focus with Active Status, especially if the Agent will be working on Customer activities.
When to use Focus
Whenever an activity involves actively doing work for a Customer, like making outbound calls, adding Notes, and creating Tasks, it’s recommended that Agents use Focus, which doesn’t require them to go unavailable on any Channel.
When to use Active Status
Use Active Status and go unavailable when working on activities that don’t directly involve working on a Customer. Think of project work times like training, meetings, administration, etc., requiring an Agent to remain signed into Gladly but be unavailable in all Channels.
