Real-time and
tactical planning
Real time teams or duty managers can make or break any plan. They need to be the “rock”
of the planning process – steady and consistent, ensuring the forecasted plan is being
worked whilst feeding back improvements to ensure even better planning next time.
Try out this real-time checklist!
There is no part of the planning
cycle that is more important that
the other; they each rely on each
other to thrive. A bad forecast and
schedule can be made to look ’fit
for purpose’ by good on the day
management; there can also be
many excuses for poor real-time
management.
Ultimately the vital component of a
good real-time team is
communication and relationships.
Operational learning As well as the
hand-over, set up times to support
continuous improvement and
operational learning. Discuss what
happened and what can be
improved/prevented next time. It
can be too easy for the forecasters
to forget about the call delivery on
the day and concentrate on the
total end of day calls for the future
forecasts. Poor adherence and
high absence contribute to falsely
high call volumes which may need
A real-time team are the key link in the chain of communication
between planning and the operation; telling the story of the day
before it happens and as it happens.
They are the key link in the chain of
communication between planning
and the operation; telling the story
of the day before it happens and as
it happens.
Triggers for Action. Have a detailed
list of the actions you should take
when the operation is busier or
quieter than planned. This list
needs to be reviewed and refined
regularly as different weeks/months
may need to be treated differently.
It’s also a good idea to make this
list available to everyone so agents
and team leaders are not surprised.
Include managers and team leaders
when reviewing this list, so that it is
a joint decision, it’s not real-time
versus the world! Ensure that this
list is strictly adhered to for
consistency.
Hand-over meeting. There needs to
be a formal hand over meeting
between real-time, and forecasting
and scheduling, to communicate the
assumptions and rationale behind
the plan. Without this real-time can
soon become fire fighting.
28
to be adjusted for forecast
considerations.
Know your shrinkages. It’s not your
fault if absence, training or
adherence is different from forecast
but it IS your responsibility to
highlight this before it becomes an
issue. You need to track these
‘shrinkages’ on the day and talk
about them, so everyone
understands the importance of
these measures. Assist the
scheduling team by updating any
known long-term absences and
ensure the plan is up-to-date before
the start of each day.
Daily communication. Speak to
team leaders and manager daily.
Agree what information needs to
be communicated and discussed
and how regular this needs to be;
hourly update may seem great for
one person but very annoying and
unnecessary for another. Some
people have stand-up meetings, so
they don’t go on long. Key times –
such as a 10am slot – are also
useful.
Insight and understanding. Make
sure your team leaders and realtime team are effectively prepared.
One of our most popular workshops
is Planning and Resourcing Insight.
A one-day programme, run publicly
or in-house, this always stimulates
great discussion, take-aways and
actions. A fantastic way to create
insight and shared goals.
Top Tip
“Remember, it’s not air traffic
control! So be decisive
without worry, champion
the customer and lead from
the front.”
Robert Tuck,
Planning & Performance Manager,
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
For more information
Contact Dave Vernon,
dave.vernon@planningforum.co.uk
01663 746 772.
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