Occupancy and Utilization

These two metrics are often confused, but they measure different things.

Occupancy measures Busyness (How hard are you working while seated?).

Utilization measures Usage (How much did we use you compared to how much we paid you?).

Occupancy

This measures the time an agent is busy handling calls vs. waiting for calls. This is how we can calculate it:

• Occupancy = (Time on Calls + ACW) ÷ (Total Logged In Time).

Ideally, this metric should be between 75% and 85% to be on the healthy side. If Occupancy is 95%+, it means the agent is taking calls "Back to Back" with zero time to rest in between interactions. If it is 50%, the agent is idle most of the time, and the company is wasting money.

Utilization

This measures the time an agent is logged in vs. the total time they are paid for. This is how we can calculate it:

• Utilization = (Total Logged In Time) ÷ (Total Paid Shift Hours).

Both companies (the BPO and the Client) want this as high as legally possible to maximize profit. If you work an 8-hour shift, but spend 1 hour at lunch and 30 minutes in meetings, your utilization is lower.

Let´s see a final quick comparison between both terms:

Metric	What it asks	Who cares?
Occupancy	"Is the agent busy talking, or just sitting there?"	Operations & WFM
Utilization	"Is the agent logged in, or in the breakroom?"	Finance & HR