Answering telephone calls

摘要

A telephone answering facility has a plurality of agent-stations (103), along with a switch (102) for directing incoming calls to these agent-stations. Signals indicative of previous incoming calls are stored (401), from which forecasts are produced which forecast levels of incoming calls at intervals within an operational period. These forecasts are translated (403) into active agent-station requirements from which actual activation schedules are generated. Said schedules are produced (404) by allocating station active times substantially in response to agent availability by following translated active agent-station requirements up a gradient towards a demand level peak.