This article explores the risks inherent in channel blending in Contact Centers.
This article is part of our Contact Center Management Series — a collection of articles that bring together practical guidance and insights to help Contact Centers run better and deliver stronger results.
What Is Channel Blending?
Channel blending is defined as having Agents work on different types of customer contacts — simultaneously.
This is different from multi-skilling, where Agents are trained to handle different contact types — but do so in separate, scheduled time intervals.
With the growth of digital channels, channel blending can seem like a logical way to improve productivity.
But there are inherent risks that Contact Center leaders should consider in their planning decisions.
Know Your Erlang C Calculations
It’s true that Contact Center Agents experience periods of Available Time.
And Available Time results from the randomness of contact arrival patterns. It’s a mathematical reality.
The following formula applies:
Occupancy Rate + Available Rate = 100% for any given period of time
So if your Agent is 85% occupied that means they are experiencing a 15% availability rate over the same period.
Let’s do some math using an hour as time basis:
- 85% Occupancy x 60 minutes = 51 minutes of being occupied
- 15% Available x 60 minutes = 9 minutes of being available
But those 9 minutes — spread over the course of an hour — come in short, fragmented bursts.
5 seconds here…42 seconds there…1 minute here and so on.
So the question is: Does it really work to ask your Agents to handle other contacts at the same time during these sporadic bursts of Available Time?
Handling Multiple Contact Types at the Same Time
Can Agents viably handle channels such as Live Chat or Emails while logged in to handle Voice calls at the same time (or over the same time period)?
Many experienced practitioners and organizations focused on Customer Experience say no.
It all sounds so productive on paper — so why not?
The answer is simple: quality and the Customer Experience will suffer.
Try writing a clear, well-presented reply to a Customer email while being interrupted multiple times by voice calls.
Or try jumping back and forth between a chat (or three) and a voice call — and still ensure you handle each interaction well.
Now try doing this hour after hour, day after day, month after month.
Customer Service professionals are supposed to listen well and give their undivided attention to the Customer.
In order to create memorable, positive experiences that build Customer trust.
But the reality of channel blending often has the opposite impact.
Why Multi-Tasking Fails in Practice
Wikipedia defines human multi-tasking as the apparent ability to perform more than one task over a short period of time.
In reality, multi-tasking involves constant context switching — which wastes time and increases errors due to divided attention.
Customer Service expert Jeff Toister puts it simply: multi-tasking and Customer Service don’t mix.
- We can only process one conscious thought at a time
- Multi-tasking slows us down
- We make more errors when we multi-task
The Origin of the Term
The term “multi-tasking” originally described computers, not people.
It was first used in the 1960s to explain how systems like the IBM System 360 handled multiple processes concurrently.
Applying the same concept to human work is misleading.
It’s Not About Attitude
Recently, I met a Contact Center Agent at a workshop who acknowledged that handling multiple channels at the same time was difficult — especially at first.
But she attributed her ability to cope largely to attitude.
She said, “Dan, it was hard — especially at the beginning. But I told myself I had the right attitude, so I really tried and eventually got used to it.”
But let’s take that discussion a bit further.
Does this mean that Agents who struggle with handling multiple channels simply don’t have the “right” attitude?
I don’t think so at all.
The World Has Changed
The relentless push for Agents to be endlessly more efficient and productive is increasingly being questioned.
Organizations that genuinely focus on Customer Experience increasingly enable their Agents to deliver it.
They invest more time in training, coaching, and supporting people to have better conversations with Customers.
Does it make sense to train team members across different channels of communication?
Absolutely.
This approach can make the work more interesting for Agents — while also simplifying workforce planning for the Contact Center.
Channel blending may look attractive on paper, but it’s a misguided attempt to drive productivity at the expense of focus, quality, and sustainable performance.
Thank You for Reading
I regularly share stories, strategies, and insights from our work across Contact Centers, Customer Service, and Customer Experience. If this resonates, I’d love to stay connected.
You can drop me a line anytime, or subscribe on our site.
Daniel Ord
[email protected]
www.omnitouchinternational.com
