This feature is a part of Assembled's Pro and Enterprise plan. Please see our Plans page for additional details about our Assembled plans and associated features, and please contact the Assembled team at support@assembled.com if you’re interested in using this!
Overview
Async channels, email and back office, behave very differently from live channels like phone and chat. Response time SLAs are usually measured in hours or days rather than seconds, and SLAs typically only apply during business hours. That means you don't need an agent available the moment every ticket arrives. What you actually need is enough capacity across the SLA window to resolve the work before it breaches.
Assembled's async staffing model is built around this reality. Instead of asking "how many agents do I need right now to clear every ticket arriving in this 15-minute interval?", it asks "how many agents do I need across the SLA window to resolve this work in time?"
The result: a more accurate, less spiky required headcount that matches how async work actually gets done.
How it works
Assembled uses four inputs to compute async staffing requirements:
- Service level % — the percentage of tickets you want resolved within your target time (e.g. 90%)
- Target response time — your SLA window (e.g. 6 hours, 24 hours)
- Email or case productivity — how many tickets one agent can handle per hour
- Business hours — the windows during which SLA targets apply
These are configured in the Configure panel on the Staffing Timeline. Make sure you've selected Email or Back Office as the channel.
Business hours are currently managed by your Assembled CSM or support team. If you're not sure they're configured correctly, contact your CSM or support@assembled.com.
Staffing calculation options for email and back office
For async channels, you can choose between two ways of calculating required headcount. Both use the same inputs above — they differ in how they distribute required work across time. You can switch between them from the Configure panel on the Staffing Timeline at any time.
Interval-based staffing
This is the same calculation Assembled has historically used for all channels. It assumes that work arriving in a given 15-minute interval should be resolved within that same interval. The required headcount line tracks the contact volume curve closely, including its spikes.
This mode makes sense when you genuinely need to respond inside the arrival interval — for example, if your team treats email more like chat, or if you're modeling a worst-case staffing scenario.
SLA-window staffing
This mode distributes required headcount across your full target response time rather than concentrating it in the arrival interval. If 100 emails arrive at 9 AM and your SLA is 24 hours, the model spreads the required work across that 24-hour window instead of asking you to staff for 100 emails at 9 AM.
The required staffing line will look noticeably flatter than the raw contact volume curve. That's expected — your actual ticket arrivals are still spiky, but the required headcount is smoothed across the SLA window because the work doesn't all need to be done immediately.
The contact volume forecast itself is unchanged. Only the staffing requirement is recalculated.
SLA-window staffing is generally the right choice for true async work where your SLA gives you meaningful breathing room (hours or days rather than minutes). It produces a more realistic, schedulable headcount target.
How to switch
In the Configure panel on the Staffing Timeline, toggle on SLA-window staffing and click Preview new requirements to see the recalculated headcount. You can switch back at any time to compare against the interval-based mode.
Visualizing backlog and scenario analysis
You can visualize past and forecasted volume on the Staffing Timeline by selecting Backlog Volume. This now works for both email and back-office channels.
The Needs first response (SLA breached) series shows how many tickets are projected to breach SLA. By adjusting service level, target response time, productivity, or by scheduling more agents, you can see the backlog adjust in real time — useful for scenario planning when you're trying to dig out of a growing queue or model what additional headcount would do.
Common questions
What changed about the headcount calculation?
Previously, Assembled assumed all tickets needed to be resolved within the 15-minute interval they arrived, which significantly over-staffs async work. The new model spreads the requirement across the full SLA window (e.g. 6 hours at 90% service level), producing a more realistic number.
Does this change how the schedule is built, or just the forecast?
Just the forecast. Assembled produces a suggested headcount target. It doesn't automatically modify schedules — your scheduling team or our Schedule Generation feature still owns that step.
Do I need to reconfigure anything?
No. Once the SLA-window calculation is enabled on your account, you can turn it on from the Configure panel without changing your existing service level, target response time, or productivity settings.
Will my old requirements still be available for comparison?
The previous calculation mode remains available via the same toggle, so you can switch back and forth to compare.
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