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Resources: Blogs and white papers


Erlang still dominates contact center staffing. Abandonment and retrials are where many models break down.
By Mark Alpern, COO, Cinareo. This article reflects patterns we see repeatedly when reviewing real-world staffing models across contact center environments. In many of these environments, the largest source of staffing error is not forecast accuracy, but how abandonment and retries are treated, or ignored, in the underlying model. Despite decades of technological change in contact center operations, Erlang-based staffing models remain the de facto standard for determining f


The Future of Capacity Planning Is Intelligent Simplicity
By Karen Elliott, CEO, Cinareo. In capacity planning software, complexity has become a proxy for credibility. It seems like more exposed variables and more buttons and functions sends the message: if it’s complicated, it must be accurate. After years of building a planning system, I’ve come to believe the opposite. Complexity is the easiest thing to promote. Clarity is the hard part. And when complexity becomes the interface, planning slows, trust erodes, and decision-making


Why Workforce Plans Break Down: Bridging Planning and Execution
Key insights from Cinareo’s recent conversation with industry experts Mark Alpern and Daniel Piper This article is the third in a four-part series exploring key themes from Cinareo’s recent conversation with workforce planning experts Mark Alpern and Daniel Piper. Workforce planning often breaks down not because the work is done poorly, but because the connection between planning and execution is weak or inconsistent. In the earlier parts of this series, we explored how unrel


Why Workforce Plans Break Down: When Good Forecasts Fail
Key insights from Cinareo’s recent conversation with industry experts Mark Alpern and Daniel Piper This article is the second in a four-part series exploring key themes from Cinareo’s recent conversation with workforce planning experts Mark Alpern and Daniel Piper. Even accurate forecasts can collapse once they reach the operation floor. That paradox – doing everything right and still missing the mark – was at the center of Cinareo’s recent discussion on why workforce plans


Why Workforce Plans Break Down: The Real Cost of Bad Data
Key Insights from Cinareo’s Recent Conversation with Industry Experts Mark Alpern and Daniel Piper This article is the first in a four-part series exploring key themes from Cinareo’s recent conversation with workforce planning experts Mark Alpern and Daniel Piper. Even the best workforce plans can fail if they start with unreliable data. That was one of the first realities acknowledged in a recent webinar , Why Workforce Plans Breakdown , where industry experts Mark Alpern a


The High Cost of Complexity in Workforce Management Software
Why Complex Tools Miss the Mark and How to Find What Works , a thought leadership paper by Karen Elliott . Unnecessarily complex...


Simple Isn’t Basic: Rethinking Workforce Management Software
Simplicity in WFM Software Isn’t a Flaw… It’s What Sets the Best Apart By Karen Elliott, CEO, Cinareo You know the feeling. You’re...


Exploring Workforce Management and Capacity Planning with Cinareo Solutions
By David Penn Posted on August 22, 2025 Introduction to Cinareo Solutions This week’s edition of Finovate Global features an interview with Karen Elliott, CEO and Co-Founder of Cinareo Solutions . Cinareo Solutions is based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2022, the company enhances workforce management platforms. It helps streamline contact center operations and mitigate risks. This is achieved by enabling precise resource allocation and data-driven decision-making.


What Is WFM Maturity - Why Capacity Planning Matters
In today’s fast-moving contact center world, Workforce Management (WFM) maturity is the difference between firefighting daily problems...


The Cost of Delaying Better Capacity Planning
Many contact centers struggle with capacity planning. They often rely on outdated methods and reactive decision-making. While the...


What Is an Acceptable Call Centre Waiting Time?
It is the norm for call centres to have a goal of answering 80% of their calls in 20 seconds. Are there benefits to shortening or perhaps...
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