Government call centers play a vital role in delivering essential services like healthcare support, unemployment assistance, and emergency aid. These operations must run smoothly year-round, but seasonal spikes in demand can make that difficult.
During summer and holiday months, staffing becomes a real challenge as more agents take time off. The result is often longer wait times, higher call abandonment, and drops in service quality. To stay resilient and responsive, your government contact center needs a proactive plan to manage these seasonal disruptions head-on.
Why Summer Disruptions Happen
It’s easy to blame time off for service issues, but the root causes are more layered. A few key factors often overlap during the summer months:
- Stacked vacation windows. Many employees prefer summer for their time off, resulting in multiple agents being out during the same periods.
- Rigid staffing models. Government centers often operate with fixed shift structures, which leave little flexibility to absorb sudden absences.
- Slower hiring and onboarding. Security clearances and compliance checks, common in federal and state programs, can take weeks, making last-minute hires difficult.
- Higher seasonal demand. Summer can bring spikes in call volume due to hurricane season, school breaks, or agencies prepping for fall initiatives like open enrollment.
- Outdated systems. Without automation, overflow options, or smart call routing, even modest increases in volume can overwhelm teams.
Understanding these overlapping challenges is the first step. The next step is building a forward-looking staffing strategy that addresses them head-on.
Your Summer Staffing Game Plan: 6 Practical Ways to Stay on Track
Here are six strategies you can apply now to strengthen your center services before the season peaks. Together, they form a resilient staffing plan that prioritizes customer experience while protecting your team from burnout.
Anticipate Absences with Vacation Forecasting
When you forecast potential staffing gaps before they occur, you can keep your call center operating smoothly, even during the busiest weeks.
Start by combining two critical data sets: last year’s call volume by hour and your team’s approved PTO schedule. Then:
- Plot call spikes alongside planned absences
- Identify high-risk days and vulnerable shifts
- Ensure key service lines are fully staffed
For example, if historical data shows July brings a 20 percent spike due to seasonal claims, and half your team is scheduled to be out that same month, you’ll know exactly where to allocate support in advance.
With this insight, you can proactively reassign internal staff or flag roles for temporary staffing. Staying ahead of demand keeps service delivery consistent and avoids reactive scrambles.
Cross-Train Agents to Boost Agility
Having versatile agents is crucial during the vacation season. When agents handle multiple call types, benefits claim one day, eligibility questions the next; you reduce risk and improve response times.
To build this flexibility:
- Offer short, focused training sessions on related call types
- Have agents shadow experienced colleagues to learn on the job.
- Rotate assignments in quieter months to practice and strengthen new skills.
By summer, you’ll have a versatile team of multi-skilled agents ready to step in wherever they are needed.
This flexibility reduces disruptions, helps callers reach knowledgeable representatives faster, and contributes to improving overall customer experience.
Fill Staffing Gaps Quickly with Temporary Help
Even with cross-training, staffing gaps will arise. That’s where temporary staffing makes a real difference.
Partnering with Salem Solutions gives you quick access to skilled, pre-screened agents who understand government contact center protocols and compliance. This means no lengthy recruiting or extra training. Just dependable support exactly when and where you need it.
Using temporary staff helps you keep your main customer service team fully staffed and reduce wait times, all without increasing your permanent headcount. It also gives you the flexibility to adjust your team size based on immediate needs
Let Automation Handle Routine Tasks
During peak seasons, every minute matters. The more time agents spend on routine inquiries, the less capacity they have to handle urgent or complex issues that require their full attention.
Smart automation tools can reduce this pressure by handling low-complexity tasks such as:
- AI-driven call routing that connects callers with the right skill set
- Chatbots or SMS updates for appointment reminders and status checks
- Self-service portals for frequently asked questions
By shifting routine work to automation, agents have more capacity to focus on escalations and sensitive issues.
This change can improve first-call resolution and reduce customer wait times. In fact, studies show that automation and artificial intelligence (AI) can increase customer satisfaction significantly.¹
Design Flexible Schedules That Work for Everyone
When employees have more control over their schedules, they are more likely to show up and stay engaged. They are also more willing to cover essential shifts. Whether your team supports remote work or operates on-site, it’s important to build flexibility into your scheduling approach.
For example, one agent might prefer shorter morning shifts to manage childcare. Another may trade weekends for weekdays off. These small changes reduce absences and help you retain staff.
It also helps to reward flexibility. Offering early PTO approvals or small bonuses for hard-to-fill shifts shows your team that their willingness to adapt is valued.
Without that recognition, employees may seek more accommodating opportunities elsewhere. In fact, 70 percent say they would leave a job for one that offers greater flexibility.²
Make Workforce Planning a Year-Round Habit
Think of summer not as a one-off challenge but as part of a bigger, continuous staffing strategy. Seasonal pressure points tend to repeat, so the best way to avoid last-minute stress is to make workforce planning a regular part of your operations.
After each peak season, take time to:
- Review PTO patterns, call volume trends, and key performance metrics
- Ask your team for feedback on workloads, scheduling, and what could be improved
- Use what you learn to adjust your hiring timeline, training efforts, and technology tools
By planning throughout the year, you create a call center that adapts quickly and handles challenges smoothly. Your team won’t just react to busy seasons; they’ll be ready and ahead of the competition.
Read More: Building a Strong Call Center Workforce: Leveraging Effective Team Collaboration and Support Systems
You Can’t Stop Time Off, But You Can Prevent Service Disruption
Time off is important, and your agents have earned it. But in a government call center, where every call can impact someone’s access to healthcare, benefits, or emergency support, maintaining service quality is non-negotiable.
With smart planning that includes forecasting, cross-training, temporary staffing, automation, and flexible scheduling, you can protect both service levels and team well-being.
When workforce planning becomes a consistent, year-round effort, seasonal surges become manageable. Citizens get the timely help they need. Agents stay engaged and supported, and your agency can continue delivering on its mission without disruption.
Ready to Strengthen Your Summer Staffing Strategy? Salem Solutions Has You Covered
Salem Solutions connects government contact centers with cleared, qualified agents who are trained, compliant, and ready to step in immediately.
No lengthy onboarding. No compliance worries. Just skilled professionals when and where you need them. Let’s help you keep customer service levels high all summer long.
Contact Salem Solutions Today to secure the talent you need.
References
- Elevating Experiences: The AI Revolution in Customer Engagement. (2023, August 21). Gartner Peer Community. https://www.gartner.com/peer-community/oneminuteinsights/omi-ai-driven-customer-engagement-pfr
- Survey: Flexible work rises as top perk. (2023, February 21). Zoom. https://www.zoom.com/en/resources/survey-workers-want-flexible-work/
