Proceedings of the 2015 Winter Simulation Conference L. Yilmaz, W. K. V. Chan, I. Moon, T. M. K. Roeder, C. Macal, and M. D. Rossetti, eds. USING SIMULATION TO ASSIST RECRUITMENT IN SEASONALLY DEPENDANT CONTACT CENTERS Leeanne May Peer-Olaf Siebers School of Computer Science School of Computer Science University of Nottingham Jubilee Campus University of Nottingham Jubilee Campus Nottingham, NG8 1BB, UK Nottingham, NG8 1BB, UK ABSTRACT The weather is unpredictable and can have a large impact on the profitability of seasonal businesses, particularly if staffing requirements are highly temperature-dependent. In this paper we describe our efforts in developing a what-if analysis tool to assist affected Small and Medium Enterprises in determining the best case scenario for timing hiring new staff and deciding the optimum length of temporary employment contracts. Together with a boiler maintenance company we have developed a prototype simulation tool that can be employed by users with minimal statistical and modelling knowledge. Our usability tests with the boiler maintenance company confirmed the usefulness of the developed tool as a decision support aid for managers. In this paper we focus on describing the tool development and testing process. With regards to real world experimentation we are still waiting for the feedback from the company. 1 INTRODUCTION Payroll costs to companies can make up anywhere from 18-50% of operating expenses (SHRM 2008). For businesses which must substantially increase their full time equivalent (FTE) members of staff during peak periods, it is important to get the timing of recruitment correct to avoid unnecessary costs. When the peak period is decided by something as variable as the weather, this decision is particularly difficult. There has been a lot of work carried out in the area of Contact Centers (CC) and hospitals to determine the optimum number of staff needed based on the service requirements of the business (e.g. Ernst et al. 2004). Less research has been conducted into what period of time is needed to achieve the staffing levels required. For example, it may take over a month to recruit and train a new employee, and over seven weeks before they are fully trained (CFA 2012). If recruitment starts too early then staff will have increased idle time; recruit too late and the work increases faster than staff can cope, leading to complaints and lost customers. Since some businesses hire up to three times as many FTE at peak times, this can cause significant damage to business if misjudged (Myron 2002). Energy companies, for instance, are heavily affected by the weather. Temperature is the main driver of gas use in the UK (CelsiusPro 2015). This means that the changes in temperature can be a huge strain on boilers and thus boiler repair companies. Academic work to date, which includes ambient temperature measurement of "degree-days" as a way to forecast consumption (Quayle and Diaz 1980) has focused on energy companies. In our study we work with a company that provides boiler maintenance and repair services. As gas-based central heating systems are the primary way energy customers heat their homes, we can apply the same principles to a boiler repair and service company (Meier and Rehdanz 2010). 1573 978-1-4673-9743-8/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE