Idle time

Defining idle time

Pega Task Mining measures idle time as no keyboard or mouse activity registered for a specific period, such as over 60 seconds, which is a typical setting. An administrator can adjust this setting to align with the type of work that associates do. Additionally, your organization can use off computer codes (OCCs) to separate planned idle time, such as breaks, lunch, meetings, and training, from unplanned idle time.

The following figure calls out the mouse actions that break idle time:

Analyzing idle time

When you review the opportunities, metrics, and timelines in Pega Task Mining, you might find the time spent in non-production activities surprising. A primary contributor to non-production time is idle time.

Many back-office organizations find that idle time is between 30 and 40 percent during their initial analysis, before making improvements. For these organizations, the Excessive Idle Time opportunity ranks high on the Opportunities page, as shown in the following figure:

Idle time might also show the highest usage on the Timeline page:

Idle time is an indicator of potential lost productivity. After observing a high percentage of idle time, verify how long tasks should reasonably take to complete. Then, look for potential process breakdowns to better assess the root cause of excessive idle time.

To identify systemic issues and process variations, analyze idle time patterns relative to others performing the same type of work. On the Timeline page, in the Associates section, you can apply filters to compare associates who do similar work or to analyze idle time for entire teams. Select a date range or specific date, and then select the timelines to load from the Associates section, as shown in the following figure:

In the Applications section, click the idle time bar to make it easier to look for patterns within the loaded timelines, as shown in the following figure:

To better understand the causes of idle time, consider having a discussion with associates. Often, they are aware of the root cause and might even have a proposed solution. For example, a root cause of idle time might be a process or task outside of desktop work, such as waiting for the mail to arrive for processing.

In addition to identifying too much idle time, look for instances where there is too little idle time. Idle time that falls below 20 percent might indicate a potential risk of burnout and warrants further review in context. These associates are typically viewed as high performers. However, constant working with little or no time to recharge is not sustainable and puts the associate at risk of more extended, unplanned absences.

Setting expectations for idle time

To enhance idle time analysis, set expectations for realistic idle time based on your specific work environment. The following example table shows hours alloted based on a typical work environment that operates from 8 AM to 5 PM. This work environment allots 1 hour for lunch, includes two 15-minute breaks, and allocates an hour for other planned idle events, such as meetings and training sessions.

When addressing idle time, even small changes can have a significant impact. Your organization can add capacity that can be reinvested in higher-value work. For example, in an organization of 200 associates, reducing idle time by 1 percent is equivalent to adding the capacity of two full-time associates.