As a start-up company we are in the process of setting up a support team.
The biggest problem we have is that we don't know how to assess the call
volume and call durations. Is there a tool or guidline to do this.

There is no “tool” to assess call load (volume and duration), because it the parameters that drive call load vary from one business to another. Assuming from your note that you are establishing a technical support team, these include: number of customers and product (which, in your case, being a startup depends on the rate of market penetration), product failure rate (MTBF), product troubleshooting complexity (including the availability of support tools), the level of product knowledge of your customers, availability of substitutes, customer expectations, and many others.

The process to predict call load requires an understanding of your specific situation and the drivers for call volume. You may find out that while some of the necessary data are readily available, others have to be calculated/simulated (e.g. MTBF or MTTR), and some may not be available, and you need to find alternatives or work around, or make reasonable assumptions and modify them as you gain more experience.

Finally, you will need to determine the level of staffing you need to support these calls. Here, in addition to call load, you will also need define the support requirements and to set a target service level.

The good new is that it is not as complex as it sounds, but you do have to determine ALL the parameters that drive service calls and ALL the factors that influence the service process, in YOUR business. I’d be happy to discuss the specifics with you and help you identify these to create a forecasting model.

Joe
jbarkai@DiagnosticStrategies.com

If you think to set up a support team it's cause of your clients've got a need. You could think about who answers their doubts now and ask for an estimation about how many and what kind of questions of your customer. For example, Claims&Complaints Dpt, Technical Dpt, etc.

Other way, try to look for information about similar support teams.The shape of calls' wave is similar for similar services, the different is in the amount of calls.

But you have to consider what kind of service you want to give (24 hrs, Monday to Sunday, etc). An of course, a call phone is easy way to get help, therefore you should oversize your team at the beginings and retune periodically.