Business & Management Units Genesys WFM Business & Management Units Documentation Study Notes Topic Description Business Unit Organizational unit grouping management units sharing objectives Management Unit Sub-unit containing agents (max 1,500 per MU) Agent Capacity 5,000 max per BU, 1,500 max per MU Hierarchy BU → MU → Site → Team → Agent Permissions Granted at BU level for forecasting, MU level for local control Multi-MU Scheduling Forecasts/schedules run across all MUs in a BU simultaneously Navigation Admin → Workforce Management → Business Units OR Admin → Workforce Management → Management Units Business Units Overview In workforce management, business units enable customers to organize their agents and leverage permissions to meet business needs. Business units allow customers to configure agents who share queues into more than one management unit. The agent capacity for management unit is 1,500 agents; however, business units help alleviate this limitation by providing support for up to 5,000 agents per business unit. Business units enable cross-management unit scheduling and forecasting within the same business unit. Forecasts and schedules run at the business unit level, and administrators can create the most efficient schedules by factoring in coverage from all agents in more than one management unit within the business unit. Business Unit Characteristics Agent Capacity : Max 5,000 agents per business unit Forecast Scope : Entire BU (all MUs included) Schedule Scope : Entire BU (all MUs included) One Master Schedule : Only one active master schedule per BU at a time Time Zone : Default time zone set at BU level (applies to all MUs) Week Start Day : Set at BU level (applies to all sites) Common Objective : Group MUs that share operational objectives Business Unit Use Cases Geographically dispersed sites - Multiple locations serving same function Skill-based organization - Different teams with complementary skills Multi-shift operations - 24/7 coverage across multiple time zones Blended internal/outsourced - Internal staff + third-party partners Virtual operations - Remote work + office-based agents Growth planning - Prepare for future headcount expansion Management Units Overview Management Units are groups of agents within a business unit. They can represent a department, site, or geographic location within the same business unit. Management units provide organizational flexibility and permission boundaries. Management Unit Characteristics Agent Capacity : Max 1,500 agents per management unit Purpose : Represent dept/site/location within BU Permissions : Local control of time-off, team management Organization : Agents grouped for local management Flexibility : Multiple MUs per BU enable large-scale operations Cross-MU Work : Agents in different MUs can share queues/skills Management Unit Use Cases Site-based organization - Each office location = 1 MU Department organization - Support/Sales/Billing each = 1 MU Shift-based organization - Morning/Evening/Night shift = 1 MU Skill-based teams - Technical/Billing/Sales each = 1 MU Outsourced partners - Third-party vendor = 1 MU Virtual agent groups - Remote workers = 1 MU Hierarchy Structure Organizational Hierarchy Example: Business Unit: North America (4,800 agents) │ ├─ Management Unit: New York Operations (1,200 agents) │ ├─ Site: Manhattan (600 agents) │ │ ├─ Team: Support Tier 1 (150 agents) │ │ ├─ Team: Support Tier 2 (150 agents) │ │ ├─ Team: Sales (150 agents) │ │ └─ Team: Billing (150 agents) │ │ │ └─ Site: Brooklyn (600 agents) │ └─ 4 teams (150 each) │ ├─ Management Unit: Dallas Operations (1,200 agents) │ ├─ Site: Downtown (600 agents) │ └─ Site: Suburb (600 agents) │ ├─ Management Unit: Remote Operations (1,200 agents) │ └─ Virtual site (1,200 remote agents) │ └─ Management Unit: Outsourced Partners (1,200 agents) └─ Partner site (1,200 vendor agents) Agent Distribution: ├─ MU1: 1,200 agents (25%) ├─ MU2: 1,200 agents (25%) ├─ MU3: 1,200 agents (25%) ├─ MU4: 1,200 agents (25%) └─ Total BU: 4,800 agents (80% of 5,000 capacity) Permission Model Business Unit Level Permissions Permissions granted at BU level apply to entire business unit: Forecasting - Create, edit, publish forecasts for all MUs Schedule Generation - Create schedules across all MUs Service Goals - Define service goals for BU Planning Groups - Create planning groups for BU Reporting - Cross-MU reports and analytics Configuration - BU-wide settings and policies Management Unit Level Permissions Permissions granted at MU level apply only to that MU: Time-Off Approvals - Approve time-off requests Schedule Details - View/edit MU-specific schedules Team Management - Manage teams within MU Activity Configuration - MU-specific activities Reporting - MU-only reports Agent Management - Add/remove agents from MU Permission Matrix Feature BU Level MU Level ──────────────────────────────────────────── Forecasting ✓ Full ✗ No Schedule Generation ✓ Full ✗ No Intraday Management ✓ Full ✓ View Real-Time Adherence ✓ Full ✓ View Time-Off Approvals ✗ No ✓ Full Team Management ✗ Limited ✓ Full Agent Assignment ✓ Full ✓ Limited Reporting ✓ Full ✓ Limited Configuration ✓ Full ✓ Limited Capacity Planning Agent Capacity Calculations Example 1: Single MU Organization Business Unit: Small Contact Center ├─ Management Unit: Support (800 agents) │ └─ Capacity Used: 800/1,500 (53%) └─ Business Unit Total: 800/5,000 (16%) Growth Plan: ├─ Year 1: Add 200 agents → 1,000 total ├─ Year 2: Add 300 agents → 1,300 total └─ Year 3: Need to split → Create 2nd MU Example 2: Multi-MU Organization Business Unit: Enterprise Contact Center ├─ Management Unit 1: NYC (1,400 agents) - 93% ├─ Management Unit 2: Dallas (1,350 agents) - 90% ├─ Management Unit 3: Remote (1,200 agents) - 80% ├─ Management Unit 4: Outsourced (950 agents) - 63% └─ Business Unit Total: 4,900/5,000 (98%) Challenge: Almost at BU capacity Solution: ├─ Option 1: Create new BU for new location ├─ Option 2: Split existing MU to another BU └─ Option 3: Reduce headcount in lowest-performing MU Exceeding Capacity If MU exceeds 1,500 agents: Cannot add more agents to that MU Must create new MU or split agents Requires reorganization of teams If BU exceeds 5,000 agents: Cannot add more agents to that BU Must create new business unit Existing MUs remain operational but frozen Configuration Creating a Business Unit Navigate to Admin → Workforce Management → Business Units Click Create Business Unit Configure: Name - Unique within WFM environment Time Zone - Default for all sites Week Start Day - Monday-Sunday default Data Aggregator - Specify DA instance Stat Server - Auto-populated from DA Tenant - Genesys environment name Tenant Password - Required for connection Add Sites Associate multiple sites if needed Each site belongs to one MU Sites can have multiple teams Finalize and Save Creating a Management Unit Navigate to Admin → Workforce Management → Management Units Click Create Management Unit Configure: Name - Unique within WFM Business Unit - Select parent BU Description - Optional (recommended) Team Structure - Define teams if needed Add Sites Assign existing sites Or create new sites Max 1,500 agents per MU Assign Agents Add individual agents Or bulk import from CSV Set agent properties Finalize and Save Real-World Scenarios Scenario 1: Scaling Beyond 1,500 Agents Current State: Business Unit: Support Operations └─ Management Unit: Support Team └─ 1,500 agents (at capacity) New Hire Requirements: +200 agents needed Solution: Split into Two MUs Business Unit: Support Operations ├─ Management Unit: Support - Group A (1,350 agents) │ └─ Location: NYC + Boston ├─ Management Unit: Support - Group B (1,200 agents) │ └─ Location: Dallas + Remote └─ Business Unit Total: 2,550/5,000 (51%) Benefits: ├─ Accommodates growth ├─ Local team management at MU level ├─ Still shared forecasting/scheduling └─ Room for future expansion Scenario 2: Multi-Location Organization Company Structure: Financial Services - 3,600 employees in support Business Unit: Global Support ├─ Management Unit: North America (1,500) │ ├─ Site: New York (750) │ └─ Site: Dallas (750) ├─ Management Unit: Europe (1,200) │ ├─ Site: London (600) │ └─ Site: Dublin (600) └─ Management Unit: Outsourced (900) └─ Site: Philippines (900) Forecasting: ├─ Single global forecast across all 3 MUs ├─ Factors in time zone differences ├─ Optimizes scheduling for 24/7 coverage └─ Published to master schedule covering all locations Agent Movement: ├─ Can't move agents between MUs automatically ├─ Must manually reassign for temporary overflow ├─ Permanent transfers require admin action Scenario 3: Outsourced Partner Integration Setup: Business Unit: Multi-Channel Support (2,500 agents) ├─ Management Unit: Internal Team (1,500) │ └─ Full control over scheduling/policies ├─ Management Unit: Outsourced Partner (1,000) │ └─ Integrated into unified forecasting └─ Benefits: ├─ Single forecast across internal + outsourced ├─ Unified scheduling window ├─ Coordinated service goals └─ Partner agents included in adherence Challenges: ├─ Different contracts/rules per MU ├─ Partner availability limitations ├─ Communication across organizations Best Practices Organization Design Right-size MUs - Keep at 1,000-1,300 agents for growth room Clear separation - Align with business structure Future-proof - Plan for 2-3 years of growth Skill groups - Use for agent assignment, not org structure Geographic logic - Use locations/sites for MU boundaries Permission Management Principle of least privilege - Grant only needed permissions Role-based access - Create roles for common scenarios Audit regularly - Review who has what access Documentation - Maintain permission matrix Approval workflow - Require BU-level for major changes Agent Assignment Consistent naming - Use standard naming conventions Skill accuracy - Ensure skills match actual capabilities MU assignment logic - Clear criteria for placement Cross-MU skills - Agents can have skills across queues Regular audits - Verify assignment accuracy Growth Planning Capacity monitoring - Track MU usage quarterly Headcount forecasts - Plan additions in advance Reorganization planning - Prepare for splits/merges Communication - Inform stakeholders of changes Test in non-prod - Always validate changes first Common Issues & Solutions Issue Cause Solution Can't add agent to MU MU at 1,500 limit Create new MU or split existing Schedule won't generate Agents in multiple MUs missing Ensure all agents properly assigned Permission denied for forecast Not BU-level permission Grant Forecast permission at BU level Agents can't trade across MUs Not configured Enable cross-MU trading in settings Time-off approval pending Wrong approval level Ensure MU-level approver assigned Wrong time zone Inherited from parent Change at BU level or override at Site Interview Cheat Sheet Question Answer What's a Business Unit? Group of MUs sharing operational objectives, max 5,000 agents What's a Management Unit? Sub-unit within BU representing dept/site/location, max 1,500 agents How does hierarchy work? BU → MU → Site → Team → Agent Where are forecasts created? Business Unit level (includes all MUs) Where are schedules created? Business Unit level (includes all MUs) What permissions at BU level? Forecasting, scheduling, service goals, reporting What permissions at MU level? Time-off approvals, team management, local scheduling Can agents work across MUs? Yes, if they have required skills for queues Can one agent be in two MUs? No, each agent assigned to one MU only Max agents per BU? 5,000 agents Max agents per MU? 1,500 agents How many master schedules per BU? One active master schedule per BU How to handle growth over 1,500? Create additional MU within same BU How to exceed 5,000 agents? Create new business unit Can MUs share queues? Yes, agents across MUs can handle same queues Key Takeaways Hierarchical Organization - BU organizes multiple MUs for shared forecasting Capacity Planning - 5,000 agents per BU, 1,500 per MU Unified Forecasting - Single forecast across all MUs in BU Unified Scheduling - One master schedule for entire BU Permission Boundaries - BU level for strategic, MU level for operational Scalability - Split MUs when exceeding 1,500 agents Flexibility - Agents can work across MUs if skilled Management Clarity - Clear org structure for delegation Growth-Ready - Design with future expansion in mind Cross-MU Optimization - Forecasting balances coverage across locations Additional Resources Official Documentation Business Units: help.genesys.cloud/articles/business-units-overview/ Management Units: help.genesys.cloud/articles/management-units-overview/ WFM Configuration: help.genesys.cloud/articles/workforce-management-and-divisions-overview/ Permissions: help.genesys.cloud/articles/workforce-management-permissions/ Support & Training Genesys University: genesys.com/training Community Forums: https://community.genesys.com Technical Support: https://support.genesys.com Document Version Info Last Updated: March 2026 Source: Genesys WFM Official Documentation Validated: Current with January-March 2026 releases Version: 1.0