What do a customer, waiting on hold for what feels like an eternity, and a call center manager, watching their team struggle to balance speed with quality service, have in common?
While different, these situations are impacted by a common factor: time spent on an interaction. Average Handle Time (AHT) is a critical metric that affects both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency in a call center.
But what exactly does AHT measure and why does it matter? Is shorter always better or is optimizing rather than simply minimizing it the way to go?
Let’s find out.
Decoding Average Handle Time
AHT encompasses the entire customer interaction lifecycle, from the moment an agent answers to the completion of any post-call tasks. This gives insights into both agent efficiency and overall operational performance.
Components of AHT
- Talk Time: The duration of the actual conversation between the agent and customer.
- Hold Time: Any period during a call when the conversation is paused, typically while one party waits for the other to return or for the agent to execute a warm or cold transfer.
- After-Call Work (ACW): The time the agent spends on call-related tasks after the customer has disconnected.
Calculating Average Handle Time
To measure AHT in a call centers, you can use this formula:
Or a calculator like this one:
AHT Calculator
- Total Talk Time = 10 000 minutes
- Total Hold Time = 2 000 minutes
- Total ACW Time = 3 000 minutes
- Total Calls Handled = 1 000
AHT vs. ART: Understanding the Difference
While both AHT and ART (Average Response Time) are important metrics in customer support, they serve different purposes and indicate different things:
- AHT helps you assess the efficiency of the entire customer interaction handling process. A lower AHT indicates faster resolution times ans shorter calls.
- ART focuses on the average time it takes to respond to a customer’s query or message. It’s often monitored in channels where the speed of the initial or ongoing responses is critical, like live chat, email, social media or ticket systems. ART measures how responsive your team or agent is in acknowledging and replying to customer inquiries. A lower ART usually means quicker customer engagement.
Significance of Average Handle Time in Call Centers
AHT isn’t just a number to obsess over—it’s a key indicator of your call center’s health. It impacts your:
- Operational Efficiency: Lower AHT often translates to higher productivity. It means your agents can handle more calls in less time, potentially reducing staffing needs.
- Customer Experience: When you balance fast issues resolution with high-quality service, it can noticeably improve your customer satisfaction.
- Resource Planning: AHT helps you forecast staffing needs and manage the workload. Accurate AHT predictions let you make optimized schedules and better allocate resources.
- Performance Benchmarking: With AHT you can make more precise comparisons of performance across teams or shifts and identify areas for improvement.
- Cost Management: When you need fewer agent hours to handle the same call volume, it lowers your overall operational costs.
- Quality Assurance: Monitoring AHT can help you notice anomalies, like too long or too short calls, and ensure that agents don't have knowledge gaps or sacrifice customer satisfaction in their effort to improve efficiency.
Interpreting High AHT
When analyzing AHT metrics, it’s crucial to understand that a high level isn’t inherently good or bad. It can be the result of various factors, both positive and negative:
Potential Negative Factors
- Insufficient Agent Training: Agents may take longer to resolve issues if they haven't received adequate coaching.
- Incorrect Call Routing: If calls aren't directed to the most appropriate or skilled agent, resolution time can increase.
- Inefficient Processes: Clunky systems or procedures can slow down the problem solving.
- Technical Issues: Slow software or frequent system crashes can inflate AHT.
Potential Positive Factors
- Improved Customer Listening: Agents spending more time understanding client needs can lead to higher satisfaction, despite the lengthy calls.
- Handling More Complex Issues: If simpler queries are handled by self-service options, your staff may be left with more complex cases that naturally take longer.
- Focus on First-Call Resolution (FCR): Working out an issue during a single interaction may increase AHT but reduce the need for follow-up calls.
- Upselling or Cross-selling: Time spent on additional sales activities can increase AHT but also drive more revenue.
Interpreting Low AHT
While a lower average handle time is usually considered a good thing, that’s not always the case. Like any metric, it’s important to understand the full picture behind low AHT numbers:
Potential Positive Factors
- Efficient Processes: Well-optimized workflows and systems enable quick issue resolution.
- Well-Trained Agents: Knowledgeable staff can handle queries quickly and effectively.
- Effective Self-Service Options: When designed well, they can handle routine queries and potentially streamlining any subsequent interactions with a live staff member.
- Clear Communication: Agents who can explain solutions concisely and clearly generally spend less time on the phone with clients.
- Appropriate Call Routing: Advanced routing strategies could minimize time spent on call transfers, reduce the need for customers to repeat information and ensure agents are handling calls they're best equipped to resolve quickly.
Potential Negative Factors
- Rushed Service: A low AHT could be the result of agents hurrying to end calls, potentially missing important details or failing to fully address customer needs. Additionally, if new or undertrained staff members are achieving very low AHT, it could indicate they require additional coaching.
- Superficial Problem-Solving: Low AHT might indicate that agents are providing quick fixes or over-simplifying issues rather than addressing root causes. This could lead to repeat calls and decreased customer satisfaction in the long run.
- Over-Reliance on Scripts: Extremely low AHT could occur if agents are sticking too rigidly to scripts at the expense of personalized service and genuine problem-solving.
- Lack of Thorough Customer Engagement: A consistently low AHT might also come from missed opportunities for gathering valuable customer feedback or upselling.
- Excessive Automation: Over-reliance on technology and automated systems can reduce AHT, but also potentially frustrate customers who need more personalized assistance.
When interpreting your average handle time metrics, consider:
- Trends over time rather than isolated numbers
- Connection with other important metrics, like customer satisfaction and first-call resolution
- The nature of calls being handled (simple vs. complex)
- Recent changes in processes, training or technology
Remember, the goal is not always to minimize AHT, but to optimize it to balance operational efficiency with effective customer service. A holistic view of AHT that considers both positive and negative factors will help you make more informed decisions and targeted improvements.
Industry Standards for AHT
According to some research, the AHT across all industries is 6.1 minutes.
Average handle time varies significantly for different call center types. For example:
- The standard in the telecommunication sector is 528 seconds (8.8 minutes)
- In Retail and E-Commerce, it’s 324 seconds (5.4 minutes)
- Business and IT Services call centers have an AHT of 282 (4.7 minutes)
- Financial Services’s benchmark is 282 seconds (4.7 minutes)
AHT Priority in Different Call Center Types
While AHT is universally considered an important metric, the level of significance can vary based on the kind of call center you operate:
- 1. For high-volume service centers that handle a large number of relatively simple queries (e.g., basic customer service, order taking, billing inquiries or account changes), AHT is often a critical key performance indicator (KPI).
- 2. Technical support call centers consider AHT important, but often prioritize FCR, as complex technical issues may require a longer resolution time.
- 3. When it comes to incoming sales interactions, conversion rates and revenue per call might take precedence over AHT. Agents usually try to keep AHT within reasonable limits to maximize the number of calls they can handle, but longer calls might still be acceptable if they lead to higher-value sales.
- 4. Outbound sales and retention operations tend to focus more on the quality of interactions and how persuasive the agent is than on minimizing AHT. Building rapport and addressing customer concerns might require longer conversations.
- 5. In healthcare or emergency service call centers, improving AHT is not as important as thoroughly and carefully handling each call.
- 6. Due to compliance requirements and the complexity of the products, financial services call centers look for ways to balance AHT with accuracy and comprehensive service.
AHT in the Era of Omnichannel Communication
Many support call centers are evolving into multi- and omnichannel contact centers. Understanding how AHT applies across different channels can give you valuable context when you’re adapting to this shift.
Email average handle time typically includes reading, researching and writing emails and any necessary follow-up actions. Some businesses might exclude wait time between receiving and opening an email when calculating AHT.
The measurement of average handle time for live chat is often complicated by agents handling multiple conversations simultaneously. This is why some companies use Concurrency Adjusted AHT as a metric to account for multi-tasking.
Social media and SMS interactions, on the other hand, have more fragmented customer engagement patterns, with longer intervals between messages, that also affect AHT calculations.
Because of these specifics, when optimizing average handle time across multiple channels, it’s crucial to:
- Clearly define the start and end of an interaction in each channel.
- Establish consistent standards for measuring and reporting AHT across channels.
- Consider using weighted AHT metrics that account for the different handling requirements.
- Look at AHT combined with other channel-specific metrics (e.g., FCR for email, Concurrency Rate for chat, etc.).
Strategies to Optimize AHT in Call Centers
Improving AHT isn’t about rushing calls; it’s about enhancing efficiency while maintaining quality. Some of the most effective strategies are:
Implement Thorough Onboarding and Training Programs
AHT is one of the first metrics to suffer when your staff doesn't have the necessary skills to quickly and effectively handle customer complaints and questions. To ensure this doesn't impact your call center:
- Focus on product knowledge, soft skills and system proficiency.
- Have regular refresher courses to keep agents updated.
- Use role-playing exercises to practice efficient call handling.
- Have supervisors monitor calls in real time using whispering or barge-in features to guide agents.
Utilize Call Center Software
The right technology can streamline the various steps of handling calls, improve agent productivity and enhance the overall customer experience:
- Implement a Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) so agents have quick access to client information.
- Add call scripting tools to guide your staff through common scenarios and customer objections.
- Use call recordings and analytics software to identify trends and areas for improvement.
- Look for software with Click-to-Call or auto-dialing features to eliminate idle time and speed up the overall process of handling customer interactions.
- Provide more self-serving options, like chatbots, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sections on your website, blog articles, a comprehensive and easy-to-navigate knowledge base and customer community forums.
- Some call center software offer AI chatbots or virtual assistants that handle simple customer queries or gather basic information before passing the call to a live agent.
Optimize Your IVR
An Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system allows customers to input information (by pressing buttons on their phone keypad) or voice their responses, which the software then uses to either provide automated services or transfer them to the most appropriate agent or department. To reduce the time spent on manually routing calls or gathering client information:
- Design a clear and efficient menu structure.
- Regularly update the IVR options based on the most common customer queries.
- Use speech recognition for faster transfers.
- Implement skill-based routing to immediately connect customers to an agent with the right expertise to handle their specific issue.
Provide Proactive Customer Service
Anticipates customer needs and resolving issues before they escalate into more complex problems leads to faster interactions and fewer calls. To do that:
- Use predictive analytics and customer behavior data to identify which problems are likely to arise. Sending an automated notifications via SMS, email or app alerts to inform customers about issues that may affect them, like system outages, billing issues or product updates, for example, can help mitigate concerns without clients contacting support.
- Deploy chatbots that pop up automatically on your website or mobile app based on customer behavior. If a visitor seems to be stuck on a checkout page, for example, the chatbot can ask them if they need help. This reduces the need for the customer to contact live support later if there is indeed a problem.
- Have onboarding emails, tutorials, guides, videos or webinars to walk new customers through key features of your product or service. This reduces the number of “how-to” calls that would otherwise take up agent time.
- If an issue requires follow-up actions (like waiting for a technician, processing a refund or troubleshooting a technical glitch), set up a automatic status notifications to prevent long or repeat calls.
Encourage Knowledge Sharing
When agents exchange information and help each other, they benefit of the collective expertise of the team. This reduces time spent searching for answers, avoids escalations and creates consistency in the way they handle calls. To improve speed and efficiency:
- Create a centralized, easily searchable knowledge base with common issues, best practices and efficient solutions.
- Implement a system that allows agents to share insights from their own experiences to avoid repeated mistakes, reduce the learning curve for new technology or policies and speed up the onboarding of new staff members.
- Use collaborative tools for real-time problem-solving.
Focus on First Call Resolution
When issues are resolved on the first call, agents spend less time on follow-ups and are better equipped to handle future interactions. To pro-actively focus on FCR:
- Give agents the authority and clear guidelines to make decisions without waiting approval from supervisors or other departments.
- Provide comprehensive training on complex issues, product features, common customer issues, and troubleshooting techniques.
- Integrate tools like screen-sharing or live chat support so agents can assist customers in real time and resolve issues more effectively.
- Set specific FCR targets, provide regular feedback and incentivize performance improvement with bonuses or recognition.
- Use post-call surveys or follow-up emails to gather feedback on FCR performance and adjust training, scripts and call-handling processes.
Optimize After Call Work
If agents can complete after-call tasks more quickly, they can focus more on resolving issues during the call itself. To boost FCR and overall AHT:
- Use CRM software or other tools to automate as much routine post-call tasks (e.g. logging call details, updating customer profiles, generating and sending follow-up emails, etc.) as possible.
- Provide templates for common follow-up actions.
- Set realistic targets for ACW and monitor performance.
Balancing AHT and Customer Satisfaction
Striking the right balance between AHT and customer satisfaction is crucial. Here’s how to achieve it:
1. Set Realistic Targets
Having achievable KPIs creates an environment where both efficiency and quality of service are prioritized without compromising one at the expense of the other. Here's how to set balanced targets:
- Avoid pushing for unrealistically low AHT goals that might compromise service quality. Instead, set neither too aggressive nor too lenient KPIs to give agents enough time to deliver personalized service while still being efficient.
- For simple inquiries, like account information requests, password resets, order status inquiries, etc., set a lower AHT target, but allow more time for complex or technical issues without penalizing agents.
- Regularly review and adjust targets based on customer feedback and business needs.
- Use industry benchmarks as a reference, but rely mostly on your own data and goals.
- Gather feedback from agents to understand their experience and the challenges they face in meeting current AHT expectations.
2. Focus on Quality Metrics
When you concentrate on quality metrics you ensure that agents are being efficient while also providing exceptional service. To ensure that:
- Track Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS) and First Call Resolution (FCR) alongside AHT.
- Implement a quality assurance program that evaluates calls based on both efficiency and effectiveness and use this data to adjust AHT targets.
- Incorporate soft skills training and encourage agents to build rapport with customers, listen to their needs and offer clear, concise solutions.
- Focus on areas like problem-solving, adherence to call scripts and overall customer interaction quality in your feedback on individual agent performance.
- Use analytics tools to compare AHT data with CSAT scores, customer retention rates and call resolution times. This will help you make data-driven decisions about AHT targets based on customer expectations and feedback.
3. Personalize Interactions
Chasing low AHT easily lead to poor customer experience. To prevent this:
- Train agents to be efficient while still providing personalized service.
- Use CRM and other customer data tools to quickly understand customer history and preferences. Greeting a client by name and mentioning previous interactions, for example, can have a big impact on customer experience and save time on re-explaining issues.
- Create customer segments in your CRM system and train agents to prioritize higher-value clients or adapt their approach based on the segment (e.g., a VIP customer might expect more personalized attention).
- Implement sentiment analysis to help agents gauge customer emotions and adjust their approach mid-conversation. hey can Identifying cues about the customer’s communication style preferences early on (e.g., whether they are more formal or casual, technical or non-technical) can have a noticeable impact on both AHT and CSAT.
4. Implement a Tiered Support System
When issues are directed appropriately, simpler inquiries can be handled quickly and more complex problems can receive the attention they need. This makes routing more efficient and prevents lower-level agents from getting stuck with difficult and time-consuming problems. To implement this system:
- Clearly define the levels or tiers of support. Each one should handle specific types of issues based on their complexity. This will minimize the need for transfers or escalations, keep AHT low and quickly deliver customers to the right level of support.
- Create training programs for agents in each tier so they are well-equipped to handle the types of requests they are assigned.
- Have clear escalation protocols that define when and how an issue should move from one tier to the next.
- Encourage collaboration between Tier 2 and Tier 3 agents. This helps lower-tier staff members develop the skills needed to resolve more complex issues and in turn reduces the need for escalation.
5. Monitor Customer Effort Score (CES)
CES measures how easy or difficult it is for customers to resolve their issues during an interaction with your support team. A high CES indicates that the process was challenging, which can negatively affect satisfaction even if AHT is low. To effectively monitor CES:
- Send automated post-interaction surveys across the appropriate channel (phone, chat, SMS, email) and link the feedback to the corresponding AHT data. This will help you see patterns and understand how ease of resolution correlates with handling time.
- Look for trends in CES surveys where customers report frustration, like excessive transfers, having to repeat information or difficulty navigating the IVR, for example. Address these pain points to lower effort and, in turn, balance AHT and satisfaction.
- Review CES and AHT data after escalations. You might find that training Tier 1 agents to handle more complex issues independently will reduce the need for transfers and minimize both effort and AHT.
- Provide clear instructions for your self-service options. Monitoring CES for them will show you how well their design and content are working for the customers.
6. Implement 'Smart' Time Management
'Smart' Time Management focuses on working efficiently without rushing or sacrificing service quality. To implement it:
- Provide agents with the call center software , CRM integrations, knowledge bases, AI-powered solutions and training to handle a broader range of inquiries without escalation.
- Train agents to judge when to take the extra time to ensure complete resolution and when it’s appropriate to streamline the interaction.
- Track and reduce idle and hold times during interactions. Long or frequent pauses can frustrate customers and unnecessarily increase AHT.
- Encourage agents to prepare before answering the call by reviewing customer data, previous interactions and any ongoing issues. This allows them to begin resolving the problem right away.
- Reward agents who use effective time management to balancing low AHT with high customer satisfaction scores.
Common Pitfalls in AHT Optimization
When focusing on and managing AHT avoid:
- Neglecting Customer Satisfaction
- Pitfall: Overemphasizing AHT can cause agents to rush through calls, leading to incomplete issue resolution and poor customer experiences.
- Impact of this mistake: Rushing interactions may reduce AHT but often results in lower customer satisfaction, more repeat calls and a decline in FCR.
- Solution: Balance AHT with other quality metrics like Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), First Call Resolution (FCR), and Customer Effort Score (CES). Make sure agents are incentivized to provide thorough and complete solutions, even if it takes slightly longer.
- Ignoring Call Complexity
- Pitfall: Having the same AHT expectations for all types of calls neglects that some problems need more time to resolve.
- Impact of this mistake: Complex issues, like technical troubleshooting, billing disputes, service customization requests, warranty claims, etc, need more attention and rigid AHT targets can cause agents to rush or escalate unnecessarily, which in turn can lead to poor outcomes.
- Solution: Categorize interactions by complexity and implement tiered AHT goals based on call types. This will give your staff more flexibility in case-by-case problem-solving.
- Not Addressing the Root Causes
- Pitfall: Focusing on managing the symptoms (high AHT) rather than investigating the reasons for long handling times.
- Impact of this mistake: Without addressing the root causes – like inefficient processes, lack of training, system issues or complex call types – your efforts to reduce AHT may backfire, resulting in more repeat calls and, ultimately, higher AHT in the long run.
- Solution: Analyze call data and identify the true causes of long handling times. Are agents spending too much time searching for customer data? Are clients repeatedly transferred between departments? Are workflow bottlenecks slowing down your staff? Fixing these core issues will streamline your whole operation, naturally reduce AHT and improve customer experience.
- Overlooking Agent Burnout
- Pitfall: Pushing for lower AHT without considering staff well-being.
- Impact of this mistake: When you prioritize low AHT at the expense of agent health and morale, it can increase stress, reduce problem-solving, raise the number of repeat calls and significantly increase call center attrition.
- Solution: Create a supportive environment, invest in training and focus your optimization efforts on both speed and service quality. This will help you achieve a healthy balance that benefits both agents and customers.
- Insufficiently Analyzing Data
- Pitfall: Focusing only on the overall average AHT metrics without breaking down the information by complexity, agent performance or process inefficiencies.
- Impact of this mistake: Failing to analyze the full range of data related to AHT can lead to superficial conclusions, poor decision-making and missed key insights on how to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction.
- Solution: Break down AHT data by factors like call complexity, agent performance, customer journeys and escalation rates, and integrate FCR, CSAT and CES.
Final Words
Average Handle Time is far more than a simple metric; it’s a window into your call center’s operational health. It reflects your workflow efficiency, team capabilities and dedication to customer satisfaction.
However, the goal isn’t to reduce AHT at any cost, but to find the sweet spot where efficiency meets excellence in customer service. This balance ensures that you’re meeting both business needs and customer expectations. And it could be achieve only if you tread AHT as a valuable tool for improvement, not the sole measure of success.
As you develop and implement your AHT optimization strategies, keep this holistic view in mind. By doing so, you’ll be well-equipped to enhance your call center’s performance, satisfy your customers and drive your business forward.