If your customers are seeking support, the last thing they want is to be left waiting. The sooner their issues are resolved, the happier they’ll be. In fact, customers are 2.4x more likely to stay with a company that solves problems quickly.
That’s why average handle time (AHT) is an essential metric for your call centre. AHT gives you a vital insight into just how long it takes for your agents to provide customers with the help they need. As a result, reducing your AHT can significantly improve your customer experience (CX).
But to set effective targets, you need to know what counts as a good Average Handle Time. In this post, we’ll break down the factors to consider when benchmarking your AHT.
What is Average Handle Time?
Average handle time (AHT) measures the average time it takes for an agent to resolve a customer’s query. This is measured from the time the call connects, so it does not include time spent waiting for an agent to become available.
However, it does include any time your customer spends on hold, as well as any after-call work time. If the agent needs to update a customer’s record or assign any follow-up tasks once the call has ended, this will contribute to the average handle time.
Generally speaking, a lower AHT will help you optimise your resource usage and keep your customers happy. However, as we’ll explain below, lower isn’t always better – AHT needs to be combined with other metrics to accurately measure your call centre performance.
How to Measure Average Handle Time
Your average handle time for a given period can be worked out as follows:
(total talk time + total hold time + total follow-up time) ÷ total number of calls
So, let’s say you want to know your AHT for a given day. Your call centre received 100 calls that day, with a total of 300 minutes of talk time, 100 minutes on hold, and 100 minutes of follow-up.
Your AHT would be (300 + 100 + 100) ÷ 100 = 5 minutes.
Measuring AHT for Other Channels
Average handle time isn’t just a useful metric for customer phone calls. If your contact centre lets customers use multiple channels, you may want to see how each channel performs when it comes to delivering a prompt solution.
Email
To find your AHT for email, simply divide the time spent responding to emails by the total number of email queries dealt with.
total time spent on emails ÷ total number of emails dealt with
So, if your agents deal with 100 emails in 400 minutes, the AHT for your email channel is 400 ÷ 100 = 4 minutes.
However, be aware that AHT for emails doesn’t represent the total time a customer spends waiting for a response. The time between you receiving the email and an agent starting to process the query is not included.
Web Chat
AHT for web chat is more complex, as agents will often deal with multiple chats at any one time. To account for this, you’ll need to incorporate the concurrency factor – i.e., the number of simultaneous chats your agents deal with – into your AHT calculation, as follows:
(total handling time ÷ total number of chats dealt with) × (1 ÷ concurrency factor)
Let’s say your agents deal with 100 chats in a 500-minute period. Each agent deals with 2 chats simultaneously. So, your AHT would be (500 ÷ 100) × (1 ÷ 2) = 2.5 minutes.
If the actual number of chats your agents deal with at any one time varies, it may be hard to get an exact figure. You’ll need to use an average concurrency factor across this period.
What is a Good Average Handle Time?
Now you’ve measured your AHT, you’ll want to use it to measure your call centre performance. And that means you need to know what constitutes a good average handle time.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a good average handle time. That’s because what counts as “good” will vary significantly based on the industry, the type of call centre, and various other factors outlined below.
Of course, there are industry averages you can use. According to the Australian Customer Experience Professionals Association (ACXPA), the average AHT across the contact centre industry is 543 seconds – that’s just over 9 minutes.
But to ensure you’re making the most of this essential metric, you’ll need to use an appropriate benchmark for measuring your performance. Read on below to learn about the factors you should consider.
Factors that Affect Average Handle Time
1. Sector
Average handle times will vary significantly from sector to sector. Some industries tend to generate more complex issues, while others mostly see straightforward enquiries with simple solutions.
For instance, if you’re a software provider, your agents may field a large number of technical queries. These will often require extensive troubleshooting to deliver a satisfactory outcome, and your agents may have to walk customers through the process step-by-step.
For an e-commerce business, on the other hand, calls are more likely to have a small number of common outcomes. Your customers might want to place an order, update their shipping details, or request a refund. In most cases, the process will be simple and the call can be handled quickly.
With this in mind, a “good” AHT for these two businesses will be quite different. It’s essential you set your target in line with your sector rather than aiming for a generic result.
2. Channel Mix
Many contact centres now offer customers multiple ways to get in touch, from phone calls to email, live chat, SMS, chatbots and beyond. An omnichannel approach to customer service delivers significant benefits to your customers, but the specific range of channels you offer will determine the AHT you should aim for.
For instance, live chat options generally have a lower AHT than phone calls. This is because your agents can handle multiple chats at the same time. Email and SMS will also usually have lower handle times than voice- or video-based interactions.
However, if your contact centre prioritises non-synchronous communication options – i.e., channels that don’t require both the agent and customer to be active at the same time – you should be wary of focusing on AHT.
As we mentioned above, your email AHT will only factor in how much time an agent spends on their response, not how long the customer has to wait for their email to be dealt with. In this case, overall resolution time is a more important metric when it comes to customer satisfaction.
3. Service Type
Some call centres will focus on a particular type of service – outbound sales, for instance, or technical support. Others may offer a range of services but focus on one more than others. The particular service type you focus on will have a significant impact on your AHT.
If your call centre largely focuses on inbound sales calls, your AHT should be lower than one that provides expert support for a complex product or service. On the other hand, outbound sales calls should in principle be aiming for a higher AHT – longer calls indicate a stronger interest from prospective customers.
With this in mind, you’ll need to think about the balance of services you offer when considering how – or if – to factor AHT into your performance metrics.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
While AHT is an important metric to monitor, it’s far from the only KPI your call centre should focus on. And in fact, trying to reduce your AHT at the expense of other metrics could be counterproductive. When trying to define a good AHT, you also need to consider:
- First Contact Resolution (FCR). Your customers don’t just want a quick solution to their issues – they want the right one. Focusing too much on your AHT can encourage agents to get customers off the phone faster, rather than trying to dig into their issues and find the best outcome.
- CSAT and NPS. These metrics measure customer satisfaction, which makes them essential counterweights to your AHT efforts. If reducing your AHT also leads to a reduction in CSAT or NPS, then this should be a major red flag. It may be that your methods for lowering your AHT are counterproductive, or it may simply be that your target is too low.
- Employee experience. Delivering on your AHT targets depends on your staff – their commitment to your goals and willingness to improve their skills is essential. If your AHT target is unrealistic or over-aggressive, it can lead to a pressurised and stressful environment that will impact morale and increase turnover.
Ultimately, your benchmark for a good AHT should factor in its potential impact on these other metrics. Remember that lowering your AHT isn’t an end in itself – it’s a way to improve the service you offer your customers. If it doesn’t actually achieve this, then it’s not worth doing.
Tackle Your Average Handle Time with MaxContact
Reducing your average handle time can offer a range of benefits for your call centre. It can improve efficiency, reduce costs and – most importantly – ensure your customers feel supported. But how can you reduce your AHT without impacting other metrics?
With MaxContact’s cutting-edge call centre software, you’ll have the tools you need to deliver a top-quality customer experience at pace. Our highly customisable Interactive Voice Response (IVR) automation ensures that your customers have a range of powerful self-service options, while our sophisticated scripting tools help your agents tackle customer queries efficiently.
To learn more about how our tools can transform your business, book a free demo today.
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