{"id":8974,"date":"2021-12-27T18:01:29","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T14:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/?p=8974"},"modified":"2022-08-16T17:37:07","modified_gmt":"2022-08-16T13:37:07","slug":"average-handle-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/average-handle-time\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Average Handle Time? 9 Ways You Can Optimize AHT"},"content":{"rendered":"

In call center metrics, average handle time (AHT) is the typical duration of a call from start to finish, including hold time and after call work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To <\/span>calculate AHT<\/span><\/a>, use the following formula:<\/span><\/p>\n

Average Handle Time (AHT) = (Total Talk Time + Total Hold Time + After Call Work)\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\/ # of Calls\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Why Is AHT Important?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Average handle time is important because the lower it is, the more calls your agents can handle in one shift. And the more calls your agents can handle, the <\/span>more productivity<\/span><\/a> and money your call center generates (theoretically). Additionally, customers generally want to spend the least amount of time possible on the phone with a call center.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, place <\/span>too<\/span><\/i> much importance on AHT, and true productivity, customer satisfaction, and employee morale could suffer, which we\u2019ll talk about below.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Is a Good Average Handle Time?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

A good average handle time depends on the industry and each individual call center. Broadly speaking, a \u201cgood AHT\u201d is one that is the lowest possible while taking into account the importance of other metrics, such as first contact resolution and customer satisfaction. There\u2019s no use in decreasing your AHT if it causes your FCR and customer satisfaction to decrease with it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Average Handle Time by Industry\u2014The Complicated Truth<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve ever Googled \u201caverage handle time by industry,\u201d you\u2019ve probably seen the data circulating the internet attributed to Cornell University and its <\/span>Global Call Center Report<\/span><\/a>. However, when I looked into this report, I could not find the aforementioned AHT-by-industry data <\/span>anywhere<\/span><\/i> in it. So I cannot verify that it\u2019s true. (However, the report <\/span>does <\/span><\/i>say that the average call handling time of all the worksites included, regardless of industry, was three minutes and 10 seconds.) On top of that, the Cornell report is from 2007\u201414 years ago! So even if it did contain the data we were looking for, it would be outdated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, I found two sources of data that might be useful for determining average handle time by industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, data from <\/span>Call Centre Helper<\/span><\/a> based on inputs into its Erlang Calculator found that, according to over 190,000 entries, <\/span>the average AHT across industries seems to be six minutes and three seconds<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, data from Talkdesk\u2019s 2021 <\/span>Global Contact Center KPI Benchmarking Report<\/span><\/a> shows average talk time and average hold time by industry. It\u2019s missing after-call work, but it gives you a starting point that can serve as a baseline for determining if your call center\u2019s AHT is on par with industry standards. If AHT is the sum of talk time, hold time, and follow-up divided by number of calls, we know, then, that the AHT for each of the following industries must be higher than the average talk time plus the average hold time for each, which I\u2019ve calculated for you below:<\/span><\/p>\n

Average Talk Time + Average Hold Time by Industry\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

(Rounded to the Nearest Second)<\/span><\/h3>\n

*<\/span>Data gleaned from Talkdesk\u2019s 2021 Global Contact Center KPI Benchmarking Report<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n