Average Handle Time (AHT)

What is Average Handle Time (AHT)?

Average Handle Time is a key performance metric that tells the average duration of a customer interaction, including hold and transfer times and follow-up tasks. 

• • Purpose: AHT is vital for analyzing support efficiency and performance across teams and channels.
  • Channel: AHT generally describes phone interactions, but it can also measure average handle time for email, chat, text message, and social media interactions. Distinctions should be clear for accurate reporting and nuanced insights.
  • Unit of measurement: AHT is primarily measured in minutes, but it can also be described in seconds for exact results. The unit of measurement should be consistent and clearly stated on reports.
  • Formula: Average Handle Time (AHT) = (Talk Time + Hold Time + After-Call Work) / Number of Interactions
    • Talk Time: How long a customer and an agent are speaking.
    • Hold Time: How long a customer is put on hold for transfers or research.
    • After-Call Work: How long it takes for an agent to complete post-interaction tasks, such as summaries, note-taking, or follow-up calls.

• Example:

Step 1: Total times. 

Total Talk Time (1,385 sec) + Total Hold Time (140 sec) + Total After-Call Work Time (265 sec) = Total Handle Time (1,790 sec)

Step 2: Find the average. 

Total Handle Time (1,790 sec) / 5 calls = 358 Average Seconds Per Call

Step 3: Convert to minutes. 

358 / 60 = 5.97 minutes

Why AHT matters

Determining an appropriate AHT is key to balancing efficiency with quality in customer support. It improves service quality and capacity, customer experiences, contact center performance, and cost effectiveness.

• Service quality and capacity: Faster interactions, shorter hold times, and reduced after-call work not only improves customer satisfaction; they also enable agents to handle more interactions, decreasing costs per interaction and increasing opportunities to generate revenue.
• Customer and agent experiences: Shorter handle times aren’t always ideal. Customers need to feel seen and heard. Thorough conversations improve first-call resolution rates and develop meaningful relationships that support brand culture and improve retention. Complex issues and escalations require longer AHTs for effective resolution.
• Operational efficiency: AHT can identify gaps in agent performance and service capabilities for targeted training and greater business insights.

AHT benchmarks by industry

Generally, a 4- to 6-minute AHT is ideal for businesses looking to meaningfully engage customers while keeping interactions thorough and succinct. 

However, target handle time ranges vary according to the industry, with additional contributing factors influencing a realistic goal.

How AHT is used in practice

Teams can manually or automatically calculate AHT. Telephony platforms can provide AHT reports daily, weekly, and monthly, by agent and across the team for deep performance insights. Automated tracking reduces manual error and time spent calculating metrics.

Use case

A health and wellness retailer was struggling to capture growth opportunities as international expansion boosted social media engagement between the company and younger audiences. High volume threatened the company’s ability to provide dedicated support, product education, and follow-up, putting the brand’s reputation and customer loyalty at risk during a critical time.

The company turned to Global Response, who trained agents to be brand ambassadors offering VIP treatment to all customers. The strategy included a multi-tiered approach: 

• Technology integration: Dynamic call routing and QA monitoring
• Empathy-driven support strategy: Continuous agent coaching based on customer sentiment tracking and feedback, with clear scripts setting consistent standards 
• Customer journey improvement: Focus on onboarding, product education, subscription management, retention outreach, escalation handling, order resolution, and review responses

The white-glove service achieved remarkable results on customer experiences and business success:

• Boosted FCR from 85% to 88%.
• Reduced AHT by 40%, maintaining it below 6 minutes.
• Improved customer satisfaction from 90% to 95%.
• Enabled breakthrough into prescription products.

Factors that influence Average Handle Time

AHT goals should be tailored to meet the audience’s needs while understanding the context of the situation, including contact center efficiency and organizational setup. The following factors can influence AHT goals and reduce AHT when possible. 

• Industry: Industry-specific needs may warrant more or less time on issues.
• Business size: Larger corporations may have more distinct role and resource allocations, reducing handle time, or more complex needs, requiring longer handle time.
• Service standards: Benchmarking high performers can set high goals while accommodating for additional agent assistance and continuous improvement. Regularly assessing performance will ensure realistic targets.
• Agent training: Continuous coaching based on real-time feedback improves proficiency, and cross-skill training enhances performance.
• Agent support: Telephony integrations can include live assistance to flag potential issues for immediate action, reducing transfer or hold times, and to seamlessly guide agents through even complex calls.
• Advanced call routing: Automatic call distribution and IVR menus smoothly route customers to appropriate teams to reduce transfer and unnecessary talk times.
• Seasonality: Busy seasons may require faster issue resolution and less time devoted to thorough conversations.
• Issue complexity: Routine queries are faster to handle than complex issues.
• Self-service: Chatbots, knowledge bases, FAQs, in-app portals, and online guides reduce the need for live assistance for routine queries, reserving dedicated support (and longer AHTs) for complicated issues.
• Culture: Automated personalized service can reduce handle times while engaging customers more meaningfully. Establishing relationships through white-glove service can require additional time.

Monitoring and improving AHT

Improving handle time can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty as well as agent experiences and retention. Follow these steps for effective AHT monitoring and improvement.

1. Gather AHT reports daily, weekly, and monthly for each interaction channel, per agent and for the entire team for detailed insights.
2. Watch all relevant metrics. Focusing solely on AHT can cause bottlenecks and tunnel visions. Be aware of First-Call Resolution rates, CSAT scores, QA scores, and Average Speed of Answer to identify possible areas for improvement.
3. Implement proactive customer service. Trend and customer sentiment tracking can inform prompt issue resolution and business strategies for smoother, faster experiences and reduced inquiries.

Average Handle Time FAQs

What is an AHT?

In contact centers, AHT stands for Average Handle Time, which is the amount of time agents spend on customer interactions, including after-call and follow-up work.

What is a good AHT in a call center?

Generally, call centers aim for a 4- to 6-minute AHT to maximize efficiency, thoroughness, and customer satisfaction. However, AHT targets vary depending on the industry, existing performance standards, complexity of the issue, and company goals.

What is the difference between AHT and ACHT? 

AHT refers to time spent handling all inquiries, including phone calls, chat interactions, emails, and social media engagement. ACHT refers specifically to average time handling calls, although it is not universally used.

How do I calculate AHT?

Calculate AHT with this formula: 

AHT = (Talk Time + Hold Time + After-Call Work Time) / Total Number of Interactions

Does AHT include ACW? 

Yes, AHT includes ACW, or After-Call Work.