Benefits Of Focusing On Average Handle Time

By Author: Josh
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In the call center industry, time is a lot more valuable than money. When agents learn to make the most of their stipulated time and provide superior customer service within that, then nothing can stop money from pouring in. A perfect combination of a skilled team of agents and the best call center software can help in reducing average call handle time, which is also known as average handle time (AHT).

What is Average Handle Time (AHT)?

As the name suggests, Average Handle Time (AHT) is the average time an agent takes to handle a call from start to finish. AHT consists of hold time, talk time, and post-call work. To put it lightly, imagine AHT as the ultimate test of a customer service agent’s speed, agility, and wit.

AHT is calculated by call center solutions and provides the details for all calls and overall scores in the reports section. Some call center solutions also show live AHT detail.

Major advantages of reducing average handle time

Customer satisfaction:

As AHT measures the amount of time an agent spends with a customer, it can be used to determine customer service quality ...
... and enhance satisfaction. The right AHT can result in higher customer satisfaction levels.

Cost management:

By optimizing their AHT in check, call centers and contact centers can manage their costs and resources effectively and efficiently.

Agent performance:

AHT is a critical metric to evaluate agents’ performance. Longer AHT means an agent is struggling to understand customers’ pain points and shorter AHT means that an agent isn’t spending enough time to understand customers’ pain points.

Efficiency and productivity:

AHT measured in the call center software helps in determining how efficient agents are when it comes to handling customer interactions, from start to finish. It also measures agent productivity and identifies areas where improvements can be made.

Workforce planning:

Understanding the AHT can enable call centers and contact centers to determine the number of agents required to handle the workload effectively and plan their staffing accordingly.

Call routing and queuing:

By determining AHT, call centers, and contact centers can optimize their call routing and queuing strategies available in call center solutions. Also, by considering AHT, they can ensure that calls are directed to the appropriate agents or departments to minimize waiting times.

Customer experience:

When agents understand customers’ problems and give them the right service, then they can provide an excellent customer experience. Improving AHT enables them to do just that. The right AHT can play a huge role in providing an exceptional customer experience.

Improved call quality:

Determining AHT can immensely help in quality assurance endeavors. Managers and supervisors can review conversations, which are under or above the threshold of their desired AHT. After identifying the root causes (or underlying issues), which affect the AHT, they can fix them and enhance their call quality.

Continuous improvement:

Calculating AHT can help in fostering a culture of continuous improvement in customer service efficiency.

All in all, the AHT is an extremely important metric in the call center industry. It tells how much time an average agent spends on handling a customer interaction. It is extremely simple to calculate and it gives a lot of insights into an agent’s productivity and efficiency.

If you are looking to enhance your agent’s productivity and efficiency, you need the best call center software to achieve your goals. This software helps your agents to perform with their best skills and quickly handle calls without affecting the quality of the call.

For more information visit https://www.acinfosoft.com/ac-smart-call-center-software/