CSM Magazine

MARCH 27, 2025

Common Signs of Inefficiencies in Your Contact Center Here are a few red flags to look out for in your contact center operations: High Average Handle Time (AHT): Repeatedly long conversations could indicate unclear processes or agents lacking access to the necessary tools and information. into a single interface.

Contact Center 52

Contact Center Interactive Voice Response Average Handle Time Wait times 52

CCNG

MARCH 23, 2021

As a result, companies need to constantly hire, train, and retain new agents, which leads to higher costs. Contact centers are becoming more responsive and efficient, and they're providing elastic customer service for the first time. Agent turnover is a reality: Agents don't stay for very long.

Contact Center 195

Contact Center Average Handle Time Interactive Voice Response outsourcing 195

NobelBiz

JANUARY 17, 2022

Call Center agents’ main goal is to handle as many calls as possible effectively and without wasting time. However, it is obvious that insufficient training, incompatible interfaces and other factors might result in an increase of Average Handling Time. What are the appropriate methods to maximize it?

Average Handle Time 52

Average Handle Time Contact Center Interactive Voice Response Management 52

Fonolo

JANUARY 17, 2023

Interactive voice response is a popular automation that’s already widely used in contact centers. Specialized IVR software like Fonolo Visual IVR offers unique features like conversation scheduling, which allows callers to schedule a call-back at a time of their choosing, up to 15 days in the future.

Contact Center 154

Contact Center Interactive Voice Response Chatbots Average Handle Time 154

CCNG

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

And higher attrition means higher sourcing, recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, and nesting dollars, not to mention the time—usually three to six months—for the agent to reach the desired speed to competency. When agents are filled with anxiety because of required KPIs, doesn’t that cause higher attrition?

Management 195

Management Average Handle Time Self service CCNG 195

NobelBiz

JANUARY 28, 2025

These are the essential KPIs you should track: First Call Resolution (FCR) Rate : How often are customer issues resolved in the first interaction? Average Handle Time (AHT) : This measures how long agents spend on calls, including after-call work. While shorter times are ideal, quality shouldnt be sacrificed for speed.

Benchmark 52

Benchmark Contact Center Abandon rate Average Handle Time 52

Expivia

APRIL 1, 2021

But, there’s one key performance indicator that every call center needs to know: the average handle time. This post will define what the average handle time is, and what you can do to lower it. What Is Average Handle Time? How to Improve the Average Handle Time.

Average Handle Time 52

Average Handle Time Call Center Interactive Voice Response Banking 52

Fonolo

DECEMBER 13, 2022

From training new recruits to briefing executives and monitoring customer satisfaction levels, the days move fast. Sometimes, it’s hard to find the time to map out call center development goals. . Our rich insights help inform your strategy and monitor progress, showing metrics like average handle time (AHT), and much more. .

Call Center 135

Call Center Average Handle Time Interactive Voice Response Abandon rate 135

VocalCom

MAY 15, 2017

For this reason, average handling time, or AHT, is often considered an important metric to measure in the contact center, as agents strive to offer great customer service while keeping their interactions as short as possible. Train and inform agents. Train and inform agents. Optimize IVR menus.

Average Handle Time 48

Average Handle Time Interactive Voice Response CRM Contact center software 48

Calltools

JANUARY 10, 2024

Average handle time (AHT) is an important metric call center agents use to measure how much time it takes to interact with a customer. This metric measures the average length of time on the phone with the customer and includes the wait time and time spent on agents after the call has been completed.

Average Handle Time 52

Average Handle Time Contact Center Interactive Voice Response Call Center 52

Balto

MARCH 3, 2025

This creates a more efficient workflow and reduces customer wait times. Virtual Agents and Interactive Voice Response Virtual agents handle routine inquiries like account balances, password resets, and basic troubleshooting. This eliminates the frustration of multiple transfers and reduces average handle time.

Call Center 52

Call Center Interactive Voice Response Average Handle Time First call resolution 52

Fonolo

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

Better call center agent training improves FCR, and FCR drives customer satisfaction. Long wait time is the most common reason for call abandonment. Call center managers might consider investing in visual IVR and hiring more agents to lower abandonment rates. Average Handle Time (AHT). Abandonment rate.

Benchmark 142

Benchmark Call Center Abandon rate Average Handle Time 142

TechSee

AUGUST 26, 2024

Similarly, call center agents are measured on their average handle times. These two metrics are closely related, as longer handle times will naturally result in longer wait times for customers. Inadequate agent training is another critical challenge. Some IVR systems can be difficult to navigate.

Call Center 124

Call Center Customer Service Average Handle Time Interactive Voice Response 124

Fonolo

AUGUST 31, 2021

Plus, our Visual IVR supports multiple language preferences. Consider upgrading to a Visual IVR system. For example, a caller might dial a number in an IVR that matches a certain department. You can also apply your learnings to customer profiles for agent training sessions. This goes for visual IVR as well!

Best practices 152

Best practices Abandon rate Interactive Voice Response Call Center 152

Global Response

MARCH 12, 2025

Average handle time (AHT): Tracks how long an agent takes to complete a customer service interaction. Interaction analytics Interaction analytics evaluate all customer-agent interactions to identify patterns, quality of service, and the need for more training.

Contact Center 62

Contact Center Analytics First call resolution Abandon rate 62

Babelforce

JUNE 10, 2021

14 tips to cut Average Handling Time #1 Improve your call routing #2 Gather customer information automatically #3 Show customer information on screen #4 Improve your data collection #5 Offer omnichannel support #6 Train agents thoroughly #7 Provide agents with support #8 Create more effective processes!

Average Handle Time 52

Average Handle Time Contact Center CRM Call Center 52

Hodusoft

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

Call Monitoring: This feature helps managers, supervisors, and team leaders listen to live conversations to train agents or assess their performance. Reporting/Analytics: This feature views and tracks pertinent metrics, such as total calls attended, average handle time, and abandonment rate.

Interactive Voice Response 52

Interactive Voice Response Contact center software Abandon rate Average Handle Time 52

Fonolo

JANUARY 10, 2023

Machine learning is a branch of AI that involves training computers to discover patterns in data sets. Contact centers made a move to AI-powered IVR systems and chatbots to assist with huge customer call demand. Improve Customer and Agent Experience with AI-Powered IVR . Equipping your IVR system with AI is a game changer.

Call Center 91

Call Center Interactive Voice Response Average Handle Time First call resolution 91

Fonolo

NOVEMBER 3, 2022

Average handle time. Customers can tell when an agent is excited about the work they do, leading to more trust and higher quality interactions. Engage your employees by offering on-going training, employee incentives, team bonding activities, and flexible scheduling. Gather Your Data: Customer satisfaction score.

Call Center 128

Call Center Interactive Voice Response First call resolution Contact Center 128

Fonolo

JULY 16, 2019

Given that the average person spends one third of their lives at work, it is no wonder that we develop whole worlds of vocabulary to use within our professional environments. than to say, “Where are we with the average handling time metric this week?” Thereafter, the IVR routes the call to the most appropriate agent.

Call Center 103

Call Center Interactive Voice Response Average Handle Time Healthcare 103

Call Design

JULY 6, 2021

This metric reflects the knowledge base and expertise of the agents working in the contact centre as well as how well your customers are directed through the IVR to the appropriate agent. Average Handle Time (AHT). Average handling time tells you how much time on average, an agent spends working on a task.

Metrics 148

Metrics Average Handle Time Schedule adherence Calibration 148

Fonolo

AUGUST 17, 2021

Evaluate metrics like first-call resolution , customer satisfaction score, abandonment rate, and average handle time to measure performance, and compare them to your competitors. Improve training to address gaps. Training your agents is essential when optimizing call center performance. Then, act on your results.

Call Center 156

Call Center Abandon rate Average Handle Time First call resolution 156

Fonolo

MARCH 4, 2021

Here are a few ways you can boost your FCR: Provide additional training. Often, customer issues take more than one interaction to solve because of knowledge gaps. By providing regular training, you can keep your agents in the know and empower them to better serve your customers. Review your IVR messaging.

Metrics 148

Metrics Call Center Abandon rate Abandon Call 148

LiveChat

APRIL 25, 2016

On the other side, the agent invested her time with nothing productive in it. The key point that plays a significant role in this is ‘Average Handling Time’. Definition wise, it is just the total time invested divided by the total number of calls. This will prove to be very productive in very short period of time.

Average Handle Time 46

Average Handle Time Call Center Calibration First call resolution 46

Hodusoft

JULY 19, 2023

Features such as automatic call distribution , IVR, and CRM integration make call routing more efficient, enable personalized communications, and give agents access to customer data which results in faster resolution to inquiries and improved customer satisfaction. This can lead to cost savings in staffing expenses.

call center software 98

call center software Call Center Interactive Voice Response Average Handle Time 98

AWS Machine Learning

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

As a first step, they wanted to transcribe voice calls and analyze those interactions to determine primary call drivers, including issues, topics, sentiment, average handle time (AHT) breakdowns, and develop additional natural language processing (NLP)-based analytics.

Analytics 117

Analytics Interactive Voice Response Average Handle Time Contact Center 117

AWS Machine Learning

JULY 29, 2022

There is a challenge at every point in the contact center customer journey—from long hold times at the beginning to operational costs associated with long average handle times. Traditional IVRs, however, typically follow a pre-determined sequence, without the ability to respond intelligently to customer requests.

Contact Center 127

Contact Center Interactive Voice Response Self service Accountability 127

NobelBiz

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

An IVR, or Interactive Voice Response, is a system that interacts with inbound and outbound calls for a business by using voice prompts or text-to-speech with various pre-recorded alternatives. In broader terms, customers can interact with their favorite brands using this technology.

Interactive Voice Response 52

Interactive Voice Response Contact Center contact center solutions Feedback 52

Connect

APRIL 23, 2025

Rolling out AI-powered chatbots , virtual assistants and other self-help channels, such as intelligent IVR , offload call volumes from live agents as these engagement platforms can handle routine (high-volume low-complexity) customer queries and in so doing empower customers to find solutions independently.

Customer Service 52

Customer Service Average Handle Time Chatbots Self service 52

Callminer

AUGUST 6, 2019

Automatic Call Distributor (ACD): ACDs handle how calls are routed to find the right rep or automated system. Computer Telephony Integration (CTI): Essentially, CTI is a software that brings together all communication channels (web-based, voice, email, etc.). These details allow for training reps and improving call center performance.

call center software 140

call center software Best practices Call Center Interactive Voice Response 140

Callminer

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

Call centers need to invest in the training required to ensure the software is used to its maximum capacity. No doubt for training purposes – to be able to listen to calls and find insight as to ways to improve their processes. Call centers must keep in mind…”. Formalize your QA process.

call center software 210

call center software Call Center Contact Center Interactive Voice Response 210

Outsource Consultants

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

This shift is driven by cutting-edge technology, comprehensive training programs, and innovative quality control methodologies. Advanced Analytics for Performance Tracking Performance tracking has evolved beyond basic metrics like average handling time. Cultural sensitivity training holds equal importance.

Call Center 67

Call Center First call resolution Average Handle Time outsourcing 67

Fonolo

DECEMBER 6, 2022

Why not upgrade your Visual IVR to have multi-lingual support, too? . Finally, if your chosen communication channel has remained phone and IVR for the last five years, conduct some audience research to see what channels your customers prefer to communicate with. Offer on-going training . Agent development KPIs .

Contact Center 142

Contact Center Call Center call center software Abandon rate 142

3CLogic

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

According to a report from research-driven AI company ASAPP , the primary reasons for contact center attrition are: Inadequate training. Provide Effective Training That Prepares Agents For Success. When it comes to preparing agents to confidently and swiftly address customers’ issues, high-quality training is essential.

Contact Center 93

Contact Center Interactive Voice Response Schedule adherence Average Handle Time 93

TechSee

DECEMBER 28, 2020

” While most IVR systems don’t sound like this yet, the possibility is not that far off. They must be able to empathize and build a rapport, problem solve, communicate effectively, and be trained in appropriate technical knowledge and expertise to fulfill their customer support roles and responsibilities.

Technical Support 186

Technical Support Customer Service Enterprise Scripts 186

Calabrio

MARCH 25, 2025

Optimized Call Center Operational Efficiency: By tracking relevant metrics, call center managers can streamline operations, reduce average handle time (AHT), and improve first call resolution (FCR). This is critical for setting the tone of the interaction and minimizing customer wait times.

Call Center 52

Call Center Metrics Abandon rate Coaching 52

NobelBiz

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Streamlined processes, well-trained agents, and effective tools contribute to smoother operations and faster issue resolution. Tracking these metrics can pinpoint areas for agent training and development, ultimately leading to a more skilled and efficient workforce capable of delivering superior customer service.

Best practices 104

Best practices Call Center Interactive Voice Response First call resolution 104