The Average Handling Time (AHT) remains a crucial metric in contact centers, despite the evolving landscape of customer service. It's a key indicator that helps balance cost control with quality customer experience. AHT measures the average duration of customer interactions, including talk time, hold time, and after-call work, thus giving a comprehensive view of an agent's efficiency and customer interaction time.

A good rule of thumb is that an average call AHT is about 6 minutes, but it is very variable between different businesses. The proportion of talk, hold, and after-call work time also varies: some contact centers do their utmost to avoid transfers, in others after-call work is minimal.

How should you think about AHT, the most venerable KPI in the contact center world,  in this age of technology disruption?

There are strong advantages to keeping AHT front and center:

1. Quality and Efficiency Indicator: AHT, along with metrics like First Contact Resolution (FCR), reflects the efficiency and quality of customer service operations. It emphasizes the importance of time in resolving each case and the need for well-trained agents with the right tools.
2. Customer Experience Foundation: Respecting customers' time is fundamental to a positive customer experience. Lower AHT can lead to quicker resolution of customer queries, reduced waiting times, and lower overhead costs, thereby increasing customer satisfaction.
3. Business Impact: A lower AHT positively influences the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), which is vital for business growth and customer retention.

However, AHT is not a panacea:

1. Not One-Size-Fits-All: AHT varies significantly across industries and depends on factors like company culture, industry standards, and the complexity of products or services supported. Blindly reducing AHT without considering these factors may not yield the desired results.
2. Misinterpreted Focus: Reducing AHT doesn't always equate to improved service. The focus should be on optimizing call times while maintaining or enhancing satisfaction levels, not just on reducing the duration of calls.

The Influence of Digital Channels and Chatbots on AHT is increasing:

1. AI-Powered Knowledge Bases and Agent Assist: AI-based solutions using Natural Language Processing (NLP) can significantly reduce the average call handling time by providing agents with the right information quickly, thus reducing the need for multiple screen navigations.
2. Conversational AI and In-Call Assistance: Real-time AI assistance, such as suggestions based on what the customer is saying, can help agents resolve customer issues more efficiently, reducing the time taken to handle each interaction.
3. Chatbots and Self-Service: Intelligent chatbots and self-service options can handle routine customer interactions, deflect calls from more expensive channels, and route complex queries to human agents with full context. This approach reduces AHT and enhances First Contact Resolution (FCR).
4. Automation of After-Call Work: Automating tasks like call summaries and categorization can significantly lower AHT and improve accuracy, yielding cost reductions while enhancing customer satisfaction.
5. AI-Based Agent Coaching: Using AI to analyze post-call interactions can provide valuable insights for agent coaching, which in turn can help reduce AHT and improve overall customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

AHT remains a relevant and valuable metric in contact centers, balancing customer satisfaction with operational efficiency. However, the focus should be optimizing AHT rather than merely reducing it. The advent of AI, chatbots, and digital channels has provided powerful tools to achieve this balance, enhancing both the efficiency of agents and the satisfaction of customers. As technology evolves, so does the approach to managing AHT, emphasizing understanding customer needs and agent capabilities.