Average Handle Time (AHT)
Average total time to handle one customer interaction including talk, hold, and after-call work
What is Average Handle Time (AHT)?
Average handle time is the average time an agent spends on each customer interaction, including talk time, hold time and after-call work. It shows how long it takes to deal with a contact from start to finish.
It is a key measure for planning contact centre staffing and costs, though it must be balanced against quality.
How this KPI is measured
- Function
- Customer Success & Service
- Sub-function
- Service Delivery
- Industry
- All Industries
- Type
- Lagging
- Impact
- Efficiency
- Unit
- min
- Measurement frequency
- Daily / Weekly
- Formula
- (Total talk time + Hold time + After-call work) / Number of interactions handled
How to calculate it
Add up talk time, hold time and after-call work, and divide by the number of interactions handled.
For example, if agents spent 2,400 minutes across 400 interactions, AHT is 6 minutes.
Split by contact type, since complex issues take longer, and never treat shorter as automatically better, since rushing can reduce resolution and satisfaction.
Where it is used
Planning staffing
Estimate workload.
Finding process inefficiencies
Spot slow steps.
Coaching agents
Support consistent handling.
How to improve it
Tips and common mistakes
- Do not push agents to rush. Balance with resolution and satisfaction.
- Compare like contact types.
- Use with first contact resolution.
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