Know what average handle time is and the formula to calculate it. Improve AHT, reduce handle times, and enhance customer service in your contact center.
Author: Abhilash Dama
I still remember the first time I sat in a meeting where one of my colleagues said, “We need to reduce the average handle time.” Everyone nodded, but hardly anyone really knew how. I get it. The term sounds technical, but it actually reveals a lot about how your team works behind the scenes.
Whether you’re leading a call center, improving customer service, or managing a BPO team, this metric always finds its way into performance talks. It reflects how your agents manage time, handle calls, and connect with customers day to day.
In this blog, we’ll look at how to calculate AHT, what affects it, and smart ways to improve it without losing service quality.
Average handling time is a metric that measures the average amount of time an agent spends managing a customer interaction from start to finish. It’s one of the most important metrics in a call center because it reflects how efficiently your team resolves customer queries while maintaining service quality.
According to recent industry data, the average AHT is around 6 minutes and 10 seconds per call, showing how even small variations in handling time can influence both agent performance and overall customer satisfaction.
For call center agents, AHT is a reflection of how efficiently they handle each customer interaction. A balanced average handling time helps agents stay productive without rushing calls or hurting the customer experience.
Here's why it is so important:
Now that you know why average handle time matters, let’s get into how to actually calculate it. The process is simple and once you break it down, it tells you a lot about how your contact center team manages time during each customer call.
Step 1: Add Up Total Talk Time
Start by calculating your total talk time, which is the average duration agents spend actually speaking to customers. This includes every second of conversation during a customer service call or support interaction.
Step 2: Include Total Hold Time
Next, add the total hold time i.e, the amount of time customers spend waiting while agents check details, transfer calls, or use interactive voice response (IVR) systems.
Step 3: Add After-Call Work Time
Once a call ends, agents usually spend a few minutes completing after-call work time like logging notes, updating CRM entries, or sending follow-up messages. This time counts toward AHT too.
Step 4: Count the Total Number of Calls
Now, record the number of calls handled during that time period (day, week, or month). This helps determine how evenly workloads are distributed and whether agents can handle more without compromising customer experience.
Step 5: Apply the AHT Formula
Once you have all your numbers, use this formula to calculate AHT:
Average Handle Time (AHT)= (Total Talk Time + Total Hold Time + After-Call Work Time​)/Number of Calls
For example, if your contact center handled 200 calls with a total talk time of 3,000 minutes, total hold time of 500 minutes, and after-call work time of 200 minutes:
(3,000+500+200)/200 =18.5 minutes
That’s your average handle time,18.5 minutes per customer call.
Step 6: Analyze and Optimize
Now that you know how to calculate AHT, the next step is improving it. If your average call duration is higher than your target AHT, look into call center analytics to see where time is being lost, maybe in long hold times, slow systems, or unnecessary follow-up time.
Once you’ve calculated your average handle time (AHT), the next question is , "what does a good AHT actually look like? ". Understanding the ideal range helps you set realistic targets and balance both efficiency and customer satisfaction.
There’s no ideal number when it comes to a “good” average handle time, it depends on your industry, team size, and the type of customer interactions your agents handle daily. Still, having a clear benchmark helps your contact center maintain the right balance between speed and quality.
Here's a quick table to help you better understand: (Source: Zendesk)
| Industry | Benchmark |
|---|---|
| Customer Service | ~ 6 minutes |
| BPO | About 4.5 minutes |
| Technical Support | Often 8–10 minutes |
| Telecommunications | ~ 5–7 minutes |
| Healthcare | ~ 6–8 minutes |
Knowing the benchmark is one thing, but actually maintaining it is another story. Every call center has its own challenges from long wait times to complex customer issues that extend call duration.
For call center managers, improving average handle time means optimizing processes, not pressuring agents. When your team feels supported with the right tools and training, you’ll naturally see lower AHT and higher customer satisfaction.
Here are some proven ways to improve your team’s performance:
One of the most effective ways to reduce average handle time is to invest in robust agent training. When employees understand how to manage customer calls, they can resolve issues faster and with more confidence.
In fact, research shows that contact centers with trained agents can boost efficiency by 56% and improve agent retention by 39% after implementing meaningful training programs.
Make sure the training sessions focus on:
When agents are confident, they spend less time switching screens, asking for help, or putting customers on hold. This not only helps lower AHT but also improves customer satisfaction and overall call center performance.
Technology can make a big difference when it comes to improving average handle time (AHT). Smart automation tools and call center software help agents focus on meaningful customer interactions instead of routine, time-consuming tasks.
By automating parts of call handling like call routing, data entry, and follow-up work, teams can save valuable minutes during every customer call. In fact, a review of multiple contact centers found that automation solutions often lead to a 25–35% reduction in AHT by simplifying workflows and minimizing manual input
Here’s how automation helps your contact center:
Even after an agent finishes speaking with a customer, there’s often administrative follow-up that adds to handling duration. By simplifying this last step, you keep your team efficient without sacrificing quality.
Using modern contact center software that offers templates or auto-filled forms helps agents wrap up faster and avoid repetitive tasks. According to NICE, streamlining workflows like these can reduce handling time by 20-30% when manual steps are minimized.
Data is one of the strongest tools for optimizing average handle time (AHT). By studying performance reports and call center analytics, managers can uncover what’s increasing handle duration whether it’s repeated customer queries, inefficient call routing, or unclear communication.
A study by Salesforce found that 57% of service leaders use analytics to improve response speed and customer satisfaction, proving how valuable data-driven insights can be.
Once you’ve identified performance trends through analytics, the next step is ensuring every change supports good customer service. A faster process only matters if it also improves how customers feel after a customer service call.
Encourage agents to focus on clear communication, accuracy, and first call resolution, these are the real drivers of long-term customer satisfaction. With the right call center software, teams can review past interactions, spot quality gaps, and fine-tune scripts without increasing pressure on agents.
Key actions to keep service quality strong:
When it comes to optimizing average handling time (AHT), Qoli stands out as a smart call center software for call management, built to simplify and speed up customer interactions. It gives managers clear insights into where time is being spent and helps agents handle calls more efficiently, without cutting corners on service quality.
Here’s how Qoli supports better AHT management:
With the right tools like Qoli, tracking and managing AHT becomes much easier, but to make the most of it, you still need to measure it the right way. Let’s look at a few smart tips to follow when evaluating your average handle time.
Measuring average handle time the right way ensures that your insights actually help improve performance rather than just track it. Small mistakes in data or inconsistent methods can lead to inaccurate results, so a thoughtful approach matters.
Here are a few smart tips to keep your measurement reliable and meaningful:
A well-managed average handle time (AHT) reflects a call center that values both efficiency and customer care. Reducing AHT isn’t just about speeding up conversations, it’s about creating smoother workflows, empowering agents with the right tools, and ensuring customers feel heard and valued.
When your team balances speed with service quality, every call becomes an opportunity to strengthen customer relationships and enhance brand trust. Over time, this balance leads to higher satisfaction scores, improved agent performance, and a more efficient contact center overall.
