Striking the Balance: How Average Handle Time Influences Customer Satisfaction?

 

Customer satisfaction isn't just a metric; it's the beating heart that propels businesses toward excellence. It serves as a direct reflection of the service quality provided and greatly influences customer loyalty, word-of-mouth referrals, and overall business success. As per a report, about 96% of dissatisfied customers don’t complain to the company about a bad experience. Instead, they tend to share their unfavorable experience with about 9-15 people. , it takes approximately 40 positive customer experiences to compensate for the damage caused by a single negative review. 

Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that can impact customer satisfaction levels. One key element that can greatly influence customer satisfaction is the Average Handle Time (AHT). In this blog, we will share what AHT is and how it affects customer satisfaction. 

What is the Average Handle Time?

Average Handle Time or AHT is a commonly used metric in call centers and other customer service organizations to measure the duration agents spend on addressing customer inquiries or requests. A low AHT usually signifies a high productivity rate of the agents, showcasing their proficiency in promptly resolving customer issues. 

What is a good Average Handle Time?

Usually, a good Average Handle Time is about 6 minutes per call or contact. However, this important call metric may vary greatly from one business to another. To simplify, it depends on a company’s approach to customer care, the type of channels used for support, the team’s organizational structure, and various other factors. 

Tips to improve Average Handle Time for improved customer satisfaction

To reduce call handling times and enhance customer satisfaction, businesses must focus on the below-mentioned points-

  • Providing training to the agents: The Average Handling Time (AHT) serves as an indicator of the proficiency and training of customer service agents. Agents who have received adequate training are generally able to resolve inquiries promptly and efficiently. On the other hand, agents with no proper training may struggle to handle inquiries effectively, resulting in longer AHT and potentially lower levels of customer satisfaction.
  • Call recording and monitoring: Call recording and monitoring is another effective way to measure agent performance. It allows supervisors to assess the quality of customer interactions. By analyzing the recorded calls, they can easily identify the areas where improvement can be made to enhance customer satisfaction. 


  • Comprehensive knowledge base: For quick and efficient issue resolution, it is important to provide a well-structured and comprehensive knowledge base to the agents. Access to a comprehensive knowledge base ensures that agents can provide consistent and accurate information, resulting in lower AHT and higher customer satisfaction rates. 


  • Call routing optimization: Another effective strategy to enhance both AHT and customer satisfaction is call routing optimization. This strategy enables organizations to route customers to the most appropriate agents based on their specific requirements and previous interactions. When customers are connected to the agents with the right expertise, it significantly reduces the time needed to resolve inquiries and improves AHT. 


  • Streamline processes and workflow: Focusing on streamlining processes can help eliminate unnecessary steps and complexity. This leads to better efficiency, faster issue resolution, and reduced AHT. Moreover, simplified and uniform workflows decrease the chances of errors and mistakes. Fewer errors mean fewer callbacks or escalations, leading to shorter AHT and enhanced customer satisfaction.

Conclusion:

For any customer-centric business, Average Handle Time holds considerable importance in impacting customer satisfaction. Businesses must implement all the necessary measures to drive efficiency and minimize AHT. However, it should not come at the cost of customer satisfaction. There must be a balance between AHT and customer satisfaction, which can be achieved by following all the above-mentioned tips. Afterall. Maintaining a high customer satisfaction level can help businesses foster increased customer loyalty and a robust market reputation. 

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