Spending time with each customer is essential to offer a good service and to go deeper into their needs and solve their queries. However, we can find ourselves in the case of calls that are too long and do not solve the customer’s problems.
When we talk about average talk time, we are referring to the amount of time an agent spends talking to customers. In any case, this time should not be confused with the average interaction time, which corresponds to the total time an agent spends completing a call from start to finish.
In general, conversation time alone does not tell much when analyzed on its own. What is important is the percentage of speaking time, as a share of interaction time. Ideally, the majority of interaction time should be spent talking to the customer, not the person waiting or the agent doing back-office tasks.
Average contact center talk time
For example, high interaction time and low speaking time indicates inadequate staff training or inadequate call routing. We cannot keep customers waiting to be served or transferring them from one department to another to resolve their questions or queries.
In addition, a low interaction time and a low talk time indicates that calls are not being handled correctly because the times are too short.
On the other hand, a high interaction time and low talk time could mean that agents are trained but call center technology is not adequate and systems are limited.
How to optimize the average talk time?
The first thing to consider is to decrease the interaction time. This reduction will allow us to handle more calls with the same number of agents. In this case, the most difficult thing is to find the balance between agent productivity and efficiency.
– Call audits to drive improvements
By analyzing all conversations and comparing which ones have the longest talk times and the most frequent problems that arise, essential information can be generated to improve the average talk time.
– Simplifying agent effort with technology
Agents are only as fast as their knowledge allows them to be. It is important that when agents are not proficient in product features or specific problems, there is a knowledge base to guide their responses.
Other metrics in the contact center
Talk time is an interesting metric for trying to find problems in contact center call handling. However, as with any other metric, the goal should not be to have the highest or lowest talk time, but to understand what it means for the customer experience.
It can also be useful to compare interaction time and talk time with competitors. These types of mystery calls allow you to see where a company stands against its competitors and compare key metrics to recognize trends, correct mistakes and uncover opportunities to improve the customer experience.
If you need professional help, at MST HOLDING we offer you our experience and services. Contact us at www.mstholding.com