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What is a hold time?
Hold time is the time that a customer must wait for a call to get connected to an agent.
Hold time is a part of the AHT call center formula because it provides a better insight into overall agent performance and the contact center’s productivity.
By tracking and reviewing the hold time, the company can manage their support staff. For example, if the holding time is too long, they should train their staff in a way that the hold time decreases. Thus, customers will be more satisfied with their service.
Another thing that can improve this is by hiring more agents to take care of phone calls and train agents according to their area of expertise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average hold time for a call center?
The average hold time can vary based on factors such as call volume, staffing levels, and the nature of the calls received. For example, a call center handling complex technical support issues may have a longer average hold time compared to a center that primarily receives simple inquiries. However, companies normally strive to keep hold times as short as possible to ensure prompt customer service.
What does hold time mean?
Hold Time is the amount of time a caller remains on hold during an IVR call before giving up or being sent to the live agent or disconnected. This allows you to assess whether customers have to wait a long time for a connection, or whether it is running smoothly. If the time is too long, it means that you have to try to reduce this time.
How can you measure hold time?
You can measure hold time by adding up the time customers spend waiting for the connection to be established with the agent, dividing it by the number of contacts or attempts to make contact. The higher this ratio, the more frustrating it can be to maintain this communication channel.
Is there a way to improve hold time?
The hold time can be improved by educating employees to be able to handle requests more efficiently. If there are too many applications for the number of employees, you should consider hiring new employees. Customer service in other communication channels can also help to reduce the downtime. Thanks to this, customers will be able to choose a communication channel that is more appropriate for them.
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Expert’s note
Expert’s noteHold time is the length of time a customer waits to be connected to an agent. Reducing hold time can improve customer satisfaction and productivity. Strategies include training employees and hiring more agents.
Businesses can choose a call center solution that matches their needs by considering features like CRM integration and personalized customer approach. Call centers can be bought or operated independently, and profits depend on call times and scalable business models. Finding the right call center for sale involves considering factors like location, team size, knowledge and experience, available technologies, and office space equipment. Costs for setting up equipment and digital infrastructure per employee range from $2,500 up to $10,000.
Call time, or call duration, is a key metric for measuring the time agents spend on customer calls. It includes talk time and agent-initiated hold time. Average call time is calculated by dividing the total time on calls by the number of handled calls. It's important for measuring agent performance and productivity. Average handle time (AHT) is a broader metric that includes call wrap-up time. Improving call center performance and reducing support costs can be achieved by ensuring instant access to customer data, in-depth internal knowledge base, and solid agent training. LiveAgent offers customer service software with various features to enhance call center performance.
