Average Handle Time (AHT) represents the average amount of time an agent spends on each ticket they open. Average Handle Time is calculated by adding up the total time spent against all tickets (Ticket Time) within a given reporting period and dividing that by the number of tickets an agent opened within that period (Tickets Touched).
Formula: Total Ticket Time / # of Tickets Touched = Average Handle Time
Example:
- John Doe opens ticket #123 and spends 20 minutes on it
- John Doe opens ticket #123 again and spends an additional 10 minutes on it
- John Doe opens ticket #124 and spends 15 minutes on it
John Doe's total time spent on tickets is 45 minutes. During that 45 minutes, he worked on a total 2 of unique tickets. Thus, John's Average Handle Time is 22.5 minutes.
Common uses of Average Handle Time
AHT is useful to understand, on average, how long agents spend per ticket they open. AHT also plays a key role in helping you to determine future staffing by providing a basis to estimate future time requirements based on ticket volume.
Downfalls of Average Handle Time
AHT is a very useful metric when used in conjunction with a metric that represents productivity, since, on its own AHT doesn't tell the entire story. For example, an agent's average handle time could be very low, but when comparing it with the number of Solved Tickets you find the agent hasn't solved it very many times. Thus, it's important to look at AHT in relationship to the broader productivity of your support organization.
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