How to Reduce Average Handle Time (AHT) Without Sacrificing Quality

Every second counts, especially when a customer is waiting.

Small delays can add up quickly when your support team is handling dozens or hundreds of requests each day.

That’s why measuring how efficiently those requests are resolved is important. It gives you a clear view of team performance, highlights process bottlenecks, and shows how long customers are actually waiting to get help.

One of the most useful metrics for this is average handle time. In this guide, we’ll break down what it means, how to calculate it, and how to reduce it without sacrificing quality.”

Table of Contents

• What Is Average Handle Time (AHT)?
• How to Calculate Average Handle Time
• Why Should You Track Your Average Handle Time?
  • 1. It highlights process inefficiencies
  • 2. It helps with staffing and forecasting
  • 3. It impacts customer satisfaction.
  • 4. It supports performance monitoring
  • 5. It feeds into broader KPIs
• What’s a Good Average Handle Time?
• How to Reduce Average Handle Time 
  • 1. Optimizing Workflows with Automation
  • 2. Providing Comprehensive Training on Tools
  • 3. Encourage Peer Learning and Support
  • 4. Streamlining Internal Collaboration
  • 5. Use Data and Analytics to Identify Bottlenecks
  • 6. Categorize and Prioritize Effectively
  • 7. Leverage Self-Service Options
  • 8. Set Clear Response Time Goals
  • 9. Continuously Gather Feedback
• Limitations of Average Handle Time (AHT)
• Optimize AHT Without Losing the Human Touch
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Average Handle Time (AHT)?

Average Handle Time (AHT) is the average time a support agent spends handling a customer interaction from start to finish. It includes the time spent talking or chatting with the customer, the duration for which they are placed on hold, and the time taken for after-call work (logging notes or updating tickets).

This metric measures agent efficiency and spots workflow delays. It is especially important for teams that handle a high volume of tickets, where even small time savings per interaction can make a significant impact.

How to Calculate Average Handle Time

The Average Handle Time formula is:

AHT = (Talk Time + Hold Time + After-Call Work) / Total Number of Interactions

Traditionally, this formula was designed for voice-based support environments, where most interactions happen in real time. It includes:

• Talk Time: the time spent actively speaking with the customer
• Hold Time: the time the customer spends on hold
• After-Call Work (ACW): the time spent updating tickets, adding notes, or following up after the call

Why Should You Track Your Average Handle Time?

Tracking Average Handle Time helps support teams improve efficiency, plan resources, and improve overall customer support. Here’s how:

1. It highlights process inefficiencies

AHT reveals how long it takes to handle customer queries from start to finish. Unusually high AHT could signal bottlenecks, such as slow response handoffs, tool complexity, or poor customer service workflows.

2. It helps with staffing and forecasting

Understanding average handle time lets managers estimate how many agents are needed to meet response targets as volume scales. It’s critical for workforce planning, especially in real-time support channels.

3. It impacts customer satisfaction.

Customers notice delays. According to a Survey Monkey study, over 70% of them are more likely to do business with a company with an excellent reputation for quality customer service. High AHT can increase wait times and frustration, impacting customer satisfaction scores.

4. It supports performance monitoring

By tracking AHT across agents and teams, support leaders can identify skill gaps, optimize onboarding, and coach agents who may need more support.

5. It feeds into broader KPIs

AHT also connects to metrics like First Contact Resolution, CSAT, and Average Resolution Time. If done right, improvements to AHT often result in wider performance gains.

What’s a Good Average Handle Time?

There is no universal “good” AHT, but industry benchmarks offer a helpful baseline. Most support teams adjust expectations based on channel type, query complexity, and service level goals.

Here’s a look at average AHT ranges across common industries:

AHT also tends to be longer in industries involving compliance, personalization, or multi-step processes.

How to Reduce Average Handle Time

To effectively reduce average handle time, support teams must address the root causes of delays, like unclear processes, tool switching, and repetitive tasks. When agents have the right systems, clear guidelines, and adequate support, they can resolve issues faster and more confidently. The goal isn’t just speed but speed with quality.

Here are nine proven ways to lower your handle time without compromising service quality:

1. Optimizing Workflows with Automation

If your agents spend a lot of time on routine tasks such as assigning queries and tagging issues, it can drag out AHT. Automating these actions free up agents and helps them focus on solving actual problems.

How to implement it?

• Auto-assign tasks based on priority and availability: Set up systems that automatically assign tasks based on criteria like agent availability, expertise, or urgency. This way, you minimize downtime between receiving a ticket and responding to it.
• Set escalation triggers to prevent ticket delays: If a ticket remains unanswered for more than 24 hours, set an automatic reminder for the agent or escalate the issue to a senior team member.

2. Providing Comprehensive Training on Tools

Agents often spend extra time resolving queries because they aren’t entirely familiar with the tools they need to use or the processes they need to follow. 

The more proficient agents are with their internal systems, the faster they can respond to customers.

How to implement it?

• Create a knowledge-sharing hub: Set up an internal knowledge base with resources, guidelines, and templates. It saves time spent searching for answers.
• Implement role-play scenarios: Simulate complex customer scenarios regularly to enhance product knowledge and boost confidence in handling tricky situations.
• Offer hands-on training during onboarding: Train agents to master all tools, like email management software and CRM systems. Focus on shortcuts and navigation techniques to speed up tasks.

3. Encourage Peer Learning and Support

Some agents naturally work faster and more efficiently than others. Pairing high-AHT agents with their lower-AHT peers allows for knowledge transfer, confidence building, and shared tips that may not come up in formal training. 

How to implement it?

• Create a buddy system: Assign new or high-AHT agents to shadow more experienced team members during onboarding or busy hours.
• Make it two-way: Peer learning is also a great way to identify process gaps or tool friction that formal training may miss.
  

4. Streamlining Internal Collaboration

Is your team losing valuable time waiting for input from other departments? Complex customer issues often require involvement from multiple teams, such as the billing, tech support, or product departments. 

However, slow internal communication can significantly increase your AHT. When cross-departmental collaboration is inefficient, customers are left waiting longer than necessary.

How to implement it?

• Encourage cross-department communication: Break down silos by creating open communication channels between departments. For example, set up a shared Slack or Microsoft Teams channel where agents can quickly tag colleagues for assistance.
• Enable note-sharing on tickets: Rather than agents emailing or messaging other departments separately, enable internal notes directly on customer tickets to keep everything in one place. This reduces the time spent switching between systems and ensures the customer isn’t left waiting.

5. Use Data and Analytics to Identify Bottlenecks

Without data, it’s difficult to know which tasks are causing delays. You need to analyze every step of your service process to identify where time is being wasted. From inefficient query routing to a bottleneck in handling certain types of requests, data will help you pinpoint the exact problem.

How to implement it?

1. Use reporting tools to track AHT: Measure the time it takes to resolve different queries, like billing issues versus technical support. This will give you insights into which areas cause long call durations and need improvement.
2. Spot long resolution times: Use tools like Hiver’s Analytics to see which tickets remain unresolved for too long and determine why. This helps you proactively remove obstacles, speeding up customer queries.
3. Regularly review individual agent performance: Use data on AHT, customer satisfaction, and query volume. Identify agents who are struggling with particular tasks and offer them additional training.
4. Identify and resolve bottlenecks: Pinpoint specific delays, adjust workflows, and improve overall customer service efficiency.

6. Categorize and Prioritize Effectively

Some queries can be resolved in minutes, while others (like troubleshooting technical issues or resolving account-related problems) require more time and attention. 

Misprioritizing tickets can lead to long handling times, especially when simpler issues are delayed.

How to implement it?

• Implement priority-based categorization: Automatically tag incoming queries based on their urgency. For example, all incoming emails with “payment” in the subject line can be auto-tagged as “invoice.” 

Moreover, its AI triaging feature can automatically analyze incoming queries and apply relevant tags based on urgency, keywords, or past behavior to make this even faster. This helps your team prioritize faster, respond smarter, and significantly reduce manual sorting.

7. Leverage Self-Service Options

One of the best ways to reduce AHT is to empower customers to find solutions. When customers can access detailed guides or use self-service tools, they no longer need to wait for an agent to solve simple issues.

How to implement it?

• Build a robust knowledge base: Create a well-organized library of FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and video tutorials to empower customers to resolve simple issues independently. 
• Add a chatbot for simple queries: Use step-by-step troubleshooting tools to help customers resolve technical issues independently. This will reduce the number of tickets your agents have to handle, leading to quicker resolution times and lowering AHT.

8. Set Clear Response Time Goals

Agents need to know what is expected of them regarding query resolution speed, and customers need to know when they can expect a response. 

How to implement it?

• Implement Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Set specific response time goals based on the nature of the query. For instance, customer complaints might have a 4-hour response time, while general questions have a 24-hour window.
• Monitor and adjust SLAs: Review the response time goals regularly and adjust them as needed. For instance, if your team frequently meets a 4-hour SLA with ease, you might shorten the time frame to improve AHT further.

You can use automatic reminders to alert agents before SLA deadlines and prevent breaches.

9. Continuously Gather Feedback

Feedback loops are the best way to improve any process. They help you understand where your processes are thriving and where they’re failing. 

Regularly collecting feedback from both customers and agents can help you fine-tune your strategies for reducing AHT.

How to implement it?

• Conduct post-interaction surveys: Send short surveys after each service interaction to gauge customer satisfaction. Ask questions like, “Did we resolve your issue quickly?” to understand how efficiently your team is working.

Hiver’s Customer Surveys let you easily collect and analyze feedback, quantifying customer satisfaction and pinpointing areas for improvement.

Customize your surveys to gather targeted insights, track satisfaction, and analyze the data to improve your team’s performance and service quality. Don’t forget to hold regular agent check-ins to surface hidden blockers like slow systems or unclear processes.  

Limitations of Average Handle Time (AHT)

Your support team or call center’s average handle time is useful, but it doesn’t tell the full story. Focusing too much on reducing time can lead to unintended consequences that hurt the customer experience.

What AHT doesn’t capture:

• Quality of resolution: Fast responses don’t always mean accurate or helpful ones.
• Customer satisfaction: A quick interaction can still leave a customer frustrated.
• Reopened or unresolved tickets: A low AHT might mask issues that resurface later.
• Emotional effort: Complex or sensitive queries often need more time and empathy.

Teams that chase low AHT without balancing it against CSAT, FCR, or agent workload may risk rushed conversations, poor retention, and burnout.

Optimize AHT Without Losing the Human Touch

Reducing AHT is important, but not at the expense of great customer experiences. The real win comes from striking the right balance between efficiency and empathy.

Support platforms like Hiver help you do exactly that. With automation, collaboration tools, built-in analytics, and a clean Gmail-based interface, Hiver enables your team to move faster while staying customer-focused.

Ready to see how we can help bring your AHT down? Book a demo today.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is AHT important?

Average Handle Time is a key operational metric that helps teams understand how efficiently customer queries are being handled. It affects:

• Support team productivity
• Staffing and resource planning
• Customer experience and satisfaction

2. How do self-service options impact AHT?

Effective self-service—like chatbots, FAQs, and help centers—deflects repetitive, low-complexity queries. This reduces the number of tickets agents need to handle and allows them to focus on more complex issues, directly lowering average handle times.

3. How can you tell if AHT reduction is hurting customer experience?

To know if reducing AHT is impacting your CX negatively, watch for these warning signs:

• Drop in CSAT or NPS
• Increase in reopened or escalated tickets
• Higher agent burnout or turnover
• More follow-ups or repeated contact from customers

4. How do you keep AHT low and prevent follow-up questions?

To keep your AHT low, use these methods:

• Streamline workflows and give agents the tools to resolve issues on the first interaction. 
• Use self-service options to handle routine queries instantly. 
• Coach agents to communicate, anticipate follow-up needs, and share the next steps upfront.