Member Asking - average call center occupancy:

I am hoping that you could help me find some information I need on Call Center average occupancy.  I believe occupancy is the correct industry term, but if not, please let me know.  Specifically what I want to know is..."What is the average expected call time plus wrap up time for a call center?  In writing goals for my team, I need to know how much time is fair allow them for "not ready" time.

Thank you.Kori

Members Answering:

1. Each call center I work with is different, depending on products and service. What I have found is that each call center has developed the answer depending on their own averages and status.

2. It really depends on the industry you're in.  It would not be fair to your call center staff to apply an average based on all industries to their situation if they operate in a very different environment regarding typical calls, and the work generated from those calls.

3. This question is a bit tricky. Average handle time really depends on the call type. I’ve worked in centers where we had an AHT target of 3 minutes (which included ~30 seconds of wrap time). These were “customer service” type calls – questions about an account, order status, etc. I’ve also worked in centers where the AHT target was in the 20 minute range – these were technical support calls that may have required some “not ready” style research time. Even here at XXX, our AHT varies by call type – whether someone is calling about one of our vacation packages, or just about a hotel, or an airline ticket. Each of these call types requires a different approach and the toolset required to handle the calls may be different.

I would actually recommend that Kori do some time-in-motion studies where someone sits down side-by-side with a few sample agents and actually time the different portions of the call. You can get this kind of data at the switch (typically), but sometimes you need to “see” it.

4. Our reps are 'party planners' and are expected to engage the customer to help them build the most complete party, so our call time is budgeted at about 320 seconds per call for the Sales reps, with about 5-8% average wrap time to note the customer file, if necessary.

Our Support reps have much lower call times, but wrap time increases due to backend handling of existing orders...their wrap time could be 15-18%.

5. My response is that much would depend on the type of calls and customers being handled by the business. Is there tight scripting for associates to use? Is there up-to-date and thorough problem-solving documentation available? For straightforward calls involving strict scripting and no research on the part of the associate (i.e. order taking), the average time might range from 4-5 minutes per call with minimal, if any, wrap up time. For calls related to handling intensive questions and/or problem solving, the range will be higher as will the wrap up time. Again, much depends on the type of business and the needs of the customer.

My suggestion would be to monitor and time calls for a variety of associates in the call center to come up with an acceptable average for both call time and wrap time. This information can then be used to determine an average time that can be used for coaching purposes and to determine needed occupancy.

6.  This is a very difficult question to answer generically. I think a lot of this depends on the type of questions a call center takes and what type systems the representatives have to work with. That said, from what I have found and what we use here, 3 to 4 minutes total contact time seems to be around the standard. For our call center, we aim for 210 seconds of talk time and 30 seconds of not ready time. Our reps can enter a lot of what is needed during the phone call and then the 30 seconds per call allows them the extra time needed to ensure all entries are accurate and all situations taken care of.