Average Handle Time Formula: How to Calculate and Improve AHT

If your agents are on the phone all day but your resolution times are lagging, you might have an Average Handle Time (AHT) problem.

At Balto, we help contact centers improve efficiency and customer experience in real time. One of the most important metrics we track? Average Handle Time (AHT).

In this article, we’ll break down what AHT is, why it matters, how to calculate it, and how to improve it using AI-powered tools.

Average Handle Time (AHT) Overview

Average Handle Time (AHT) is the average duration of a customer interaction, including talk time, hold time, and after-call work. It’s a key performance metric used to evaluate agent efficiency, staffing needs, and overall contact center performance.

Average Handle Time (AHT) Formula: AHT = (Talk Time + Hold Time + After-Call Work) ÷ Total Number of Calls

AHT Includes:

• Talk Time – Speaking with the customer
• Hold Time – Time the customer is on hold
• After-Call Work (ACW) – Post-call documentation and tasks

Why AHT Matters:

AHT helps contact centers:

• Identify training or workflow inefficiencies
• Forecast staffing needs
• Improve customer experience
• Optimize operational costs

AHT Use Cases:

• Monitor agent productivity
• Reduce wait and transfer times
• Automate repetitive tasks
• Improve resolution speed without hurting quality

How to Improve AHT:

• Automate after-call work
• Minimize hold time
• Provide real-time guidance
• For more tips, jump to “How to Reduce Average Handle Time (AHT) in a Call Center.”

Now that you understand the basics, let’s take a closer look at how Average Handle Time works, starting with a deeper definition, why it’s so important, and how to calculate it accurately in your own contact center.

Average Handle Time (AHT) Definition 

Average Handle Time, or AHT, is one of the most critical metrics used in call centers and contact centers to measure agent efficiency and operational performance. 

It represents the average duration of a customer interaction, starting the moment an agent picks up the call and ending after all related tasks are completed.

In practical terms, AHT includes three core time components:

• Talk Time – the time an agent spends speaking directly with a customer.
• Hold Time – the time a customer spends on hold during the interaction.
• After-Call Work (ACW) – the time the agent spends completing notes, logging the case, or updating systems after the call ends.

Together, these make up the full lifecycle of a support interaction — from the customer’s first “hello” to the agent’s final keystroke.

AHT can be applied not just to voice calls, but also to chats, emails, and other service channels where agents handle one-on-one customer requests.

While it may seem like a simple number, AHT has broad implications. 

A high AHT could suggest inefficiencies in tools, processes, or agent training. On the other hand, an extremely low AHT might mean agents are rushing calls and failing to resolve issues effectively. 

The goal is not to shorten handle time at all costs, but to optimize it, balancing speed with quality of service.

Average Handle Time (AHT) Importance

AHT is more than just a stopwatch on your support team. It’s a foundational metric that reflects the overall efficiency, workforce productivity, and customer experience within your contact center.

Here’s why AHT plays such a critical role:

• ✅ Operational Efficiency: AHT helps you understand how long it really takes to serve each customer, guiding smarter staffing and queue management decisions.
• ✅ Agent Performance: It acts as a performance indicator, especially when reviewed alongside First Call Resolution (FCR) and CSAT. High AHT may signal training needs or broken workflows.
• ✅ Customer Satisfaction: Long handle times can frustrate customers, but cutting AHT too aggressively may lead to rushed, unresolved calls. The key is finding a balance.
• ✅ Cost Control: Since labor is one of the biggest costs in contact centers, even small reductions in AHT can yield major cost savings at scale.
• ✅ Forecasting and Planning: AHT directly impacts workforce forecasting, helping teams schedule the right number of agents per shift.

Ultimately, AHT is a pulse check for how well your support operation runs — and how effectively your team uses their time to meet customer needs.

Average Handle Time (AHT) Formula Explained

To measure Average Handle Time accurately, you need to account for all the time your agents spend on a customer interaction, not just the time they’re actively talking. 

That includes time spent placing customers on hold and any post-call administrative work.

Here’s the standard formula:

AHT = (Talk Time + Hold Time + After-Call Work Time) ÷ Total Number of Calls

Example Average Handle Time (AHT) Calculation

Let’s say over the course of a day, your support team handles 500 calls. Across those calls, they spend:

• 2,000 minutes talking with customers
• 300 minutes with customers on hold
• 700 minutes on after-call work

Your AHT would be calculated as:

• (2,000 + 300 + 700) ÷ 500 = 6 minutes

So your average handle time is 6 minutes per call.

What Counts as a “Call”?

This formula can apply to any one-to-one interaction, whether it’s a phone call, chat session, or support email, as long as the inputs are consistent and tracked accurately.

Knowing your Average Handle Time is just the start — improving it is where the real impact happens.

Call Center Average Handle Time (AHT) Calculation

Once you understand the formula, the next step is to calculate AHT for your team, whether it’s for a single agent, a shift, or your entire contact center.

To recap, here’s what you’ll need:

• Talk Time – total time agents spend on the phone with customers
• Hold Time – the time customers spend on hold
• After-Call Work (ACW) – time spent completing tasks after the interaction
• Number of Calls – total interactions during the same time period

By inputting those values into the AHT formula, you can get a clear, measurable view of how long it takes your team to handle customer inquiries.

Why Use a Calculator?

Manually crunching the numbers is doable, but not always practical, especially when you want to model different scenarios or compare agent performance. 

A quick calculator can help:

• Benchmark agent productivity
• Identify process inefficiencies
• Track AHT improvements over time
• Inform staffing and scheduling decisions

Try it Now: Average Handle Time (AHT) Calculator

Use the calculator below to instantly compute your call center’s average handle time. Just plug in your team’s talk time, hold time, after-call work, and number of calls to get started.

What is a Good Average Handle Time (AHT) for Call Centers?

The short answer? It depends.

A “good” Average Handle Time (AHT) varies widely based on your industry, the type of support you provide, and the complexity of your customer interactions. 

AHT should never be evaluated in a vacuum, but there are some general benchmarks that can help you assess how your team stacks up.

Keep in mind, these are just guidelines. A five-minute AHT might be excellent for one company and inefficient for another.

Focus on Effectiveness, Not Just Speed

An AHT that’s too low could mean agents are rushing through calls or skipping necessary after-call work. Conversely, a high AHT might indicate agents are under-trained, systems are slow, or customers are being transferred too often.

The goal is to find your “healthy AHT range” — one that balances efficiency with resolution quality.

To ensure you’re staying on the right path, always pair AHT with quality-based metrics like:

• CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score)
• First Call Resolution (FCR)
• Customer Effort Score (CES)

That’s how you know whether shorter handle times are actually improving — or compromising — the customer experience.

Average Handle Time (AHT) Industry Standards by Sector

While every contact center has its own performance goals, it helps to know what others in your industry are aiming for. AHT benchmarks vary significantly depending on the complexity of interactions, regulatory environments, and the channels involved.

Below are estimated AHT ranges across common sectors:

How to Use These Benchmarks

These numbers provide a helpful reference point, but your true benchmark should come from your internal data, especially when filtered by call type, customer intent, or agent team.

If your AHT is higher than average, don’t panic. It might reflect complex customer needs or compliance requirements. 
What matters most is how efficiently and consistently your team handles those interactions — and whether customer satisfaction stays high.

How to Reduce Average Handle Time (AHT) in a Call Center

Lowering Average Handle Time (AHT) isn’t just about speed — it’s about making every second of an interaction more efficient and more effective. Below are proven ways to reduce AHT without sacrificing the quality of support.

1. Improve Agent Onboarding and Ongoing Training

Well-trained agents handle calls more confidently and resolve issues faster. Focus on:

• Product knowledge and troubleshooting workflows
• System navigation and CRM efficiency
• Real-time coaching

2. Create Smarter Call Scripts and Decision Trees

Scripts should guide, not restrict. Use dynamic scripting tools that adapt to the call type, allowing agents to skip irrelevant steps and get to the resolution faster.

3. Centralize and Simplify the Knowledge Base

The fewer clicks to find the right information, the better. Keep documentation:

• Searchable and well-organized
• Regularly updated
• Integrated into the call interface

4. Minimize Hold Time and Transfers

Long hold times drive up AHT and frustrate customers. Mitigate this by:

• Cross-training agents to reduce transfers
• Routing calls more intelligently
• Empowering agents to make more decisions on their own

5. Automate After-Call Work (ACW)

Use AI or workflow automation to reduce the time agents spend logging calls. Auto-fill fields, suggest case summaries, or pre-tag topics based on speech analysis.

6. Use AI-Powered Agent Assist

Real-time AI like Balto can surface helpful prompts, detect intent, and reduce handle time by guiding agents toward faster resolution paths, while improving compliance and consistency.

7. Monitor and Coach Based on Data

Review call recordings, dashboards, and AHT trends. Look for patterns: Are long calls tied to a specific issue? Are new agents struggling more? Use those insights to target coaching efforts.

8. Test and Optimize Continuously

Improvement is never one-and-done. Pilot new workflows with a small team, measure the impact on AHT and CSAT, then roll out what works.

Top Average Handle Time (AHT) Call Center Metrics

Average Handle Time is a powerful metric, but it becomes even more insightful when viewed alongside other key call center performance indicators. 

Tracking AHT in isolation can lead to misleading conclusions. Instead, it’s best to monitor it as part of a balanced scorecard.

Here are the most important metrics to watch alongside AHT:

1. First Call Resolution (FCR) – The percentage of customer issues resolved on the first contact.
2. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) – A post-interaction rating, often collected via surveys.
3. Customer Effort Score (CES) – Measures how easy it was for the customer to get their issue resolved.
4. Average Speed of Answer (ASA) – The average time it takes for an agent to answer a call.
5. Agent Utilization Rate – The percentage of logged-in time that agents spend actively working on calls or wrap-up tasks.
6. Agent Occupancy Rate – The percentage of time agents are actively handling calls versus idle.
7. Call Abandonment Rate – The percentage of callers who hang up before reaching an agent.
8. Repeat Contact Rate – The number of customers who call back about the same issue.

By tracking these metrics in tandem with AHT, you’ll gain a more accurate view of team performance — and more levers to improve both efficiency and experience.

Leverage AI to Optimize Average Handle Time (AHT)

Artificial intelligence isn’t just hype — it’s a practical solution for tackling one of the biggest challenges in contact centers: balancing speed and quality. 

When used effectively, AI can reduce AHT while improving resolution rates, agent performance, and customer satisfaction.

Here’s how AI can help optimize AHT:

Average Handle Time (AHT) Is Just the Start

Average Handle Time (AHT) is more than a number — it’s a reflection of how well your contact center operates. 

By understanding what drives AHT, calculating it accurately, and putting systems in place to optimize it, you can unlock serious gains in efficiency, agent satisfaction, and customer experience.

But AHT doesn’t exist in isolation. The best-performing contact centers track it alongside quality metrics, invest in real-time coaching, and use AI to help agents perform at their best, not just faster, but smarter.

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