Answer Time to Answer varies across industries, from one company to another, but keeping an eye on the industry average is often helpful.
After all, even if average answer time benchmarks are rough estimates, they add perspective to call queues and waiting times so contact centers can compare their performance.
What is the Accepted Average Answer Time?
A 2020 Talkdesk report is the latest in-depth research into the area. It suggests that the average speed to answer is seven seconds as of the first half of 2020, staying unchanged since the previous year.
However, those that consider this an incredibly short space of time will likely follow a different definition of the term “Average Answer Time”.
Indeed, Talkdesk does not factor wait time into its calculations. Instead, the CX vendor defines the measure as: “The average time agents take to answer inbound calls. This includes time while the agent’s phone rings but excludes the time the caller spent in IVR or queueing.”
By this definition, the time starts once the customer passes through to an agent. Yet, for those that follow the alternative definition, the Average Answer Time will likely extend beyond 20 seconds.
After all, contact centers traditionally aim to answer 80% of calls within 20 seconds. With recent staffing shortages – following “The Great Resignation” – many businesses are seemingly beginning to relax this target.
Of course, across channels other than voice, the Average Answer Time will vary. While live chat and messaging apps often have similar rates, wait times on email can last well beyond four hours.
How Does Average Answer Time Differ Across Industries?
The Talkdesk definition of Average Answer Time captures only the “period of ringing”, not the waiting time. As such, there is little variance across industries.
According to a 2019 report, the CX vendor reports that it ranges from seven seconds for retail, CPG, IT, and manufacturing to nine seconds for healthcare and life sciences. The Average Answer Time for travel, hospitality, financial services, and consumer services lies in between eight seconds.
Unfortunately, when following the definition that includes wait time, there is little reliable data across different industries. Although, 2019 Call Centre Helper research does show an overall variance in service level. Service level is a target, where contact centers strive to meet a particular Average Answer Time for a certain percentage of calls – typically 80-100%. Targets range from five to 180 seconds.
Of course, answering close to 100% of calls in five seconds is excellent for customers. However, this would require significant resources, which is unrealistic for most businesses.
So, contact centers set service level targets to find the right balance between delivering good service and maximizing costs. Workforce management (WFM) software is becoming more commonplace in contact centers for this reason.
Discover more about the art of WFM and how better hit Average Answer Time targets by reading our article: Putting WFM at the Heart of the Contact Center
