Average Speed to Answer (ASA)
Date created: Oct 12, 2022 • Last updated: Oct 12, 2022
What is Average Speed to Answer?
Average Speed to Answer (ASA) is the average amount of time taken for a call centre agent to answer an inbound customer call, including time spent waiting in a queue. It excludes time spent navigating an IVR system. This metric one of the most important signals tied to customer satisfaction.
Average Speed to Answer Formula
How to calculate Average Speed to Answer
Your call centre answers 500 calls each day. The total waiting time for the day is 1750 minutes. Average Speed to Answer = 1750 minutes / 500 answered calls = 3.5 minutes
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How to visualize Average Speed to Answer?
Use a summary chart to visualize your Average Speed to Answer data and compare it to a previous time period.
Average Speed to Answer visualization example
Summary Chart
Average Speed to Answer
Chart
Measuring Average Speed to AnswerMore about Average Speed to Answer
Tracking Average Speed to Answer can help you measure the efficiency of your Support Team. A quick response improves the customer’s first impression of your company and gives them confidence you will respond quickly if issues arise.
Let's say you have a customer who faces a minor issue with your product and call-in to your support centre. A few scenarios could occur:
1. They wait in queue for approximately two minutes before the team responds to the call, which is below your centre's Average Speed to Answer of 3.5 minutes.
2. They wait in queue for 10 minutes before the team responds to the call but an automated message lets them know that while they wait that wait times are above average due to increased call volumes.
3. They wait in queue for 20 minutes and the team doesn't respond within the appropriate time frame resulting in potential customer disconnecting the call.
Your team should always aim for the first or second scenario described here. A significant wait time without appropriate warning means you could lose the opportunity to foster your relationship with the customer and leave them with a bad impression of your customer service practices.
Metric Toolkit
Start tracking your Average Speed to Answer data
Use Klipfolio PowerMetrics, our free analytics tool, to monitor your data.
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