RingCentral
Unified communications built for modern business
CX Playbook
Metrics That Matter
A New Era of Contact Centre Metrics
For decades, contact centres were measured primarily on operational efficiency.
Metrics such as Average Handle Time (AHT), Calls Per Hour, and Service Level were designed to help organisations manage costs, maximise agent productivity, and process high volumes of customer enquiries.
While these metrics remain important, they no longer tell the full story. Today's customers expect faster, easier, and more personalised experiences across multiple channels.
- Overview
- Average Handle Time (AHT)
- Service Level
- Average Speed of Answer (ASA)
- First Contact Resolution (FCR)
Traditional Contact Centre Metrics & Benchmarks
The traditional metrics and benchmarks shown in this section remain foundational for operational management and continue to play an important role in measuring operational performance and ensuring customers can access support when they need it.
Measures such as service levels, speed to answer, abandonment rates, average handling time, occupancy and adherence provide valuable visibility into workforce utilisation, efficiency and service delivery.
When viewed together, these metrics help organisations understand how effectively their contact centre is operating, maintain service consistency and ensure resources are aligned to customer demand.
Average Handle Time (AHT)
Measures the total time spent handling an interaction, including talk time, hold time, and after-call work.
Why it matters:
-
Workforce planning
-
Operational efficiency
-
Cost management
Typical benchmark:
Around 6 minutes across many contact centre environments, although this varies significantly by industry.
Service Level
Measures the percentage of calls answered within a target timeframe.
Traditional benchmark:
-
80% of calls answered within 20 seconds (the well-known "80/20" standard).
Average Speed of Answer (ASA)
Measures how quickly customers reach an agent.
Typical benchmark:
-
Approximately 28 seconds across many contact centre environments.
First Contact Resolution (FCR)
Measures the percentage of issues resolved without requiring a follow-up interaction.
Typical benchmark:
-
70-75% is generally considered a strong performance level.
-
World-class contact centres often exceed 80%.
Start With What Customers Actually Want
The evolution of contact centre metrics reflects a fundamental change in customer expectations. Customers today want:
-
Personalised interactions
-
Faster issue resolution
-
Less effort
-
Consistent experiences across channels
- Self-service when appropriate
-
Human expertise when needed
They care far less about how quickly an agent answers the phone than whether their issue is resolved quickly and easily.
This is why modern contact centres are increasingly balancing operational metrics with customer outcome metrics. Success is no longer measured solely by speed and efficiency, but by the ability to deliver effortless, connected, and valuable customer experiences.
- Overview
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
- Customer Effort Score (CES)
- Net Promoter Score (NPS)
- Digital Containment
- Customer Journey Success
The New Metrics That Matter
Modern contact centres focus on outcomes, not just activity.
By combining the traditional metrics with AI-powered analytics, customer sentiment, quality insights, and operational intelligence, organisations can gain a complete view of the customer experience in real time. These insights help leaders understand customer needs, identify friction points, improve service quality, and measure the impact of every interaction on customer loyalty and business performance.
Rather than viewing metrics in isolation, modern contact centres use connected insights to make faster decisions, deliver more personalised experiences, and continuously optimise both customer and employee outcomes.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
Measures a customer's satisfaction immediately following an interaction.
Why it matters:
- Provides direct feedback on service quality
-
Identifies coaching opportunities
-
Tracks customer sentiment in real time
Benchmark: For many industries, strong CSAT performance typically sits above 80%.
Customer Effort Score (CES)
Measures how easy customers found it to resolve their issue.
Research increasingly shows that reducing effort is one of the strongest drivers of customer loyalty. Questions organisations ask include:
-
Was it easy to get help?
-
Did you have to repeat information?
-
How much effort did solving this problem require?
This metric has become increasingly important as digital and self-service journeys expand.
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Measures customer loyalty and willingness to recommend an organisation.
Unlike CSAT, which measures a single interaction, NPS evaluates the broader customer relationship.
Why it matters:
-
Measures brand advocacy
-
Predicts loyalty and retention
-
Links CX performance to business growth
Benchmark:
-
Positive scores are considered good.
-
Scores above 30 are strong
-
Scores above 50 are often considered excellent.
Digital Containment
Measures how many customer enquiries are resolved through self-service channels without requiring agent assistance.
As customer preferences shift toward digital engagement, this metric has become increasingly valuable.
Customers increasingly expect:
-
Self-service knowledge bases
-
Virtual Agent
-
Messaging
-
Digital support channels
In fact, research indicates that 73% of customers now prefer digital engagement channels over phone interactions when seeking services.
Customer Journey Success
Leading organisations are beginning to measure outcomes across the entire customer journey rather than individual contacts. Examples include:
-
Resolution across channels
-
Time-to-resolution
-
Customer effort across journeys
-
Repeat contact rates
-
Customer retention
These measures provide a more complete view of the customer experience than traditional interaction-based KPIs.
Our Customers Share Their Transformation Journeys
Provident Insurance share their experience of working with us on thier Contact Centre CX Transformation.
