One of the most common indicators of call center effectiveness is the Average Handling Time (AHT). The British website Call Centre Helper therefore asked its visitors from the professional community for assistance in their search for the best ways of decreasing AHT. And based on their ideas it then published an article summarizing 49 practical tips, of which we present the top ten.
The top 10 tips for decreasing AHT
1. Find out as much information as possible right at the beginning of the call
Operators should try to find out the real reason for the call right at the beginning so that they can offer the best solution.
2. Put all regulatory information into the IVR
Don’t force operators to constantly read and confirm this information.
3. Support your team
Don’t force operators to laboriously search for information that you can tell them yourself.
4. Show operators examples of short calls
Allow operators whose calls are too long to listen to calls handled by faster colleagues. This will help them to find improvement opportunities.
5. Hire employees who can speak concisely and clearly
When recruiting operators focus on candidates who are able to naturally ask questions and give answers.
6. Search for the silence
Search for calls where there is too much silence and teach operators how they can prevent excessive silence.
7. Develop relationships among operators
Assign operators with low AHT’s to colleagues with high AHT’s so that they can share their experiences. But make sure it’s not the outdated and ineffective methods that are adopted.
8. Use audio and video recordings
They will help you to train operators to be more aware of their mistakes.
9. Appoint masters in the handling of certain call types
All teams should have experts on specific types of calls who will help the others.
10. Stick to the designated call structure
Listen, ask, clarify the question again by summarizing it and then offer an effective solution. Be friendly and willing to help.
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