Average Handle Time in a Call Center—Why It Is Important
Average handle time (AHT) is one of the most important metrics used to determine patient satisfaction and service delivery in a healthcare call center. The goal is timely intervention when patients call in through the IVR or directly connect with the agents. What exactly is AHT in a call center, and how is it important for patient experience?
What Is Average Handle Time?
To put it simply, the average handle time in a healthcare call center is the total amount of time it takes for the agents to handle the patients or callers. You count it from the moment the phone rings to the hold time, talk time, and wrap-up, where the call is documented after the patient hangs up. This is a direct indicator of how great your call center-patient communication is because the faster the agents are able to solve the clients’ concerns, the better it is for the patient experience.
Why Is AHT Important?
AHT may be a simple metric, but it goes a really long way to improve the level of service to your clients. If you are wondering what AHT means in a call center, here are the main reasons why you should measure it.
Agent Productivity
Call managers can use the AHT to check how efficient the call center agents are when it comes to receiving calls from patients and solving their problems. The higher the volume of calls and the lower the AHT, the better their performance.
Patient Experience
You know that your healthcare call center is doing well if it is receiving high volumes of calls within a certain timeframe. When the AHTs are low, the calls flow faster and the staff handle more clients and their requests.
Improvement Areas
When you are able to track AHT metrics over time, it gets easier to monitor patterns. You can tell when agents need more training and what aspects of the call need work.
Cost Analysis
A lot of money is spent on handling incoming calls from patients, and AHT can be a great measure to ensure the center is more cost-effective. The more you reduce the AHT, the more you save on costs down the line.
Read more: Tips to Reduce AHT in a Call Center
Contact the Experts
Medical centers are always looking for ways to improve the patient-provider relationship, and what better way than by improving AHT? Patients can rely on your services if you work with Sequence Health to better manage your health call center. Contact us today to learn how our expert team can improve the average handle time for better patient communication.