What is average resolution time?

TL: DR

• Understanding average resolution time is essential for measuring the performance of your customer support team. This metric tells you how long it takes, on average, to resolve a ticket from start to finish.
• You can calculate it by taking the total duration of resolved conversations/ total number of customer conversations
• This metric should be used in combination with other measures, such as first contact resolution rate and customer satisfaction, to get a complete picture of your team's performance. 
  

Excellent customer support is critical for any business, but knowing how to measure it can be tricky. One important metric to track is average resolution time, which is the amount of time it takes for a support agent to resolve a customer issue. Tracking average resolution time is a helpful way to gauge the effectiveness of your customer support team and identify areas where they could improve.

Previously, we've tackled how to calculate customer retention rate, CSAT, and Net Revenue Retention. In this blog post, we'll explore what average resolution time is and how to calculate it. Read on to learn about this metric and how it can help your business!

What is the average resolution time?

Average resolution time (ART) is the average amount of time it takes for customer support to resolve a ticket. This metric is important because it shows you how efficiently your team resolves customer issues. A high ART can indicate several problems, such as understaffing, lack of training, or ineffective processes. Conversely, a low ART can mean that your team is highly effective and efficient.

While this metric is often applied to phone calls, it can also be applied to other support channels, such as live chat. With more than 41% of consumers preferring live chat support, knowing your team's ART is more crucial than ever.

Why is average resolution time an important metric?

Average resolution time is an important metric to measure and improve upon, especially as it can impact CSAT scores. ART is a good indicator of customer satisfaction. If customers have to wait a long time for their issue to be resolved, they're likely to be unhappy with the experience and churn. On the other hand, if issues are resolved quickly, customers are more likely to be satisfied.

Being able to quickly and efficiently gather context into the situation a customer is experiencing can quickly reduce this metric. With Fullview, a lot of this information (such as console logs and user steps) are readily available without even having to ask the customer about their issue. Plus, with the ability to integrate with customer support software, the information is there when a request comes through. 

How to calculate average resolution time

To calculate your team's average resolution time, you'll want to use the following formula:

Average Resolution Time = Total duration of resolved conversations/ total number of customer conversations

To break it down further, in order to calculate the average resolution time, you'll want to take the amount of time spent on all resolved customer conversations and divide it by the total number of customer conversations. This will give you your team's average resolution time.

For example, if you chatted with a customer once and solved their issue in 7 minutes, the average resolution time of that ticket would be 7 minutes. To get to that calculation, you would take the total duration (7 minutes) and divide it by the number of conversations (1) to arrive at your final answer. Want an easier way to calculate it? We've prepared an excel sheet for you to make the process simpler. 

It's important to note that this metric should only be calculated for resolved conversations. In other words, if a conversation is still ongoing, it shouldn't be included in the calculation. This ensures that the metric is accurate and reflective of your team's performance. Once you have your team's average resolution time, you can start to look at ways to improve it.

Average resolution time vs. first response time

While average resolution time measures the efficiency of your team in resolving customer issues, the first response time (FRT) measures the speed at which your team responds to customer inquiries. FRT is the amount of time it takes for your team to reply to a customer's initial message. It's important to note that FRT is different from ART, as FRT measures the time it takes to respond to the customer's initial message, while ART measures the total duration of the conversation from start to finish.

While both metrics are important, they serve different purposes. FRT is a good indicator of how quickly your team is able to address customer inquiries, while ART gives you insights into how efficiently your team is able to resolve customer issues.

However, the most efficient way of tracking how well your customer support team is doing is to break down the resolution time by phase. For example, tickets might sit there for a while but get solved quickly when tackled. On the other hand, the first response may be fast, but then it takes longer to resolve them. By using both metrics together, you'll have a better picture of how your support team is doing overall because a good first response time does not always equal a good average resolution time.

The limits of average resolution time

While the average resolution time is an excellent metric to track the efficiency of your customer support team, it's essential to keep in mind that it has its limitations. One of the main limitations of this metric is that it only takes into account the time it takes to resolve a customer support ticket, not how satisfied the customer was with the support or the number of resources that went into solving the issue. Plus, it's only one of several important customer support metrics that your team should be regularly tracking.

Conclusion

The average resolution time is an excellent metric to track the efficiency of your customer support team. By taking the total duration of resolved customer conversations and dividing it by the number of customer conversations, you can arrive at your team's average resolution time. 

However, it's essential to keep in mind that this metric has its limitations, such as only taking into account the time it takes to resolve a customer support ticket and not the customer's satisfaction. Additionally, average resolution time is just one of several important customer support metrics you should track. To get a comprehensive view of your team's performance, make sure to calculate a variety of different customer support metrics.