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Get free accessDelivering great customer experiences isn’t optional; it’s essential. More than half of consumers will switch to a competitor after just one bad interaction.* Whether you’re using an in-house customer support team or an outsourced contact center, it’s vital to track your metrics, because they’re closely tied to customer satisfaction.
The challenge? Knowing which call center key performance indicators (KPIs) matter for your business. The right KPIs help call center managers benchmark performance, spot opportunities, and drive better results.
Below, you’ll find the most valuable KPIs to track depending on how your team operates, so you can make informed decisions and get the most out of your metrics.
TL;DR
What call center KPIs mean for your business
Call center KPIs track how your team performs, how efficiently it works, and how satisfied your customers feel. Metrics like average handle time, first contact resolution, conversion rate, and net promoter score show how well your team meets expectations at every touchpoint.Why it matters
Tracking the right KPIs helps you identify bottlenecks, improve productivity, and create smoother customer experiences. When teams focus on data that matters, they make smarter decisions, build stronger customer relationships, and drive measurable growth.How Aircall helps
Aircall helps teams measure and improve KPIs in real time. It centralizes data through live dashboards, historical reports, and CRM and helpdesk integrations. And Aircall AI Assist uncovers recurring issues and highlights trends that influence metrics like handle time, FCR, and CSAT to help teams act fast and continuously improve performance.
Call center KPIs for customer support and customer service teams
Here are some key metrics you’ll need to keep an eye on if you’re planning on monitoring the KPIs for an inbound call center.
1. Average handle time (AHT)
Average handle time (AHT) measures how long support agents spend actively speaking with customers. It reflects both engagement quality and efficiency. Too short may suggest rushed customer interactions, while too long can signal difficulty in resolving issues. A good average handle time is around six minutes.
Formula: (Total talk time + hold time + after-call work time) ÷ number of calls
Pro tip: Use live call coaching and whispering to help new support agents provide timely resolution.
2. Calls answered
Calls answered tracks how many inbound calls support agents handle within a set period to highlight workflow distribution and team capacity. Tracking the number of calls answered helps you spot performance gaps and decide if staffing or training adjustments are needed.
Formula: Number of inbound calls answered ÷ total inbound calls received
Pro tip: Monitor your analytics to uncover patterns by hour or day to optimize scheduling and prevent missed calls.
3. Calls answered within x seconds
This is the percentage of calls answered within a set timeframe, often 20 to 30 seconds. Quick response times signal that your team is attentive and reliable, which directly impacts customer satisfaction rates.
Formula: (Calls answered within target time ÷ total calls) × 100
Pro tip: Intelligent call routing can make a big difference here. It automatically sends each call to the best available agent, which cuts down on wait times and helps your team answer more calls within your target window.
4. Average wait time
Average wait time is the average amount of time customers have to wait before a support agent answers their call. Long wait times can contribute to frustrated customers and negatively impact overall support quality.
Formula: Total hold time ÷ number of calls answered
Pro tip: Use real-time queue monitoring to spot rising wait times as they happen, then instantly reassign available agents or adjust routing rules to balance call load.
5. Missed calls
Missed calls are the number of inbound calls to your contact center that go unanswered. These often mean a customer’s issue remains unresolved, which increases frustration and the risk of them turning to a competitor.
Formula: (Total missed calls ÷ total inbound calls) × 100
Pro tip: Work with a tool like Aircall that lets you set up business hours to route callers to an AI Voice Agent when your team is off duty so you never miss a call again.
6. Average time to return a missed call
Average time to return a missed call measures how long it takes for a call center agent to follow up on a missed call. Prompt callbacks show customers you’re proactive, while delays can decrease loyalty and increase customer churn.
Formula: Total time to return missed calls ÷ number of missed calls
Pro tip: Automate callback reminders in your system so agents are instantly assigned missed calls with timestamps, which ensures follow-ups happen in a timely manner.
7. First contact resolution (FCR)
First contact resolution measures the percentage of customer inquiries or issues resolved during the first interaction, without the need for follow-up. Higher FCR helps to both improve customer satisfaction and reduce call volumes and operational costs. Also, resolving queries immediately increases the positivity of customer interactions.
A good FCR rate is between 70% to 79%, but this would depend on your industry.
Formula: (Number of issues resolved on first contact ÷ total issues) × 100
Pro tip: Equip agents with real-time AI-powered guidance, and customer data from your CRM. When they can see interaction history and account details in one view, they can resolve issues faster and deliver smoother customer experiences.
8. First response time (FRT)
First response time measures the average time it takes for a support agent to respond to a customer inquiry or ticket. The faster the response, the more confident and cared-for customers feel, which directly impacts satisfaction and loyalty.
Formula: Total sum of first response times ÷ number of inquiries
Pro tip: Use automated alerts and prioritization rules to ensure timely responses, especially during peak periods.
9. Occupancy rate
Occupancy rate measures the percentage of an agent’s available working time spent handling calls or related tasks, such as after-call work time. In simple terms, it shows how busy your agents are, and whether workloads are balanced across the team
Formula: (Total time spent on calls and related tasks ÷ total available working time) × 100
Pro tip: Keep an eye on live call data to identify when occupancy rates consistently exceed 85%. If they do, adjust schedules, add short breaks, or redistribute calls to prevent burnout and maintain performance.
10. Tickets handled vs. solved per hour
This metric compares the number of tickets support agents handle to the number they fully resolve within an hour. It highlights efficiency, workload management, and resolution effectiveness.
Formula: (Tickets resolved per hour ÷ tickets handled per hour) × 100
Pro tip: Build a centralized knowledge base for recurring issues so agents can quickly find answers and resolve calls faster. Pair it with sentiment analysis to spot common pain points in customer conversations and use those insights to train agents proactively.
Call center KPIs for outbound and sales teams
Outbound call center teams that focus on sales have a distinct focus compared to support teams. Support-driven teams place a bigger emphasis on how they measure the average wait time, while sales teams should look at more conversion-related metrics.
Here are the KPIs for sales-driven teams that differ from support or service-driven teams.
11. Conversion rate
This is one of the most important contact center KPIs for sales teams. This metric measures the percentage of calls that successfully result in a closed deal or sale and indicates the effectiveness of your sales team’s outreach.
Formula: (Number of deals closed ÷ number of calls made) × 100
Pro tip: Review high-performing calls to identify what top reps are doing differently to convert customers, from their tone and timing to objection handling. Use those insights to create detailed sales playbooks for your agents to follow.
12. The average speed of answer
The average speed of answer measures the average time it takes for sales reps to answer incoming calls. Missed or delayed calls can result in lost opportunities and unsatisfied prospects.
Formula: Total wait time for answered calls ÷ number of calls answered
Pro tip: Monitor calls during peak hours and optimize call routing to reduce response times and ensure every prospect gets to speak with a rep in as little time as possible.
13. Lead-to-sale conversion rate
Lead-to-sale conversion rate measures the percentage of leads that turn into paying customers across your sales funnel. Unlike the standard conversion rate, which focuses on how many calls result in a sale, this metric looks at the overall effectiveness of your sales process, from initial lead capture to closing the deal.
Formula: (Number of leads converted ÷ total leads) × 100
Pro tip: Identify your highest-converting lead sources in your CRM, then double down on those channels with targeted outreach.
14. Average deal size
Average deal size measures the average revenue earned per closed deal or contract over a given period. It helps you understand the typical value of a sale and how effectively your team is closing higher-value opportunities.
Formula: Total revenue from closed deals ÷ number of deals closed
Pro tip: Use customer communications management (CCM) software to analyze your call activity, deal notes, and customer context from previous high-value deals. Identify patterns in call length or decision-maker involvement, then apply those insights to coach your agents to prioritize prospects with better potential.
15. Monthly sales growth
Monthly sales growth is the percentage increase or decrease in sales revenue from one month to the next. It tracks the momentum of your sales and identifies trends in performance over time.
Formula: ((This month’s sales − Last month’s sales) ÷ Last month’s sales) × 100.
Pro tip: Use real-time analytics and historical performance dashboards during monthly sales reviews to pinpoint which products and reps are driving the most growth. Then, reallocate resources to amplify what’s working.
16. Calls or emails per rep
Calls or emails per rep measures the number of interactions each sales rep theoretically handles within a given period. It helps identify workload distribution or training needs so you can maximize reps’ individual productivity.
Formula: Total calls or emails ÷ number of active reps
Pro tip: Use call center software to spot your top-performing reps’ outreach patterns, then turn those insights into daily activity benchmarks.
17. Average age of query
The average age of query measures the average time a customer query remains unresolved in your system. The shorter the duration, the higher the satisfaction tends to be. Long delays can frustrate customers, especially for urgent or complex issues.
Formula: Total amount of time (hours or days) of open queries ÷ number of queries
Pro tip: Create support tiers by categorizing queries based on urgency and customer value. Route VIP customer issues directly to senior agents to ensure high-priority cases are resolved quickly.
18. Customer call frequency
Customer call frequency tracks the number of repeated calls from individual customers. Frequent repeat calls often indicate unresolved issues or dissatisfaction, which can impact retention and customer loyalty.
Formula: Total repeat calls ÷ total unique customers
Pro tip: Use conversation intelligence software to analyze call transcripts and identify recurring issues across interactions. Then create targeted self-service options or frequently asked questions for these common problems, which may help to reduce repeat calls and improve resolution efficiency.
19. Call abandonment rate
Call abandonment is the percentage of calls that are disconnected by the customer before being answered by an agent. High abandonment rates indicate long wait times and a poor customer experience.
Formula: (Number of abandoned calls ÷ total incoming calls) × 100
Pro tip: Implement queue alerts that immediately notify supervisors when abandonment spikes, which allows you to reassign agents or adjust routing to prevent customer drop-offs.
20. Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)
Your customer satisfaction Score (CSAT) measures how pleased a customer is with a specific interaction, product, or service. It’stypically measured via a short survey with a five-point scale, four and five meaning satisfied and three and below meaning unsatisfied. Higher scores indicate that your team meets customer expectations.
Formula: (Number of satisfied responses ÷ total survey responses) × 100
Pro tip: Ask for feedback immediately after interactions so the conversation is fresh in the caller’s mind and they can provide the most accurate opinion possible.
21. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Your Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures customer loyalty by asking them how likely they are to recommend your company on a scale of zero to 10. A higher score shows strong customer advocacy and long-term retention potential.
Formula: % of promoters - % of detractors
Promoters (Nine to ten): Loyal advocates likely to recommend your brand.
Passives (seven to eight): Satisfied but not enthusiastic and may switch if a better offer appears.
Detractors (zero to six): Unhappy customers who could spread negative feedback.
Pro tip: Pair each NPS rating with an open-ended follow-up question, such as “What is the main reason for your score?” Then review responses alongside call notes and sentiment data to uncover why customers feel the way they do and identify areas for improvement.
22. Customer Effort Score (CES)
A Customer Effort Score (CES) measures how easy it is for customers to resolve an issue or complete a task with your support team. This is typically measured on a numbered scale.
Formula: Sum of CES ratings ÷ total number of survey responses
Pro tip: Use CRM integrations to give agents access to caller history and context, making customer interactions smoother and reducing the effort it takes to resolve an issue.
And the most important KPI
23. Employee satisfaction
Employee satisfaction measures how happy and motivated your sales or support agents are in their work environment. High employee satisfaction reduces turnover and improves morale.
A high turnover rate can be a massive problem for the efficiency of offices and call centers. Without a motivated team, your other call metrics will likely suffer.
Formula: (Number employees who rated satisfaction as four or five on a five-point scale ÷ total number of survey responses) x 100
Pro tip: Implement and promote an employee feedback program to give your people an opportunity to share their opinions and struggles before they turn into more serious issues that impact team satisfaction and wellbeing.
Turn KPIs into impact with Aircall
Tracking the right KPIs is key to keeping your call center running smoothly, your customers happy, and your revenue healthy. And focusing on the metrics that really matter lets you make smarter, data-driven decisions and help your team perform at their best.
But manually collecting and analyzing this data becomes impossible as your team and call volume grow. Aircall makes it easy to track and understand your KPIs in real-time, with the added power of AI Assist Pro to surface call insights and spot trends automatically.
Aircall simplifies KPI tracking and helps teams act on insights in real time with these features:
Real-time analytics dashboards: Monitor live performance and key metrics at a glance.
Historical performance reports: Analyze trends and measure improvements over time.
Live monitoring: See how many calls are waiting, which agents are available, and manage queues proactively.
CRM and helpdesk integrations: Centralize data for better workflows and personalization.
Call coaching: Whisper and provide live guidance to improve agent performance instantly.
AI Assist Pro: Agents get real-time call insights, like competitive intel and product guidance, to improve call outcomes and conversion rates.
With Aircall, call center KPIs do more than just inform your operations; they actually drive action and improvement.
Ready to turn your call center metrics into growth drivers? Get started with Aircall today.
*Zendesk 2025 CX Trends Report, Zendesk
Frequently asked questions about call center KPIs
What are the common KPIs for a call center?
Call centers typically track metrics like average handle time (AHT), first contact resolution (FCR), customer satisfaction (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS), and call abandonment rate. Each one offers insight into a different part of the customer experience, from efficiency to service quality.
What are the 5 key performance indicators for customer service?
For customer service teams, five KPIs stand out: first contact resolution, customer satisfaction, response time, customer effort score, and Net Promoter Score. Together, these metrics reveal how quickly and effectively your team solves issues while maintaining a positive customer relationship.
What is the 80/20 rule in a call center?
In most call centers, the 80/20 rule refers to answering 80% of incoming calls within 20 seconds. It’s a long-standing industry benchmark for responsiveness that helps minimize call abandonment and ensures customers get timely support.
Published on April 22, 2016.
