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Reference

Average handle time (AHT)

The average time an agent spends on one contact from the moment it is answered to the moment the agent is free for the next: talk, hold and the work after the conversation.

Also called: handle time, AHT.

Why it matters

Handle time sets how much work arrives each interval, so it drives how many agents a service level needs. A few seconds across a year of contacts is a large number of paid hours.

How it is calculated

Handle time
Talk + hold + after-call work + transfer + knowledge search + system timeEach component in seconds a contact.As published in the AHT Decomposition method, version 1.0.
Outside the conversation
Handle time − talk timeA fact about where the seconds go. Whether any of it can come out depends on the initiative and the operation.As published in the AHT Decomposition method, version 1.0.

Before you compare

  • Publishers and platforms count it differently: some leave out after-contact work, some leave out hold. Check what yours includes before you compare.
  • A lower handle time is not always better. Rushing a contact can create a repeat contact that costs more than the seconds saved.
  • Time outside the conversation (searching, switching systems, writing up) is often the part an operation can change.

Published figures

What publishers report for this measure. Each counts something slightly different, so read the definition before you compare; nothing here is averaged across publishers.

Voice handle timeBenchmark study

All industries. Publishers define handle time differently, so the figures are not averaged. No free source publishes handle time by industry.

  • 11:37Average handle time, 2024697 seconds of talk and wrap-up, 18% more than the year before.SQM Group, 6 Feb 2025. Call Center FCR Benchmark 2024 Results by Industry.
  • 7+ minTypical service call, US, 2024"Over seven minutes", 38% longer than in 2012.ContactBabel, read on Contact Center Pipeline, 14 Aug 2025. The 2025 US Contact Center Decision-Makers' Guide, as reported in "The Great Contact Center Standoff".

Measure yours