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DIRI AI

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Average handle time calculator

Enter talk, hold and after-call work for a period, or the averages per call. You get the average handle time, what makes it up, and what a change of a few seconds means in hours.

How to use it

  1. Take the totals for one period from your phone system or WFM report.
  2. Enter them here (nothing leaves your browser).
  3. Look at which part is largest, and try the what-if before you set any target.

Your numbers

What do you have?

Use hours and minutes like 12:30, hours, minutes and seconds like 12:30:15, or decimal hours like 12.5. Hold and after-call work may be 0.

Optional: paid time

What the number means

  • AHT is the average of all three parts. A low AHT is not the same as a good call. A call that is short but has to be repeated costs more than one longer call that solves the problem.
  • New agents are slower. Setting AHT targets in their first weeks tends to teach them to rush the close and skip the check that the problem is solved.
  • The calculator uses only the numbers you enter. It does not compare you with other teams, because we have no data on other teams.
  • Everything stays in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored, and what you type is gone when you reload the page.

Questions

How do you calculate average handle time?

Add total talk time, total hold time and total after-call work, then divide by the number of calls handled in the same period.

Does AHT include after-call work?

In the usual definition, yes. Some systems report it separately. If yours does, enter it in the after-call work field so you can see its share.

Should hold time be in AHT?

Yes. Hold is time the customer waits and the agent is busy with the call. Keeping it visible shows when agents are searching for information.

What is a good AHT?

It depends on the call type, the product and the systems agents use. Compare a team with its own past numbers for the same call type, not with a figure from another company.

How can training lower AHT without hurting quality?

Look at the biggest part first. Long hold often means agents are looking for answers, which is a knowledge or tools issue. Long talk can mean unclear explanations, and practising those explanations helps.

Shorter explanations come from practice, not targets

If talk time is the big part, the cause is often explanations that go round in circles. In DIRI AI agents practise the same call type by voice with a lifelike customer and get a report on what to say more clearly.

Try a practice call free