KPI of the Day – Customer Service Performance: # Longest call hold
Definition
Measures the longest amount of time a customer waits after being put on hold and before being connected to an agent or hanging up.
Purpose
The indicate the amount of time customers wait for service, as this can impact their level of satisfaction.
Recommendations
Customers are only willing to wait a limited amount of time when calling for customer service. If the customer had a positive prior experience with the company’s customer service, the willingness to wait will most likely increase.
By revealing the longest time a customer is willing to be kept on hold, the longest call hold can be referenced as both a benchmark and a ceiling for call waiting times. High quality customer services oftentimes increase a client’s disposition to wait by the phone.
However, if you wish to reduce on hold times, call centers can resort to hiring more agents, especially in periods of intense activity, or train them to answer more calls in a shorter time frame. This KPI usually has an impact when reported as a limit that ought not be surpassed.
High quality customer service can be achieved by following a few simple steps:
- Providing customers with satisfactory answers to questions;
- Providing customers with personalized service solutions;
- Empowering customer service agents to optimally handle requests;
- Securing reliable word-of-mouth, if the case.
If you are interested in more Customer Service-related KPIs, smartKPIs.com subscriptions provide access to +500 KPI examples.
Our dedicated Library contains relevant resources to improve your KPI practices, and if you want to further improve your knowledge, feel free to explore our latest publications – The Sales and Customer Service KPI Dictionary and The Top 25 Customer Service KPIs – 2016 Extended Edition, or enroll in our Certified Customer Service Performance Professional course.
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