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5 KPIs that matter more than average handling time

AHT is the most-tracked and most-misleading KPI. Here are five that correlate better with satisfaction and revenue.

Published on 2026-02-08 · 5 min read

Average handling time (AHT) is the favourite KPI of managers because it's easy to measure. It's also the one that correlates least well with actual quality.

1. FCR (First Contact Resolution) — % of problems solved on first contact. Correlates +0.7 with CSAT. 2. Customer Effort Score — how much effort the customer had to put in to be helped. Measures what actually hurts. 3. Internal eNPS — happy agents resolve better. Ask them monthly. 4. Quality-to-Speed Ratio — audited quality divided by AHT. Captures the real trade-off. 5. Post-contact Customer Lifetime Value — how much the customer is worth in the next 12 months after an interaction. The only KPI tied to revenue.

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