Service Level and Response Time

What is Service Level and Response Time?

Service level is the number of calls answered by the call center within a set limit. This limit or threshold is the time within which an inbound call should connect with an available agent.

Service level helps you measure things like:

• Accessibility of your call center to customers.
• Total agents required to provide efficient service to customers.
• How your call center compares to others in the industry.

Response time refers to how quickly an agent will respond to an issue raised via phone, email, or other contact methods.

It’s important to note that response times are different for different contact methods.

Here are a few industry-standard examples of response times:

• Live Chat: 48 seconds
• Email: 1 hour
• Phone Call: 20 seconds
• SMS: 40 seconds

When call centers select a set of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to be achieved for a given period, the service level helps determine the percentage achieved.

For example, let’s say a call center sets FCR as 55% and Call Response Time as 20 seconds. If the call center fails to meet either one of them, the service level will be 50%. And if it attains both, it’s 100%.

Here are some tips to reduce response time and achieve service level goals with ease:

• Set up effective self-service so that only issues that actually require human assistance are forwarded to agents.
• Monitor agents with a higher response time to identify the cause of delay.
• Simplify service processes by eliminating unnecessary approval steps.
• Use dedicated help desk tools to handle requests and service calls.
• Invest in agent training courses.