Contact centre managers are always looking to improve efficiency and eliminate any bottlenecks that could be holding back profitability. A PwC survey found that operational efficiencies were the no.1 priority for 77% of contact centres, helping to drive growth. One of the ways to increase contact centre efficiency is by reducing (or rather optimising) agent idle time.
Idle time is an important and inevitable part of a typical agent’s workday. Let’s explore what this concept means and how you can calculate it.
What is Agent Idle Time? Definition and Formula
You can define idle time as the interval between the moment when an agent completes post-call activities for one interaction and the moment when they start the next interaction. Idle time is measured for both inbound and outbound contact centres and should be calculated for each agent in the workforce.
Most contact centre systems generate logs that automatically calculate an agent’s idle time and display it at the end of the day. The formula for calculating it manually is:
The time when the agent engages in a call - the time when the agent had turned off the not available status for the previous call (measured in seconds or minutes)
You could also measure the total idle time at any given moment of the workday. This reflects how many of your agents are sitting idle and how long they have been idle in the contact centre. The formula for calculating agent idle time in real-time is:
Total seats or 100% - occupancy rate in percentage