Reducing average handle time is one of the top priorities for organizations within the customer service industry, where efficiency and effectiveness are crucial components of the customer experience.
With ProcedureFlow, customers experience an average of 12% improvement in average handle time, demonstrating the transformative impact of a visual knowledge base. ProcedureFlow's approach to simplifying processes and boosting agent productivity offers a compelling solution for organizations seeking to minimize AHT while maximizing customer satisfaction.
Why is it important to reduce Average Handle Time?
Customers appreciate quick and efficient solutions to their inquiries, and lower average handle time reflects the ability of an organization to address their needs promptly.
A reduced average handle time underscores the performance, productivity, and proficiency of customer service agents. It signifies that agents are adept at managing their time, navigating processes efficiently, and understanding the needs of the customer.
It's crucial to emphasize that reducing AHT should not always be the sole objective. Agents should never feel rushed in assisting customers. Instead, they should aim to deliver the highest quality of customer service, using soft skills such as empathy to ensure customers feel heard and valued throughout the interaction.
Striking the right balance between efficiency and exceptional support is the key to a successful customer service strategy.
2 Ways ProcedureFlow Reduces Average Handle Time
ProcedureFlow's unique approach to knowledge management effectively reduces AHT in the following two ways.
Optimizes process execution
Contact centers that utilize traditional knowledge bases face a high level of variance in how different agents handle customer interactions. Each agent might have their own unique approach, leading to differing levels of service quality and inconsistent AHT. Because of the effort involved in memorizing and interpreting processes, agents often end up asking supervisors or colleagues for assistance, which may or may not align with the best practice.
ProcedureFlow optimizes processes by containing only one correct process for each call type.
This approach drives consistency in the organization by creating a standardized structure of logical visual guides for every interaction, leaving no room for interpretation. Each agent follows the same step-by-step process, ensuring an efficient handling of customer inquiries. This reduction in process variability improves AHT and the overall customer experience, as customers receive a consistent level of service regardless of the agent they interact with.
Decreases hold time
Another contributor to high AHT is time wasted during calls searching for information from the knowledge base or waiting for support from supervisors or colleagues. Lengthy text-based knowledge articles often require translation to turn into action items which takes time to interpret. This unnecessarily extends the call time and negatively impacts both customer and employee experience.
ProcedureFlow empowers agents with a self-serve resource that uses a visual approach to knowledge to ensure agents can find, understand, and execute procedural information while handling customer calls.
With a single source of truth containing only one record for each call type, agents instantly find the correct process steps. Instead of searching for answers or waiting for support, agents can simultaneously navigate process flows while actively assisting and engaging with the customer. This contributes to a substantial reduction in hold time as agents are delivered step-by-step instructions throughout the entire duration of the call.
Getting started with ProcedureFlow
Take the next step toward transforming your contact center with ProcedureFlow—a visual knowledge base that improves key performance metrics with step-by-step interactive process flows.
Request a demo to explore how ProcedureFlow can help your team drive better business outcomes today.
