Glossary

KPI (key performance indicator)

KPIs (key performance indicators) are the handful of numbers a manager uses to see whether the contact center is doing its job. They usually include service level, abandonment rate, wait time and handle time, first contact resolution, and customer ratings.

Why it mattersKPIs show a manager whether the contact center keeps up and where it falls short.

Also called: Key performance indicators, Contact center metrics, Performance metrics

Metrics

Core contact center KPIs

Service level – the percentage of calls answered within the target time; a common target is 80/20 (80% of calls in 20 seconds)
Abandonment rate – the percentage of callers who leave the queue before an answer; a typical benchmark is 2-5%
Average speed of answer (ASA) – how long a customer waits in the queue
Average handle time (AHT) – how long an agent spends on one contact
First contact resolution (FCR) – the share of issues resolved without a repeat call; often 70-80%
CSAT and NPS – whether the customer was satisfied with the interaction and would recommend the company
Agent occupancy – the share of logged-in time agents spend handling contacts; a healthy range is usually 75-85%

Best practices

How to choose KPIs

Four to six metrics tied to the line's goal are enough. Support teams care most about service level, FCR, and CSAT; sales teams care about conversion to orders and the number of contacts reached. For each KPI, agree up front on how it is calculated – for example, whether you exclude short abandoned calls and how far back you look for repeat contacts.

Review metrics by half-hour interval and by queue, not just as a monthly total: an average hides the hours when customers waited for minutes.

Learn more

Why KPIs should be read together

The metrics pull in different directions: push one too hard and others slip.

A short AHT without watching FCR and CSAT means agents rush, customers call back, and the workload grows
High occupancy saves on payroll, but above 85-90% agents burn out and service level drops
A low average speed of answer combined with a high abandonment rate is misleading: the longest waits never make it into the average

In CONTACT.WORK

How it works in CONTACT.WORK

Real-time dashboards show supervisors the queues, waiting customers, service level, and agent statuses. Reports break it down by day, channel, and team: AHT by component, repeat contacts, CSAT and NPS, plus a separate count of contacts resolved by AI agents. You can build custom reports on platform data, export data to your BI system, or pull it through the API.