"What gets measured gets managed." In contact centers, this adage is especially true. The right metrics illuminate problems, reveal opportunities, and guide improvement. The wrong metrics—or too many metrics—create confusion and misdirected effort.
This guide covers the essential contact center metrics, organized by category, with benchmarks and practical guidance on how to use them.
The Metrics Hierarchy
Not all metrics are created equal. Think of them in three tiers:
- North Star Metrics: 2-3 metrics that define overall success (e.g., CSAT, Cost per Contact)
- Operational Metrics: Day-to-day indicators that drive the North Stars
- Diagnostic Metrics: Detailed measurements for troubleshooting specific issues
Focus on a small set of North Star metrics for executive reporting, while giving operational leaders access to the full range for optimization.
Customer Experience Metrics
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Customer
The most direct measure of customer happiness. Typically measured through post-interaction surveys on a 1-5 or 1-10 scale.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) Customer
Measures customer loyalty and likelihood to recommend. "How likely are you to recommend us?" on a 0-10 scale.
Customer Effort Score (CES) Customer
Measures how easy it was for customers to get help. Low-effort experiences correlate strongly with loyalty.
Efficiency Metrics
Average Handle Time (AHT) Efficiency
Total time from call answer to completion, including talk time, hold time, and after-call work.
First Call Resolution (FCR) Efficiency
Percentage of calls resolved without the customer needing to call back. The single most impactful efficiency metric.
Service Level Efficiency
Percentage of calls answered within a target time. The classic "80/20" means 80% of calls answered within 20 seconds.
Abandonment Rate Efficiency
Percentage of callers who hang up before reaching an agent. Inverse indicator of service level.
Quality Metrics
Quality Assurance Score Quality
Average score from call evaluations against quality criteria. Foundation of coaching and development.
Transfer Rate Quality
Percentage of calls transferred to another agent or department. High rates indicate routing or training issues.
Financial Metrics
Cost Per Contact Financial
Total contact center costs divided by number of contacts handled. The bottom-line efficiency measure.
Agent Utilization Financial
Percentage of time agents spend handling contacts vs. available time. Balances cost efficiency with agent burnout risk.
AI-Specific Metrics
When deploying AI voice agents, track these additional metrics:
- Containment Rate: Percentage of AI interactions resolved without human escalation
- Intent Accuracy: How often AI correctly identifies customer intent
- Response Latency: Time for AI to respond (target: <200ms)
- AI CSAT: Customer satisfaction specifically for AI-handled interactions
- Escalation Rate: Percentage of AI calls transferred to humans
- Cost Savings: Reduction in cost per contact from automation
Building a Metrics Dashboard
An effective dashboard presents the right information to the right people:
Executive Dashboard
High-level view with North Star metrics:
- Overall CSAT and NPS trends
- Cost per contact vs. target
- Service level summary
- AI containment rate (if applicable)
Operations Dashboard
Real-time and daily operational metrics:
- Current service level and queue depth
- Staffing vs. forecast
- AHT by queue and skill
- Abandonment rate
- FCR trends
Agent Dashboard
Individual performance metrics:
- Personal AHT and quality scores
- CSAT from their interactions
- FCR rate
- Comparison to team averages
Common Metrics Mistakes
- Too many metrics: More than 10-12 metrics creates analysis paralysis
- Conflicting incentives: Pushing AHT down while expecting quality up
- Gaming: Metrics that can be manipulated (e.g., callbacks coded as new calls)
- Ignoring context: Raw numbers without understanding causes
- Infrequent review: Monthly reviews miss real-time issues
Using Data to Drive Improvement
Metrics are only valuable if they lead to action:
- Set clear targets: Every metric needs a goal to measure against
- Review regularly: Daily for operations, weekly for trends, monthly for strategy
- Drill down on variances: When metrics miss targets, understand why
- Connect to actions: Every insight should lead to a specific improvement
- Close the loop: Measure whether changes actually improved outcomes
The best contact centers are data-obsessed. They measure constantly, analyze deeply, and act decisively based on what the numbers tell them. Start with a small set of metrics you can truly act on, then expand as your analytics maturity grows.