Understanding Average Conversation Time

‘Average Conversation Time,’ also known as ACT, is a metric unique to Dialpad WFM that measures the average total active working time spent to close a ticket, removing waiting or idle time.

This metric is an alternative to the industry standard of "average handle time" (AHT).

Let's dive into the details.

What we track

Dialpad WFM uses the ticket metadata in your linked ticketing systems to identify which tickets agents worked on, and for how long.

We also use email addresses to match the agents in your ticketing system to their Dialpad profile.

Dialpad WFM then creates a timestamp every time a 'comment' is made on a ticket or the ticket status changes.

How we calculate Average Conversation Time

Average conversation time (ACT) measures the total amount of dedicated time an agent spent on the ticket, removing waiting or idle time.

When we build an activity timeline, we group related interactions on the same ticket into "ticket sessions" to get a more accurate picture of actual handling time. Once a ticket is closed, we combine all it’s session durations to calculate the total conversation time.

The average conversation time is then determined by calculating the average of all closed ticket conversation times within a specific timeframe (e.g., daily, weekly).

For example, Ben exchanges 3 messages with a customer on live chat. The customer then stops responding. These 3 messages form 1 ticket session that lasted 300s.

The customer responds again after work and the 2 more messages are sent, then the conversation is closed. These 2 messages form another ticket session that lasted 240s.

There are now 2 ticket sessions on this ticket, from open to close. These are added together to create a Conversation Time of 540s.

How to use ACT for performance reporting

Average Converstation Time (ACT) provides insight into the complexity and difficulty of tickets, as well as agent knowledge. By tracking ACT, you can understand the average time it takes to resolve a ticket.

A rising ACT may indicate increasingly complex issues or insufficient agent training, while a decreasing ACT could suggest improved agent efficiency or simpler ticket types.

How to use ACT for forecasting

Leverage the Average Conversation Time to optimize staffing levels. By inputting this metric into your queue settings, you can ensure that your team is adequately staffed to handle the incoming workload.

To use ACT in your queues:

1. Head to Performance page

2. Select all your teams, or the teams that work in this queue

3. Select the Week view

4. In the breakdown table, select By activity

5. Select the activities linked to this queue

6. Note the ACT across the last 4 - 12 weeks

7. Create an average of these numbers

8. Navigate to Agent productivity

9. Enter the ACT value