35+ Call center statistics for 2024

Human brain tends to compare things, to put labels on them, to be able to categorize them. Some may argue that it is not right, but this approach helps us to set benchmarks, evaluate our positions, and, consequently, have greater motivation to advance. And who does not want to improve, become better?

In this article, we offer you the most up-to-date and relevant call center performance metrics and statistics, a helpful tool for making your call center the cherry on top of your customer service. Are you ready? Let’s go!

Call center top statistics

Firstly, what is call center? The history of call centers began in the 1960s; however, the term “call center” emerged in the 1980s. With the vision of providing as excellent customer service as possible, companies started to dedicate specific teams to handling only calls. The first company to adopt this model was Birmingham Press and Mail in the UK in 1965, which used an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) to handle customer calls.

Nowadays, call centers have an irreplaceable position in many industries. Here are some of them:

The call center world capital is located in the Philippines. You may ask why.

It is mainly the high literacy rate, cost-effective solutions, progressive government policies, and a neutral English accent of local agents that make companies decide to outsource their call center customer service here.

The average salary for a call center representative in the Philippines is $4,326.94 per year. In Switzerland, they can earn around $56,177.16 per year.

Average handle time statistics

This metric represents the average time of a call, of a ticket resolution, basically, the amount of time required to help the customer. It includes hold time, talk time, and any related post-call work. Keeping track of the AHT can be beneficial in many ways.

For instance, you can boost your productivity and customer satisfaction rate while also being able to use your resources more effectively. For example, if a contact center knows its AHT is 6 minutes and it expects 100 calls per hour, it can allocate around 10 agents (considering some buffer for breaks and non-call activities) to handle the workload efficiently.

It is being said the lower the AHT, the better. But keep in mind that quality should come first. Too low AHT can make your customers feel you don’t respect them enough. These days, the AHT is 6 minutes and 10 seconds, but it surely depends on the industry. Nevertheless, to get the most accurate information about your performance, you can use the following formula:

AHT = (Total talk time + Total hold time + Post-call tasks) / Total number of customer calls

You can also take advantage of help desk software equipped with this functionality. LiveAgent, for example, can give you a leg up here.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each part of AHT:

First call resolution rate statistics

The first call resolution rate, or FCR, is another important metric we should pay attention to when talking about call center statistics. This rate represents the amount of customer queries resolved during their first call, without further need for follow-ups or escalation. According to SQM Group, the first call resolution rate is often the top priority of a customer.

Globally, the first call resolution rate varies between 70% and 75%.

Fun fact: A staggering 60% of failed attempts for first call resolution are caused by the lack of the right data and resources at the call center. At the end of the day, this only results in poor customer experience.

Do you want to improve your FCR rate? Follow these 12 easy steps; focus on:

Response time statistics

The average speed of answer (ASA) is 28 seconds in general. This metric represents the amount of time that the agent needs to pick up the call after it has been routed to them. But how can you evaluate if your ASA is sufficient? According to Sprinklr, the general target should be set at 40 seconds, no more.

It is important to state that agents need some time between calls to note down all the information in the database and rest before the next incoming call. However, these periods shouldn’t be too long.

Call abandonment statistics

We already noted that nowadays, customers are really sensitive to being put on hold, which ultimately leads to call abandonment. Other studies reinforcing this claim state that 34% of customers are willing to wait and be put on hold for 6 minutes before hanging up, while 26% of customers hang up after 2 to 4 minutes.

Generally, the industry’s average call abandonment rate varies around 6%. The acceptable scale is between 5% to 10%, but it depends entirely on the call center manager how they set the benchmarks. To fulfill the customer expectations, you can take advantage of the LiveAgent’s automatic call back feature or call routing feature.

Service level statistics

This metric is another crucial key performance indicator that can help the call center manager boost agent efficiency and maintain customer loyalty. It impacts call center efficiency by providing insights into how well it meets customer demand and response times. Based on service level statistics, managers can set targets, such as answering X percentage of calls within Y seconds, to ensure optimal performance.

For example, a common target is 80/20, meaning 80% of calls should be answered within 20 seconds. Practical strategies for meeting these targets include optimizing staffing schedules, using call routing technology, and providing ongoing agent training to handle calls more effectively.

Customer satisfaction statistics

What is the main goal of every call center? Obviously, making their customers happy and providing them with outstanding customer service. It is being said that you always have to start with yourself. For example, by improving agent satisfaction, you can boost customer satisfaction scores by 62%.

Happy customers are the essence of every successful business. It’s no surprise that 91% of callers with a negative experience will not return to the company. In other words, do not underestimate the value of customer feedback. Customer surveys can be a helpful tool here.

Customer satisfaction is mostly measured and expressed by CSAT, the customer satisfaction score. Naturally, this score can vary from one call center industry to another, but companies should keep it between 70% and 90%.

As we said, customer expectations are increasing. According to HubSpot, 77% of customers expect to interact with someone immediately when they reach a contact center. However, fulfilling these expectations can pay off since happy, satisfied customers are 38% more likely to give you positive feedback and recommend your business than the ones with bad experiences.

Occupancy rate statistics

As we noted above, balance is key to the satisfaction of both your employees and your customers. The occupancy rate is closely connected to balance. It measures how busy your agents are; it shows the time agents spend handling calls versus their idle or available time. However, do not confound the occupancy rate with the agent productivity. Productivity refers only to the time the agent spends handling calls.

Generally, the occupancy rate is measured on a team level, not individually. According to Simply Contact, the health level of occupancy should be between 85% and 90%.

It is only up to the call center leader to choose the best-fitting strategy. Usually, to prevent burnout of contact center agents, companies tend to monitor call volumes, predict traffic patterns, and utilize self-service options to reduce the burden on agents during peak times. During quieter periods, engaging agents in outbound calls or training can be useful to optimize productivity.

Understanding customer preferences according to generations

Different generations usually have different preferences. What type of customer support is the most suitable for each of them? And which generation is most likely to choose a phone call to address a company? Find out in our comprehensive table.

Generation	Preferences	Communication style	Less likely to use
Baby Boomers	Face-to-face communication, most likely to use phone calls to resolve an issue.	Expect formal, respectful communication.	Chatbots, AI support.
Generation X	Time-saving solutions, most often live chat, phone call, or email communication.	Efficient, formal, helpful communication with support.	Social media, apps.
Millennials	Tend to choose omnichannel support.	Prefer a casual, conversational tone.	Phone call.
Generation Z	Self-service, preference for instant, fast solutions of good quality.	Value transparency, authenticity, and speed.	Phone call.

Call center technology statistics: utilization, adoption rates, and impact of technology

Companies are rapidly integrating advanced technologies to enhance call center performance and boost customer satisfaction rates. To date, about 49% of businesses have adopted call center software. This number is expected to increase as 24% of organizations plan to implement these solutions over the next two years​.

We certainly cannot omit AI when discussing technology’s impact on call centers. The market for AI in call centers, valued at $1.6 billion in 2023, is expected to exceed $4 billion by 2027​.

AI can have a positive impact on both customer service agents and customers. Using AI, agents can focus on more complex tasks, leaving repetitive tasks to AI. On the other hand, customers can get the answers and the required information faster, which can result in better CX.

These days, almost 70% of companies use AI-based technologies in call centers. What is more, nowadays, AI should be able to handle impressing 80% of all customer inquiries. That is why most businesses’ investments are mainly in AI automation. This includes:

Customer experiences in call centers

Customer experience (CX) drives over two-thirds of customer loyalty, outperforming brand and price. Companies that improve customer experience see a 42% increase in customer retention, a 33% improvement in customer satisfaction, and a 32% increase in cross-selling and upselling. What is more, 61% of consumers are willing to pay at least 5% more if they know they’ll get a good customer experience.

As we already stated, customer expectations tend to increase rapidly nowadays. Up to 52% of customers expect a response from a company within an hour​, while 83% of customers expect to interact with someone immediately upon contact.

To make sure your customers get the best possible experience, it is essential to provide self-service resources. More than 75% of customers consider this crucial for a good CX.

Emplifi

Still not convinced about the importance of good CX for your call center? Remember, up to 32% of customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved because of a bad experience.

Good customer experience in call center

When was the last time you bought clothes online? Try to think about it and remember what contributed to your positive experience, if there were one. Do you have it? Right, do you find yourself in some of the following situations?

The online shop with clothes puts a big emphasis on first call resolution. You need to return the T-shirt you bought because it doesn’t fit you. Since the call center agent helped to resolve your problem, you spared a lot of time, which improved your experience with the store.

During the call, the agent proposed you take another size according to your previous orders. They basically offered you personalized service. Such a service can ensure your customers are satisfied, and satisfied customers often become loyal customers.

When you asked the agent about their return policy, they were unsure about one slight detail. You have not noticed anything since the company has implemented AI, which helped the agent to look for the information you asked for.

Bad customer experience in call center

Sometimes, our experiences with call centers are just not that rose-colored. Let’s keep our example with the purchase of a T-shirt and make another roleplay.

First of all, you were transferred several times to different agents. That has cost you not only a lot of energy to explain your problem again and again but also a lot of time. The agent did not show any empathy, and on top of that, they were rude.

What impression does it leave? Naturally, not the good ones. Apart from the agent’s behavior, good-quality customer service software can be of big help here. LiveAgent comes equipped with the opportunity to create a comprehensive, well-structured knowledge base that can lead you through the whole return process. Thanks to its CRM integration, the information about your order is available for every agent, so you do not have to repeat it several times.

Biggest challenges in call centers

Staff and agent retention is one of the biggest challenges a call center must face in 2024. In the U.S., the turnover rate varies between 30% and 40% annually, which makes it difficult to maintain good quality customer service. With the rise of AI in customer service came many opportunities but also many challenges. Sometimes, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest trends.

On the other hand, remote work may have seemed like a challenge before the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, a lot of issues have been mitigated thanks to the adoption of cloud-based solutions, secure remote access technologies, and robust management tools. These days, call centers efficiently operate with remote teams, proving that initial challenges can be successfully addressed with the right strategies and technologies.

Many call center agents struggled with the enormous amounts of tickets before, and, let’s face it, it was often quite difficult to keep track of the ticket resolution and be informed about progress. Nowadays, you can choose from many available features that call center software offers.

Satisfied users of LiveAgent underline the automation rules and tagging function. Assigning several rules to one tag can spare your team a massive amount of valuable time. On top of it, tickets in your call center are organized, labeled, and who doesn’t like to keep things systematically organized?

Conclusion

To sum up, we offered you valuable insight into the most critical call center statistics, from the first call resolution, through call abandonment stats, to the occupancy rate statistics. Keeping in mind these metrics and comparing your company’s score with the average times, numbers, and statistics can help you to point your call center toward success.

We’ve seen that customer satisfaction is crucial in every aspect. It lays the foundations for your success. That is why it is important to work with tools that can help you keep your CSAT as high as possible. LiveAgent meets all the prerequisites for this, and, moreover, it gives you an opportunity to try all its functionalities for free for 30 days.