Which metric would be critical for a CFO focusing on efficiency in a contact center?

Average handle time is a crucial metric for a CFO focused on efficiency in a contact center because it directly reflects how effectively agents are managing customer interactions. A lower average handle time can indicate that agents are resolving issues more quickly, which can lead to enhanced productivity and reduced operational costs. This efficiency can improve the overall profitability of the contact center by allowing for the handling of a higher volume of calls within the same timeframe.

While customer satisfaction rate is important for understanding customer loyalty and service quality, it does not specifically measure operational efficiency. The number of agents hired provides insight into workforce planning but does not indicate how well the current resources are utilized or the speed of handling customer inquiries. Total revenue from upsells is a performance metric related to sales outcomes rather than operational efficiency and may not reflect the effectiveness of customer service processes. Therefore, average handle time remains the most pertinent metric for assessing efficiency in a contact center context.