Average Speed of Answer (ASA) measures the average wait time across all contacts that are eventually answered by an agent — it excludes abandoned contacts. It is expressed in seconds and calculated as: Total Wait Time for Answered Contacts ÷ Total Answered Contacts.
Why it matters:
- ASA is a core workforce management metric directly linked to staffing levels and schedule efficiency
- Long ASA values correlate with higher abandonment rates and lower Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
- The commonly cited industry target for phone support is 80% of calls answered within 20 seconds (the "80/20" Service Level standard)
ASA is useful for trend analysis but can be misleading in isolation — a low ASA on a day with high abandonment may simply mean the most patient customers waited longest. It should be read alongside abandonment rate and Service Level Agreement (SLA) compliance for a complete picture.