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Glossary · Call centre operations

What is Average speed of answer?

  • Also called: asa, average answer time

Reviewed by Sujan ThapaliyaLast updated

Definition

Average speed of answer is the mean time callers wait in the queue before an agent picks up, measured from the moment they enter the queue rather than from the start of the call. It is the headline responsiveness figure for any inbound operation.
The three STIR/SHAKEN attestation levels, which underpin how average speed of answer behaves in practice: A asserts both that the carrier knows the customer and that the customer may use the calling number, B asserts the customer only, and C asserts neither. A shared number pool can reach B at best, which is why number ownership keeps recurring in these definitions.
Attestation is the backdrop to most caller-ID and deliverability terms, average speed of answer included.

In practice

How average speed of answer actually works

As an average it hides its own tail. A queue answering most calls in five seconds and a handful in six minutes can post a respectable ASA while the callers who mattered gave up, which is why ASA should always be read next to abandonment and to service level.

It is also sensitive to what you include. Counting only answered calls flatters the number, because the longest waits ended in abandonment and left the calculation.

Reported per half-hour interval it is useful; reported as a daily figure it mostly measures your quiet periods.

ASA also hides the difference between a queue that is slightly slow for everyone and one that is instant for most and terrible for a few. Those need different fixes — more staff in the first case, better routing or overflow in the second — and the average cannot tell them apart.

ASA excludes abandoned calls on most platforms, so a worsening queue can post an improving ASA.
ASAWhat callers experienceWatch alongside
Under 10sAnswered almost immediatelyOccupancy — you may be overstaffed
10–30sNormal for a healthy queueService level per interval
30–60sNoticeable waitAbandonment rate, which will be rising
Over 60sCallers are leavingThe tail, not the average

Worked example

400 calls answered, 3,200 seconds of total queue time gives an ASA of 8 seconds — which tells you nothing about the 40 callers who waited four minutes and hung up.

Average speed of answer: common questions

What is a good average speed of answer?
Under 20 seconds for most service lines, but the number matters less than its consistency. A stable 25 seconds is a better experience than an average of 12 built from very fast and very slow halves.
Does ASA include abandoned calls?
Usually not, and that is the weakness. Excluding them removes the longest waits from the calculation, so a deteriorating queue can show an improving ASA.
ASA or service level — which should I target?
Service level, with ASA as a supporting figure. Service level describes the share of callers who got a good experience; ASA describes a caller who may not exist.

Sources

  1. Combating Spoofed Robocalls with Caller ID Authentication — Federal Communications CommissionThe STIR/SHAKEN framework, the attestation levels carriers sign calls with, and the mandate requiring providers to authenticate caller ID.
  2. 47 U.S.C. § 227 — Restrictions on the use of telephone equipment — Cornell Legal Information InstituteThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act itself — the consent requirements, calling-hours limits, and private right of action.
  3. ITU-T Recommendation E.164 — The international public telecommunication numbering plan — International Telecommunication UnionThe international number format, the 15-digit maximum, and how country codes and national numbers compose.

See average speed of answer in the product

A call queue holds inbound callers in order and distributes them to whichever agent frees up next, instead of ringing one phone and failing. A callback option lets the caller keep their place and hang up, which is what actually reduces abandoned calls.

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