Skip to content
AI Dialer

Glossary · Call centre operations

What is Turnaround time (TAT)?

  • Also called: tat, tat meaning, response turnaround

Reviewed by Sujan ThapaliyaLast updated

Definition

Turnaround time is how long a request takes from being received to being resolved, measured end to end rather than by handling effort. In contact centres it usually describes work that leaves the call — an escalation, a refund, a callback promise.
The three STIR/SHAKEN attestation levels, which underpin how turnaround time (tat) 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, turnaround time (tat) included.

In practice

How turnaround time (tat) actually works

It is the metric that captures what happens after the phone is put down, which is precisely where most customer dissatisfaction is created. A call resolved brilliantly and then followed by a five-day silence is remembered as the silence.

Measuring it needs a clock that starts at the customer's first contact rather than at whatever internal ticket was created later. Restarting the clock on transfer is the most common way a poor TAT is made to look acceptable.

Reducing it is usually a question of removing handoffs. Every queue a request passes through adds waiting time that no individual team is accountable for.

Worked example

A call resolved brilliantly and followed by five days of silence is remembered as the silence. Turnaround time is the metric that notices; handle time never will.

Turnaround time (TAT): common questions

What does TAT mean in business?
Turnaround time: the elapsed time between a request arriving and being completed. It counts waiting as well as working, which is what distinguishes it from handle time.
How do you reduce turnaround time?
Remove handoffs. Most turnaround time is spent in queues between teams rather than in work, and merging two steps usually beats speeding either of them up.
Is turnaround time the same as handle time?
No. Handle time measures the effort inside a contact; turnaround time measures the elapsed time until the customer has their answer, including everything that happens after the call.

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 turnaround time (tat) in the product

Call analytics turns raw call records into the numbers a manager can act on: volume by hour, connect and answer rates, talk time, dispositions, service level, abandonment and the per-number reputation behind all of it. Reporting on activity, as distinct from attributing calls to campaigns.

Explore call analyticsGet early access