What is the Average Speed of Answer (ASA) metric?

• A. The average amount of time an interaction waits in queue before an agent answers it.
• B. The total time an agent is on a call.
• C. The average time from when an interaction enters the system until it is answered, including after-call work.
• D. The time an agent spends routing an interaction to a queue.

Answer: (A)

ASA measures how quickly customers are answered after they enter the queue. It is the average time an interaction waits in the queue before an agent starts handling it, focusing on responsiveness to the initial contact. It does not include the time spent on the call itself or any after-call work, and it does not reflect routing time.

Mathematically, ASA = (sum of wait times in the queue for all answered interactions) / (number of answered interactions).

For example, if four interactions waited 10, 20, 5, and 15 seconds before being answered, the ASA would be 12.5 seconds. A lower ASA indicates faster first-answer times and generally better perceived service.