What is time to agent?

• A. The length of time from the start of the call to when an agent answered the call.
• B. The length of time from the start of the call to when the call is transferred to outbound flow.
• C. The length of time that elapsed from when a customer answered the call to when an agent answered the call.
• D. The time from when the agent finishes the call to the next call.

Answer: (C)

Time to agent tracks the moment the customer has answered the call and you’re waiting for an agent to pick up. It measures how long the customer waits once they’re on the line before the agent answers.

This focuses on agent responsiveness after the customer is connected, not on the initial setup of the call (IVR/queue) or what happens after the call ends. That’s why measuring from the start of the call to the agent’s answer would include time before the customer even answered, which isn’t what this metric intends. It also isn’t about transfers to outbound flows or post-call wrap-up, which are different concepts.

So, the best description is the elapsed time from when the customer answers to when the agent answers.