Active Conversation Handle Time (ACHT) by Topic

The Active Conversation Handle (ACHT) Time by Topic report can help you understand which Topics are taking the most time to be handled by your Agents.

Metrics and Key Concepts

The Active Conversation Handle Time by Topic report uses the following metrics and concepts to quantify the reported data.

Date

Description

Average Active Conversation Handle Time

Conversation Handle Time divided by Conversation Closed group by Topic

Closed Conversations

Conversations Closed

Date

The timestamp of when the Conversation was last closed

Conversations

See Conversations definition

Topics

See Topics definition

Understand the basics

When to use the Active Conversation Handle (ACHT) Time by Topic report

Use the Active Conversation Handle (ACHT) Time by Topic report if you have questions around:

  • How long is it taking an Agent to handle a Conversation on each Topic?

  • How is Active Conversation Handle Time changing over time on each Topic?

  • Does ACHT increase or decrease with the number of Conversations that are closed on each Topic?

How often to view the report

Review this report weekly to gain valuable and actionable insights.

Keep the following points in mind regarding Active Conversation Handle Time:

  • ACHT is attributed to when the Conversation closes.

  • ACHT is attributed to the Agent who closed the Conversation.

  • Inbox attribution is the Inbox to which the Conversation/Customer is currently assigned.

  • Channel filters apply to the Channel of the Conversation’s first inbound Contact. For example, a Conversation that starts on an email but moves to chat, it’s still considered an email Conversation.

  • Conversations assigned to a user who was logged out when a Rule or another user (someone not assigned to that Conversation) closed the Conversation are not included in the counts for this report.

Take action

Once you understand the report, you can take action and make improvements.

Active Conversation Handle Time by Topic is Increasing

If there is a particular Topic with increased ACHT or a Topic that is trending upwards, check to see how you can optimize Conversations related to this Topic.

  • Is there a new product or product update which is increasing inquiries related to a Topic? Look into improving your self-service and Customer education flow to decrease questions about a product.

  • Is a particular Topic appearing more often that is increasing your ACHT? For example, if you see an increase in product returns, which is linked to a specific Topic, investigate to see if there are similarities to the return reasons. It could indicate a product issue.

  • Do you have the right FAQs and Answers that your Customers quickly see before contacting you? Make sure you are surfacing the correct information to your Customers using a Help Center or Glad App.

Active Conversation Handle Time by Topic is Decreasing/Low

  • It’s generally a good thing if ACHT is low. If it’s low for a particular Topic, try to find out why that is. Perhaps this is a Topic well supported by self-service Answers. Maybe Agents are well-trained on this Topic, or that this is just a simple Topic to address. Whatever the case, look for reasons why and see how you can replicate your strengths to other Topics.

  • If a Topic is generally low, think about adding the Topic as a section in your Help Center. You can convert Conversations related to that Topic to be completely self-service in the future.

Good to know

  • This report can also be generated via API. See our Developer Docs for more details.

  • CSV download of this report is limited to 100k rows.

  • Listed below are related reports we recommend you use alongside this report:

    • Active Conversation Handle Time by Channel

    • Active Conversation Handle Time by Agent

    • Active Conversation Handle Time

    • Active Conversation Handle Time by Agent by Channel

    • Topics