Abandoned calls are an important metric for any call centre, they are phone calls where the caller has hung up before being connected to a live agent. So let’s take a look at abandoned calls, how to measure them, and what you can do to keep them low.
We’ll cover:
- What Are Abandoned Calls in a Call Centre?
- How to Calculate Abandoned Call Percentage?
- Call Abandonment Rate Industry Standard
- Call Centre Abandonment Rate Causes
- Call Centre Abandonment Rate: How To Reduce Abandoned Calls
Quick Summary
- Call abandonment rate measures the percentage of callers who hang up before reaching a live agent.
- High abandonment indicates long wait times, poor IVR, understaffing, or frustrated callers.
- Calculate abandoned call percentage: (Abandoned Calls ÷ Total Incoming Calls) × 100.
- Industry standard: 2–5% ideal, up to 10% acceptable, above 10% signals issues.
- Strategies to reduce abandonment: optimize staffing, improve IVR, offer callbacks, enhance self-service.
- Monitoring abandonment rate improves customer experience, service quality, and overall call centre performance.
What Are Abandoned Calls?
An abandoned call is a call that is ended by the caller before it reaches a live agent. This can occur when the caller is waiting in a queue, navigating an IVR, or experiencing long hold times.
In other words:
“Abandoned calls are the ones in which the customer hangs up before getting the help they intended.”
Call centre operations need to understand abandoned calls because a high volume of them can indicate customer frustration, inefficiencies, or under-staffing.
How to Calculate Abandoned Call Percentage
How to calculate abandoned call percentage:
Abandoned Call Percentage (%) = (Number of Abandoned Calls ÷ Total Incoming Calls) × 100
Example:
- Total calls received: 1,200
- Abandoned calls: 60
Abandoned Call Percentage = (60 ÷ 1200) × 100 = 5%
Pro Tip: Exclude misdialed calls or calls abandoned in under 5 seconds to get a more accurate measure.
Abandoned Call Rate Industry Standard
The Abandoned call rate industry standard is a great metric to compare yourself to other businesses:
- Ideal: 2–5%
- Acceptable: 10% for complex operations
- High: 10+% indicates process or staffing problems
Monitoring abandoned call rates, helps to ensure your call centre hits SLAs and keeps customers happy.
Common Causes of Abandoned Calls
High abandonment rates are often caused by issues that are operational or experience related:
- Long Queue Time: Customers who have to wait in a queue for an extended period will likely hang up.
- Confusing IVR or Call Routing: Customers who have become confused or lost in the call routing process will likely abandon.
- No Agent Availability: If an agent is not available during high call volumes, this may lead to abandoned calls.
- No Option Left: Customers abandon if they are left with no options or alternative to proceed with their query.
- Technical Issues: Calls that get dropped, lose connection or the system glitches.
- Caller Frustration Due To Repetition: Repetitive IVR prompts or calls with no clear instructions/agents availability.
Understanding the ‘why’ behind abandoned calls helps in designing better processes to reduce them!
How to Reduce Abandoned Calls
Here are actionable strategies to lower abandoned call percentage:
- Optimize Staffing and Scheduling:
Ensure enough agents are available during peak hours. - Monitor & Reduce Wait Times:
Target answering calls within a reasonable time frame. - Improve IVR & Call Routing:
Simplify menus and route calls to the right agent quickly. - Offer Callbacks:
Allow callers to request callbacks instead of waiting in queue. - Enhance Self-Service Channels:
FAQs, chatbots, and apps reduce the load on live agents. - Analyze Patterns & Reports:
Identify peak abandonment times, queue types, and common issues. - Use Dashboards & Alerts:
Real-time monitoring reduces spikes in abandoned calls. - Automatic Call Distribution:
Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) helps by routing customers to the right agent faster & efficiently
Measuring Abandoned Calls Effectively
Use abandoned call rate with other KPIs to get a fuller picture of your performance:
- Service Level: The percentage of calls answered in a target time.
- Average Wait Time: The time that a caller spends in queue.
- First Call Resolution (FCR): The percentage of calls that are resolved on the first contact.
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): How your calls rate in terms of caller experience.
This holistic view helps optimize call centre efficiency and improve customer satisfaction.
Conclusion!
Abandoned calls are an important aspect of call centre operations that can provide valuable insights into the quality of service, staff productivity, and customer satisfaction.
You can enhance customer experience and performance in call centres by calculating abandoned call percentages and implementing solutions to reduce such calls through staffing optimization, IVR improvements, and providing callback options.
“Start monitoring your abandoned call rate today and turn missed calls into business opportunities.”
