Average Resolution Time (ART) is a customer support metric that measures how long it takes, on average, for a company to fully resolve a customer issue from the moment it is first reported. Unlike First Response Time, which measures the initial reply, ART focuses on the complete time to solve the problem.
A lower Average Resolution Time indicates efficient support operations and better customer experience, while a higher value may suggest bottlenecks, complex issues, or resource constraints.
The formula for Average Resolution Time is:
Average Resolution Time = Total Time to Resolve All Tickets / Number of Resolved Tickets
This metric helps businesses understand how efficiently their support team handles and closes customer issues over a given period.
For example, imagine a support team resolves 40 customer tickets in one week. The total combined time taken to resolve all those tickets is 1,200 hours. The calculation would be:
Average Resolution Time = 1200 / 40 = 30 hours
In this example, the Average Resolution Time is 30 hours, meaning it takes just over a day on average to fully resolve each customer issue.
Understanding ART is important because long resolution times can negatively impact customer satisfaction, increase churn risk, and reduce trust in the support process. Faster resolution often leads to higher retention and stronger brand loyalty.
Businesses can improve Average Resolution Time by optimizing ticket routing, improving internal knowledge bases, training support teams, using automation tools, and prioritizing high-impact issues.
When combined with metrics like First Response Time (FRT), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), and Customer Effort Score (CES), Average Resolution Time provides a complete view of support efficiency and customer experience quality.
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