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Time-on-task: Detailed technical guide

Dig into the nitty-gritty of how time-on-task scores are calculated.

Updated over 2 weeks ago

This is the technical guide for the logic behind our time-on-task scores.

What we track

  • We use the metadata attached to contacts in your integrated systems to identify which contacts agents worked on and at what time.

  • We use the email addresses to match the agents in your integrated systems to their Dialpad WFM profile.

  • The system creates a timestamp every time a 'comment' is made on a contact or the 'status' (open, closed or on-hold) of a contact changes. This includes the email address of the agents who did that action.

How we work out how much time agents spend

  • To work out how much time a agent spent on a contact, the system uses the ACT (average conversation time) for the queue linked to the activity that was scheduled at that time.

  • The type of action logged determines how this AHT is used. In these examples we'll assume AHT is 300s for simplicity:

    • Comments: We count backwards from the timestamp using AHT as we assume the agent was writing before sending the comment. (e.g. comment made at 9:05. 9:05 minus 300s AHT = 9:00. We assume the agent worked for 5 mins)

    • Open: We count forwards from the timestamp using AHT as we assume the agent will read or work the contact from that time. (e.g. contact opened at 10:00. 10:00 plus 300s AHT = 10:05. We assume the agent worked for 5 mins)

    • Closed: We count backwards from the timestamp using AHT as we assume the agent was working the contact before closing it. (e.g. ticket closed at 12:00. 12:00 minus 300s AHT = 11:55. We assume the agent worked for 5 mins)

    • On hold: We count backwards from the timestamp using AHT as we assume the agent was working the contact before putting it on-hold. (e.g. contact put on-hold at 13:30. 13:30 minus 300s AHT = 13:25. We assume the agent worked for 5 mins)

  • Agents get a 120s (2min) grace period after closing a contact. This time will always be counted on-task. This is to reflect the natural time lost when closing a contact and opening a new one to work.

  • AHT is stretched to 125% when an agent has opened or worked on the same contact in succession. We assume the agent worked on this contact for that duration so we do this to avoid awkward gaps.

  • The system uses 'friendly time' when an agent is changing scheduled activities. Friendly time is the time the activity was scheduled plus AHT. (e.g. Sam is switching from Phone to Email at 10:00. Sam does not work any contacts until 10:04. Friendly time has applied, adding AHT of 300s to 10:00, giving a grace period of 5mins to prevent his score from dropping while he switches to the new activity

How we create working sessions

  • Working sessions aim to show periods of work on contact. They're made up of one or more events that happened on the same contact within a reasonable time of each other.

  • The reasonable time is defined by the 125% stretched AHT. If events overlap then they're grouped into a contact session.

  • If the first event in a session is an open, then this timestamp will be used as the assumed start time of the session.

  • If the last event in a session is closed, then this timestamp will be used as the assumed end time of the session.

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