How to Calculate Average Call Per Hour Per Agent & Per the Whole Center

In a call centre environment driven by metrics, understanding how to calculate average calls per hour is essential for tracking performance and resource planning.

Whether you’re assessing individual agent productivity or overall contact volume across the centre, this metric helps you make informed decisions and optimize staffing levels.

So when Scott asked our Community of industry professionals for information on this, we wanted to share their advice with you:

Needing a good formula for calculating average calls per hour per agent & average calls per hour for the whole centre

Calculating Average Call Per Hour Per Agent & Per the Whole Centre

Divide the Number of Calls By the Number of Hours

Generally to find the number of calls per hour per agent you would take the number of calls over a week and divide that by the number of hours actually worked.

You should be able to get these figures from your ACD reports.

The Calls Per Hour Formulas

Calls Per Hour Formula

To calculate the average number of calls handled per hour across your entire contact centre, first add up the total number of calls received or handled during the time period you’re measuring (e.g., a day, week, or month). Then, add up the total number of working hours during that same time period, and finally divide the total number of calls by the total number of hours.

The calls per hour formula is:

Calls Per Hour = Total Number of Calls ÷ Total Number of Hours

Calls Per Hour Per Agent Formula

To calculate the average number of calls handled per hour per agent, take the total number of calls that specific agent handled over the period you’re measuring. Then, determine the total number of hours that agent actually worked during that time, and finally divide the number of calls by the number of hours worked.

The calls per hour per agent formula is:

Calls Per Hour Per Agent = Total Number of Calls Handled by an Agent ÷ Total Number of Hours Worked by the Agent

Working Out Calls Per Hour Using Average Handling Time

It is possible to work out the potential number of calls per hour using average handling time:

Calls Per Hour = 60 ÷ Average Handling Time (Minutes)

So for example, if the average handling time is 5 minutes:

Calls Per Hour = 60 ÷ 5 =12 Calls Per Hour

Caution About Using AHT

A note of caution – this calculation does not include shrinkage, you also have to be careful that maximum occupancy does not exceed 85%.

For more on maximum occupancy watch the video below:

Contributed by: Jonty

This article was made possible due to the great community of experts we have at Call Centre Helper, to get involved just join our LinkedIn Community and and if you aren’t already make sure you are following us on LinkedIn to see our latest content.

If you are looking for more information on calculating contact centre metrics, read these articles next:

Author: Jonty Pearce
Reviewed by: Robyn Coppell

Published On: 12th Apr 2022 - Last modified: 9th May 2025
Read more about - Call Centre Questions, How to Calculate