The answer rate
The answer rate is the ratio of calls answered to calls received over a period, expressed as a percentage. Example calculation: 170 calls answered out of 200 received gives an answer rate of 85%.
Always specify what you count as “answered”. A call taken by voicemail is not an answered call in terms of service delivered; a call taken by a colleague after forwarding is. Choose a definition, write it down and stick to it, otherwise month-on-month comparisons mean nothing.
Waiting time and lost calls
Waiting time measures the delay between the call arriving and it being taken up by a person or service able to answer. Track it as an average, but also at the high end, because a decent average can hide a few very long waits.
Lost calls are those that were never taken up: rings with no answer, hang-ups while waiting, out-of-hours calls with no solution. Separate them, because each category calls for a different response. Finally, add the callback rate: the share of lost calls that were returned, and how quickly.
Building the tracking table
The data comes from the call log: your phone system’s history, the export from your operator’s customer account or, for a mobile, the device’s call list. It gives the date, time, calling number and outcome (answered, unanswered, voicemail) of each call.
A weekly export into a spreadsheet is enough to start with: calls received, answered, lost, waiting time, callbacks. Break it down by day of the week and by time slot.
Reading the indicators
An answer rate that looks fine on average can hide a collapse between noon and 2 pm or on Monday mornings; it’s the view by day and by time slot that shows whether the problem is widespread or concentrated in a few slots.
Also compare the number of lost calls with the number of distinct numbers involved: one customer who calls back three times is not three customers. The causes of these lost calls and ways to reduce them (organising who answers, forwarding, callbacks, voice agent) are covered in the guide “Missed business calls: why they happen and how to reduce them”.
Setting realistic targets
There’s no benchmark answer rate or waiting time that applies to every trade. The best yardstick is your own history: measure for several weeks, identify the weakest slots, and set an improvement target for those first.
Then follow the trend rather than the figure for a single week, which varies with the season, sales campaigns or staff absences.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate the answer rate?
Divide the number of calls answered by the number of calls received over the same period, then multiply by 100. For example, 170 calls answered out of 200 received gives 85%. Keep the same definition of “answered” from one period to the next.
Do calls taken by voicemail count as answered?
To measure the service delivered, it’s better to count them separately: the caller didn’t get an answer, only the chance to leave a message. Track them as a separate category of calls not handled live.
How should you count calls taken by an AI voice agent?
As with voicemail, choose a rule and stick to it: the clearest approach is to track these calls as a separate category, alongside calls answered by the team and lost calls. With an agent such as Alyas, which says it is an AI and that the call is recorded, answers from your information, captures contact details and can transfer to your number, every call produces a transcript and a summary, so you can check what was actually handled. 10-day free trial.