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Inbox performance report

Effective inbox management is crucial to maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction and ensuring quick responses to queries. The metrics provided in the inbox performance report shed light on key aspects of the team's workflow, from first response times to conversation reassignment and the use of labels.



To view the report for a specific period of time, there is a filter at the top that applies to all metrics on the dashboard. This filter allows you to select predefined periods and a custom date range.



If the overall value differs from the values shown by team, check the period, filters and metric type. Also check conversations without a team using the No team filter option. Conversations without a team may explain part of a difference, but they should not be assumed to be its only possible cause. Average times and percentages cannot be reconciled by simply adding the values for each team.




The report contains the following metrics:
  • Avg. time to first assignment: Time elapsed from the first customer message in a conversation until it is assigned to an agent (before the first agent response).
  • Inbox time to first reply

    This metric starts with the contact's first message and ends with the first agent reply in a conversation started by the contact. Bot replies do not count as that agent reply. This is different from the time an agent takes to reply after assignment.

    Reopenings and subsequent exchanges must not be treated as a new first reply for this metric. When interpreting the results, check the period, filters and number of cases included.

  • Avg. time to first close: The time elapsed between the start of a conversation and when it is closed for the first time.
  • Avg. time from assignment to first reply: The time from when the conversation is assigned to an agent until the first message is sent by the agent.
  • Avg. time from assignment to first close: The time from when the conversation is assigned to an agent until it is closed for the first time.
  • Closed conversations: Number of unique conversations closed. If a conversation has been closed more than once, it shall only be counted as one.
  • Conversations replied to: Number of conversations that have been answered by an agent. If the conversation is created and then the agent replies, it will be counted as a replied conversation.
  • Reassigned conversations: Number of conversations reassigned after the first reply from a colleague.
  • Notes sent: Number of private notes that were sent in all conversations.
  • Labeled conversations: Number of unique conversations labeled during the selected time period. If a conversation has been labeled more than once it will count as one conversation.
  • Labels applied in conversations: Total number of labels applied in conversations during the selected time period.
  • Conversations by label: The graph shows all labels that have been used in conversations during the selected time period.



Measure agent effectiveness 

A high time to first assignment is a reason to review routing rules, agent availability and the context of the conversations. The metric alone does not prove that the assignment method is ineffective.




The time to first response measures the time from the start of the conversation until an agent sends a message. This metric excludes chat auto-replies.

Speed of first response is a key point in alleviating customer frustrations. To achieve this you must have the right number of agents in your team and an efficient allocation method.



If the time to first assignment is low, but the time to first response is high, this could suggest that conversations are being assigned to agents who are too busy to respond immediately - the workload is high.



Measure speed of conversation resolution

Time to first close measures the elapsed interval from conversation creation to its first closure that qualifies for this metric. It is not a timer of the agent's active work: the interval may include customer waiting time, transfers and other pauses.

A lower value therefore does not, by itself, prove greater efficiency or that the issue has been resolved. Interpret the time alongside the conversation context and customer satisfaction.






Analyse conversation assignment

A reassigned conversation is a conversation that has been assigned to one agent and after the first response is assigned to a different agent.

The aim of the workflow is to ensure that conversations have as few assignments as possible, i.e. that they are closed by the first agent assigned. In this way, conversation resolution times are shorter.

If the metric of reassigned conversations is high, it may mean that the assignment method (of the selected period) is not correct, as the conversations are not assigned to the right agent.



Interpret reassignments in the context of your workflow. Some transfers are expected, such as transferring a sales conversation to another team to complete a sale. A higher or lower number of transfers is not automatically better or worse. Review whether the transfer was appropriate and how the conversation progressed.




Analyse use of labels in conversations

Conversations can have one, several or no labels assigned to them. This functionality can be used for different purposes, such as sorting conversations by topic.

The labeled conversations metric shows the total value of conversations that have been labeled. If more than one label is added to a conversation, it is counted only once.

The conversations by label graph represents the distribution of labels used in the selected time period. Each label is represented in a bar with the assigned colour and at the bottom the name appears in the legend. Next to the graph is the total value of labels applied in conversations, which would be the equivalent of adding up all the bars.





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