One of the most impactful improvements you can make for your sales or support team is a fully integrated Computer Telephony Integration system, or CTI. CTI connects your phone system directly with Salesforce, allowing agents to manage calls, log activities, and update records seamlessly.

However, simply integrating a CTI system does not guarantee success. To ensure it drives real business results, you need to track the right metrics. Metrics help you understand agent efficiency, customer experience, and the overall effectiveness of your telephony system.

This article outlines the top 10 metrics to measure CTI performance in Salesforce. Each metric includes why it is important, how to track it in Salesforce, and tips for using the data to improve team performance.

1. Average Handle Time (AHT)

What it measures:
Average Handle Time measures the total time spent on a call, including talk time and after-call work.

Why it matters:
AHT reflects the efficiency of your agents. Shorter handle times can indicate productivity improvements, but extremely short calls may indicate that customers are not receiving adequate support. Tracking AHT helps you strike a balance between efficiency and quality.

How to track in Salesforce:
CTI systems automatically log call durations. By creating reports and dashboards in Salesforce, you can monitor average handle times by agent, team, or call type.

Tip:
Compare AHT across similar types of calls. For example, a technical support call may naturally take longer than a simple sales follow-up. Monitoring AHT trends over time will help identify training needs and process improvements.

2. First Call Resolution (FCR)

What it measures:
First Call Resolution measures the percentage of calls that are resolved on the first interaction without requiring a follow-up.

Why it matters:
High FCR is an indicator of effective communication and proper agent training. Low FCR suggests process inefficiencies or that agents do not have the tools or knowledge to resolve customer inquiries on the first call.

How to track in Salesforce:
Use call disposition codes or custom fields in Salesforce to mark whether a case was resolved during the first call. Reports can calculate the percentage of first call resolutions across agents, teams, or time periods.

Tip:
Cross-reference FCR with case closure data in Salesforce Service Cloud to identify potential process gaps or areas where agents need additional support.

3. Call Volume

What it measures:
Call volume tracks the total number of inbound and outbound calls over a specific period.

Why it matters:
Monitoring call volume helps you forecast staffing requirements and identify busy periods. Understanding call volume patterns ensures that your team is properly resourced to handle customer demand.

How to track in Salesforce:
Most CTI systems log every call as an activity. Salesforce reports and dashboards can track daily, weekly, and monthly call volumes, broken down by team, agent, or call type.

Tip:
Compare call volume with conversion rates or resolution success to understand whether increased activity is resulting in meaningful outcomes.

4. Average Speed of Answer (ASA)

What it measures:
Average Speed of Answer measures the time it takes for agents to pick up incoming calls.

Why it matters:
ASA is a key indicator of responsiveness. Long wait times can frustrate customers and lead to lost opportunities. Reducing ASA improves customer satisfaction and demonstrates that your team is responsive and attentive.

How to track in Salesforce:
Most CTI providers track this metric automatically. Integrate these metrics with Salesforce dashboards to monitor performance in real-time and over historical periods.

Tip:
Establish target thresholds for ASA and create alerts when calls exceed acceptable wait times. This ensures issues are addressed promptly.

5. Missed or Abandoned Calls

What it measures:
Missed or abandoned calls refer to inbound calls that were not answered or disconnected before an agent could respond.

Why it matters:
High rates of missed calls can indicate inadequate staffing, system issues, or inefficient call routing. Every missed call represents a lost opportunity or potential customer dissatisfaction.

How to track in Salesforce:
CTI systems log missed calls automatically. Linking these logs to Salesforce records ensures that no lead or customer inquiry is lost and allows for automated follow-up tasks.

Tip:
Set up automated reminders for missed calls to guarantee that each potential lead or support request receives attention. This creates accountability and improves customer experience.

6. Call-to-Conversion Rate

What it measures:
The call-to-conversion rate measures the percentage of calls that result in a desired outcome, such as a sale, appointment, or case resolution.

Why it matters:
This metric ties CTI performance directly to business outcomes. High call-to-conversion rates indicate that calls are productive and contributing to company goals.

How to track in Salesforce:
Link call activities to opportunity records or case outcomes in Salesforce. Reports can calculate conversion percentages for individual agents, teams, campaigns, or call types.

Tip:
Analyze which types of calls and campaigns generate the highest conversion rates. Use this insight to optimize call strategies and agent training.

7. Agent Utilization Rate

What it measures:
Agent utilization rate tracks the percentage of time an agent spends on active calls versus available or idle time.

Why it matters:
This metric ensures that agents are neither overworked nor underutilized. Balanced workloads improve agent productivity and reduce burnout.

How to track in Salesforce:
Combine CTI call logs with Salesforce user activity reports to monitor agent utilization. Dashboards can highlight agents who may need workload adjustments.

Tip:
Set target utilization rates that maintain agent effectiveness while preventing fatigue. Adjust staffing and call distribution based on these insights.

8. Call Disposition and Outcome Tracking

What it measures:
Call disposition refers to categorizing the outcome of each call, such as follow-up required, sale closed, or voicemail left.

Why it matters:
Tracking call dispositions helps identify trends, evaluate campaign effectiveness, and uncover areas for improvement. Standardized disposition tracking also ensures consistent reporting across the team.

How to track in Salesforce:
CTI systems allow you to configure call disposition fields. Sync these fields to Salesforce and build reports to segment calls by outcomes and agent performance.

Tip:
Review disposition data regularly to adjust training, scripts, and workflows for better results. Ensure all agents use the same disposition categories to maintain accurate reporting.

9. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Call Quality

What it measures:
CSAT measures customer satisfaction based on post-call surveys or feedback ratings. Call quality may also include adherence to scripts or agent performance evaluations.

Why it matters:
Customer satisfaction is the ultimate indicator of call effectiveness. High CSAT scores reflect positive experiences and improve retention. Low scores highlight areas where agents or processes need improvement.

How to track in Salesforce:
Integrate survey tools with Salesforce to capture CSAT responses directly on contact, lead, or case records. Combine this with call metrics to identify correlations between call quality and satisfaction.

Tip:
Use CSAT insights to identify coaching opportunities for agents and refine call scripts or workflows to improve customer experience.

10. System Uptime and Integration Health

What it measures:
This metric tracks the reliability and performance of your CTI integration with Salesforce.

Why it matters:
Even the most sophisticated metrics are meaningless if your CTI system is unreliable. Downtime or data sync failures can reduce productivity and harm customer experience.

How to track in Salesforce:
Monitor CTI provider analytics for uptime, API performance, and integration errors. Regularly check integration logs and respond quickly to reported issues.

Tip:
Set up internal dashboards to alert administrators to connectivity or logging issues. Preventive monitoring helps maintain system reliability and reduces agent frustration.

Turning Metrics into Actionable Insights

Tracking CTI metrics is only valuable if the data informs decisions. As a Salesforce Administrator, you are in a unique position to make these metrics actionable.

Here are three best practices:

1. Automate processes: Use Salesforce Flow or Process Builder to automate follow-ups, alerts, and escalations when metrics fall below target levels.
2. Build dashboards for different roles: Managers, executives, and agents need tailored dashboards to focus on relevant metrics.
3. Regularly review KPIs: Business goals and processes evolve. Review metrics quarterly to ensure they align with organizational objectives.
   
   

Conclusion

A well-integrated CTI system in Salesforce can transform productivity, efficiency, and customer experience. However, to maximize its impact, it is essential to track the right metrics.

By monitoring these 10 key CTI metrics, ranging from Average Handle Time to system uptime, you can ensure that your telephony system is optimized for performance and aligned with your business objectives.

At PhoneIQ, we understand how critical CTI metrics are for Salesforce administrators. A data-driven approach enables better reporting, improves agent efficiency, and delivers measurable business outcomes.

Explore how a modern CTI solution can elevate your Salesforce experience at PhoneIQ.co.

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