What are the most important performance metrics for tech support?

All your questions are answered in this handy http://blog.kayako.com/customer-support-metrics/, but I'll also address them here.I think by industry term standards on "time-to-resolution" you're referring to average resolution time, and "average time spent with a customer" is a mix of average number of replies per case and average handling time (AHT).Here's definition below:http://blog.kayako.com/customer-support-metrics/#AResTWhat is average resolution time?This metric looks at how long it takes from a case being opened to being closed.Why should you measure average resolution time?Short average resolution time shows managers that their team is working fast and efficiently.http://blog.kayako.com/customer-support-metrics/#ANRPCWhat is average number of replies per case?This metric shows how many replies it takes for the customer to have their issue resolved.Why should you measure average number of replies per case?This metric, along with average resolution time, can show how effective your team is, and indicates how much effort your customers have to put in to get their issue resolved.A high average number indicates the queries are probably not going to the right person straight away, and indicates a high effort customer experience.Customers usually don’t want to waste time going back and forth – they expect the agent to solve their issue quickly.A high number of replies could also mean the agents aren’t properly digging, or are giving incorrect responses that means customers have to get in contact again.http://blog.kayako.com/customer-support-metrics/#AHTWhat is average handle time?This is the total average duration of a single interaction, including hold time, talk time and the follow-up or related admin tasks. Also relates to chats and tickets.Why should you measure average handle time?A long average handle time will show areas consistently causing problems and highlights which queries are costing your team the most time.It also helps forecast hiring needs – if you know your AHT and the number of tickets you receive, you can work out how many hours it will take to answer them.At http://www.kayako.com, we have put together a list of http://blog.kayako.com/customer-support-metrics/, so you can be sure that your support team is doing the best it can to help your customers.You can also download our http://learn.kayako.com/ultimate-guide-to-support-metrics-cheat-sheet with details of how to calculate each of these metrics.

Too many variables to give a single answer. The length of time the customer has to wait before the call is answered, length of time it takes to complete a call, the number of times the customer has to call about the same issue.  All of these can be considered important in the tech support business. However, the most important metric this quarter may not matter next quarter. You can find a lot these here http://www.customermanagementiq.com/glossary/

I don't personally believe in Metrics for grading performance. For a number of reasons, but mainly because they put a standardization on something that is absolutely NOT standard. Each support call is unique and should be treated as such, and therefore cannot be measured against another call. Sure some calls fall in the same category, yes. But the expectation that each call can be categorized and measured against another is false. There will be a time where some kind of exception to the rule or unusual circumstance will force you to deal with this call differently than another. Thus, your metrics will be grading something the Metrics were not designed to grade. I firmly believe that if you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your clients. It should also be said that a strict vetting process should be in place while hiring. Hiring based on the employee fitting into the workplace culture should be at the top of the list with qualifications and experience. When you have employees who want to work for you because they know you will take care of them, they will want to take care of you because you are their security. I don't want to screw up my job because I know how well they take care of me. Thus, I make sure I take care of my clients to the utmost level of excellence. Metrics, in my opinion, cannot motivate your employees like the method I described above. In fact, it takes focus from the client, to the metrics and your focus is now ensuring you don't get in trouble for not meeting metrics, fostering a sense of fear rather than comradery and pride. This is the major issue with metrics.