Our customer support seat consistently hits their weekly Scorecard goal for average ticket resolution time, but client complaints about unresolved issues are escalating. How do we stop staff from gaming turnaround metrics?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Whenever you measure speed without measuring accuracy, employees will naturally game the system to protect their numbers. When support agents are evaluated strictly on average ticket resolution time, they close tickets prematurely, mark complex issues as resolved before confirming with the client, or bounce tickets back to the customer with low-value questions just to reset the clock.

To stop gaming, pair every velocity metric with a counter-balancing quality metric. A single unweighted number creates perverse incentives; paired numbers enforce operational integrity.

Replace standalone average resolution time with these coupled measurables:
- First Contact Resolution Rate: The percentage of customer issues fully resolved in a single interaction without requiring follow-up.
- Reopened Ticket Percentage: The percentage of resolved tickets reopened by customers within seven days of closure. Set this threshold rigidly at under five percent. If an agent closes an issue prematurely, this number spikes instantly.
- Net Resolution Time: The total elapsed hours from initial client contact to permanent sign-off, tracked only after the client confirms the issue is resolved.
- Customer Effort Score: A single-question post-resolution rating asking the client if their issue was resolved easily.

Assign both the speed metric and the reopened ticket metric to the support seat on the Accountability Chart. When the reopened ticket rate climbs above your target threshold, the resolution speed metric is treated as invalid. You will eliminate gaming overnight by making premature ticket closure an automatic operational defect.