Throughput
Throughput is the volume of customers, transactions, or interactions your business processes in a defined time period. If your support team handles 100 calls per day, your throughput is 100 calls/day. Throughput measures operational capacity and efficiency.
What Is Throughput?
Throughput = (Number of Items Processed) / (Time Period). If 500 calls come in during a 5-day week, throughput is 100 calls/day. Throughput reveals how much volume your operations can handle. High throughput means efficient processes; low throughput signals bottlenecks.
Throughput vs. Quality (Trade-Off)
Organizations often face this tension:
- High Throughput, Low Quality: Process 100 calls/day but only resolve 40%
- Low Throughput, High Quality: Process 50 calls/day but resolve 95%
- Goal: High throughput + high quality (process 100 calls/day AND resolve 90%+)
- Lever: AI agents increase throughput without sacrificing quality
Why Throughput Matters for Scalability
Throughput limits growth. If your support team has a max throughput of 200 calls/day and you're getting 300, you're understaffed. Improving throughput enables growth without proportional headcount increases. Plura's omnichannel coordination increases throughput by consolidating calls, SMS, and chat into one queue.
How Plura Increases Throughput
Plura improves throughput through:
- AI Agents: Handle simple requests 24/7 without human intervention
- Unified Interface: Agents process calls, SMS, and chat from one inbox
- Template Responses: Pre-built responses to common questions reduce handling time
- Real-Time Routing: Smart routing matches customers to available agents immediately
Throughput Metrics by Function
Track these:
- Support: Calls/day, chats/day, average handle time
- Sales: Prospects qualified/day, demos conducted/week, proposals sent/week
- Operations: Orders processed/day, customers onboarded/week
FAQs related to
Throughput
How do I increase throughput?
Three levers: (1) Automate repetitive work, (2) Eliminate waste, (3) Hire strategically. Most impact comes from automation.
Does higher throughput mean lower quality?
Not necessarily. With the right tools and training, you can increase both throughput and quality simultaneously.
What's my team's maximum throughput?
Calculate based on capacity: If your team works 8 hours/day and average handle time is 10 minutes, max throughput is ~48 interactions/day/agent.
Can AI increase throughput without hiring?
Yes. AI agents handle simple requests without human involvement, effectively multiplying your team's throughput.
How do I measure throughput improvement?
Track before/after: interactions/agent/day before vs. after optimization. Monitor monthly to ensure gains stick.