Let’s be honest, the pressure on support teams is never-ending. You’re constantly asked to do more with less, bump up efficiency, and keep customers happy, all while agent burnout is a very real problem. It can feel like you have to choose between getting things done and keeping your team sane.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. We’ve put together a list of modern, realistic strategies that help you improve agent productivity by supporting your team, not overloading them. These tips are all about using smart tech and better processes so your agents can finally work smarter, not harder.
What is agent productivity?
For a long time, agent productivity was all about the numbers, like calls per hour or Average Handle Time (AHT). This old-school way of thinking misses the bigger picture. Pushing agents to just go faster doesn’t mean they’re doing a better job, and it’s a quick path to burnout.
Today, productivity is more about balancing efficiency (how fast you work) with effectiveness (the quality of that work). It’s about answering questions quickly and getting it right the first time. Real productivity shows up in metrics like a higher First Contact Resolution (FCR) rate and better Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores. When you nail this, everybody wins: customers are happier, agents feel more accomplished, and the business benefits from lower costs and more loyal customers.
How we picked these strategies to improve agent productivity
We didn’t just pull these ideas out of thin air. Each strategy on this list was chosen because it meets a few important standards, ensuring they actually work without adding more stress to your team’s plate.
We focused on tips that make a real, measurable difference in metrics that matter, like FCR and CSAT. Everything here is designed to reduce agent stress and cut down on tedious manual work. We also looked for scalable ideas that can grow with your team, not just temporary patches, and prioritized things you can adopt without having to tear down your entire system.
A quick comparison of strategies to improve agent productivity in 2025
Before we get into the details, here’s a quick look at the strategies we’ll cover. This table gives you a high-level overview to help you decide where to start.
| Strategy | Primary Goal | Implementation Effort | Key Tool Required | Impact on Agent Well-being |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Unified AI Platform | Automate routine work | Low | AI Automation Platform | High (Reduces repetitive tasks) |
| 2. Focus on FCR | Improve resolution quality | Medium | Analytics & Training | High (Increases satisfaction) |
| 3. Data-Driven Coaching | Targeted skill improvement | Medium | QA & Analytics Software | Medium (Builds confidence) |
| 4. Intelligent Knowledge Base | Reduce search time | Medium | Unified Knowledge Platform | High (Reduces frustration) |
| 5. Automated Triage | Route tickets efficiently | Low | AI Workflow Tool | High (Ensures fair workload) |
| 6. AI Copilot for Agents | Speed up responses | Low | Agent-Assist AI | High (Provides real-time help) |
| 7. Self-Service Options | Deflect simple tickets | Medium | AI Chatbot / Help Center | High (Frees up time for complex issues) |
| 8. Workflow Optimization | Remove process friction | High | Process Mapping & Analytics | Medium (Makes work smoother) |
| 9. Prioritize Well-being | Reduce burnout & churn | High | HR Policies & Tools | High (Improves morale) |
| 10. Balanced Goal Setting | Align team with goals | Medium | Performance Dashboards | Medium (Provides clarity) |
10 powerful ways to improve agent productivity
These strategies are meant to work together, creating a system that supports productivity for the long haul. You don’t have to do them all at once, but each one is a solid step toward a more efficient and happier team.
1. Bring in a unified AI automation platform
The problem: Agents are drowning in repetitive tasks, constantly flipping between apps, and digging for information. This isn’t just slow; it’s a huge source of frustration that leads to burnout.
The solution: Add an AI layer that connects directly with the help desk, chat tools, and knowledge sources you already use. The goal is to find a tool that improves your current workflow, not one that makes you start over from scratch.
How to do it with eesel AI: This is exactly what a platform like eesel AI is for. It’s designed so you can get it up and running yourself in minutes, without ever needing to talk to a salesperson.
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One-click integration: It connects instantly to tools like Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Intercom without any complicated setup.
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Unify knowledge: eesel AI automatically learns from your past tickets, help centers, Google Docs, and Confluence pages. It picks up your brand voice and common solutions right away.
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Test it risk-free: You can use its simulation mode to test the AI on thousands of your past tickets. This shows you exactly how it will perform and gives you a solid forecast on resolution rates before you turn it on for a single customer. It’s a completely safe way to see what’s possible.
2. Shift focus from AHT to FCR
The problem: When you only reward speed, agents are pushed to give quick, half-baked answers. This just creates more work with follow-up tickets, escalations, and unhappy customers.
The solution: Make First Contact Resolution (FCR) the priority. Give your agents the time they need to fully understand and solve a customer’s problem on the first try. It might sound a bit backward, but one slightly longer interaction that actually solves the problem is way more productive than three short, unhelpful ones.
How to do it: Make FCR a key performance indicator (KPI) for your team. Use post-interaction surveys to ask a simple question: "Did we solve your issue today?" Then, celebrate and learn from the agents who consistently get high FCR rates.
3. Provide ongoing, data-backed coaching
The problem: Annual reviews and listening to a few random calls give agents too little feedback, too late. By the time you notice a small issue, it’s already a habit. Agents need specific, timely advice to get better.
The solution: Use your own data to find specific coaching opportunities for each agent based on how they’re actually doing.
How to do it: Instead of just sampling 1-2% of conversations, use a tool that can analyze all of them. A platform with clear reporting, like eesel AI, can automatically flag knowledge gaps, spot recurring customer problems, and show you where agents might be struggling. This lets managers give focused, helpful coaching that’s based on facts, not guesswork.
4. Build a smart, unified knowledge base
The problem: Your company’s knowledge is probably scattered everywhere, the official help center, internal Google Docs, Confluence spaces, and who knows how many random spreadsheets. Agents waste valuable time hunting for answers while the customer is waiting.
The solution: Bring all your knowledge together so it can be found instantly from one spot.
How to do it: Use a tool that connects all your knowledge sources without forcing you into a massive migration project. With eesel AI, you can instantly plug in your Confluence, Google Docs, Notion, and even past tickets. This creates one single brain that both your support AI and your human agents can pull from.
5. Automate ticket triage and routing
The problem: Manually assigning, tagging, and prioritizing every single ticket is a huge time-sink. It’s boring for agents and slows down response times.
The solution: Use AI to automatically read incoming tickets for intent, sentiment, and urgency, and then send them to the right person or department.
How to do it: Set up automated workflows based on keywords, customer history, or other rules. The eesel AI Triage product is made for this. It handles all the ticket organization, keeping your queues clean and moving so agents can focus on actually solving problems.
6. Give agents an AI copilot
The problem: Even your best agents can’t memorize every single policy, product detail, and troubleshooting step. And they spend way too much time typing out the same answers to common questions.
The solution: Give your agents an AI assistant that drafts replies for them, right inside their help desk.
How to do it: Bring in an agent-assist tool that learns from your team’s best responses. The eesel AI Copilot drafts replies in your brand’s voice, pulling information from past tickets and macros to help agents respond faster and with more consistency.
7. Develop better self-service options
The problem: A big chunk of your tickets likely comes from simple, repetitive questions that customers could easily answer on their own if they had a good way to do it.
The solution: Deflect these common questions with self-service tools that give people instant answers.
How to do it: Put an AI Chatbot on your website or in your app. When it’s trained on the same unified knowledge base your agents use, it can give accurate answers 24/7. This frees up your agents to focus their brainpower on the complex conversations where a human touch is really needed.
8. Streamline workflows and fix bottlenecks
The problem: Your support processes probably have some hidden snags. Things like complicated approval steps, clunky software, or siloed information create friction and waste your agents’ time every day.
The solution: Take a hard look at your support processes from start to finish to find and fix these roadblocks.
How to do it: Map out the journey of your most common ticket types. And definitely talk to your agents, they know better than anyone where things get stuck. Use your analytics to see where tickets stall or get handed off the most. Fixing even one small process gap can make a huge difference in your team’s day-to-day work.
9. Prioritize agent well-being
The problem: Burnout is the ultimate productivity killer. A team that’s stressed out, disengaged, and feels unsupported will never perform at its best, no matter how fancy your tools are.
The solution: Be intentional about creating a supportive culture that values work-life balance and mental health.
How to do it: This one is more about policy and culture than tech. Make sure workloads are fair. Encourage people to take real breaks away from their screens. Offer flexible work options if you can. Most importantly, create an environment where agents feel comfortable speaking up and know they’ll be heard.
10. Set clear, balanced performance goals
The problem: If agents don’t know what success looks like, it’s hard for them to hit the mark. Vague or conflicting goals just lead to confusion and shaky performance.
The solution: Create a balanced set of goals that reflects both the quality and the efficiency of your team’s work.
How to do it: Work with your agents to set clear, achievable goals for the team and for them as individuals. Track metrics like FCR and CSAT with the same seriousness as you track response times. Use real-time dashboards to keep everyone on the same page and focused on what matters.
How to choose the right strategies for your team
Trying to do all ten of these things at once is a surefire way to get overwhelmed. The trick is to start small and focus on your biggest headaches first.
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Step 1: Figure out where you’re at. Look at your help desk data, but more importantly, talk to your agents. What’s causing the most friction? Is it repetitive questions? Long search times? Inconsistent answers?
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Step 2: Start with low-effort, high-impact fixes. For many teams, bringing in an AI copilot or automating ticket triage can deliver the quickest and most obvious wins.
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Step 3: Test the waters. Roll out any new strategy to a small group first. Or even better, use a tool with a built-in simulation mode, like eesel AI, to test the potential impact and build a case for it before launching to your whole team.
How eesel AI can help you improve agent productivity from day one
The common thread here is using AI and automation to help your agents, not replace them. That’s exactly what eesel AI is built to do.
It’s a self-serve platform with one-click integrations, which means you can get it running in minutes and see its value almost right away. You decide what the AI automates, so you can start small and expand as you get more comfortable. Plus, it connects to all your scattered knowledge sources to create a single source of truth for your AI, your chatbot, and your agents.
Your next step to improve agent productivity
At the end of the day, the best way to improve agent productivity is by empowering them, not pressuring them. By giving your team the right tools, processes, and support, you create a positive loop of efficiency, quality, and job satisfaction that helps everyone.
Ready to see how AI can transform your team’s productivity without all the usual hassle? Start your free eesel AI trial or book a demo and you can set up your first AI agent in just a few minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Start with tools that integrate directly into your current help desk and have a low implementation effort. An AI copilot, for example, works inside an agent’s existing workflow to reduce manual work from day one, without requiring them to learn a complex new system.
For the fastest impact, focus on automating repetitive tasks like tagging and routing tickets. Implementing an AI triage tool can immediately free up a significant amount of agent time, allowing them to focus on more complex customer issues that require a human touch.
Focusing on FCR improves long-term productivity by reducing follow-up tickets and customer frustration. A single, well-handled interaction is more efficient than multiple short, unresolved ones, which leads to higher CSAT scores and lower operational costs over time.
Not at all. The modern approach is to use AI as a partner that empowers agents, not replaces them. Tools like AI copilots and automated triage handle the repetitive tasks, freeing up your human agents to apply their critical thinking and empathy to more complex problems.
You can measure the return by tracking key metrics before and after implementation. Look for improvements in First Contact Resolution (FCR), a reduction in escalations, faster response times, and higher Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores, all of which contribute to lower costs.
