Top Zendesk KPIs for support teams

If you're using Zendesk, you've probably noticed it throws a ton of data at you. With so many metrics available, it’s easy to feel like you’re drowning in numbers. The goal isn't just to track everything you can, but to zero in on the numbers that actually help your team get better and, more importantly, make your customers happier.

This guide will break down the must-have Zendesk KPIs into three simple categories: how busy your team is, how good they are at fixing things, and how customers feel about it all. But we won't stop there. We'll dig into how you can go from just staring at these numbers to actually making them better. Because a dashboard full of red is less of a strategy and more of a headache.

What are the top Zendesk KPIs for support teams?

Alright, let's quickly get on the same page. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are just the specific numbers that show you how well your support team is doing its job. They’re more than just random data points; they tell you if you're hitting your goals.

For example, knowing your team solved 100 tickets today is a simple metric. It's a number. But a KPI, like your First Contact Resolution (FCR) rate, tells a story. It’s tied directly to bigger goals like making customers happy and not wasting everyone’s time. A high FCR tells you your team knows their stuff and your process works.

Most of this data lives inside Zendesk Explore, the built-in reporting tool. It’s pretty good for seeing what happened yesterday or last week. The real trick, though, isn't just looking at the report, it's knowing what to do next to make tomorrow's report look a whole lot better.

Measuring team efficiency and workload

This first batch of KPIs is all about a simple question: how much work does your team have, and can they handle it? These metrics help you see if your agents are getting buried in tickets, make smarter decisions about staffing, and just get a clear view of the daily grind. Every Zendesk admin has these on their radar.

Key efficiency metrics

• Ticket volume and backlog

  This is a straightforward look at how many new tickets are coming in compared to how many unsolved tickets are piling up. It’s the clearest sign of your team's workload. If that backlog number keeps creeping up day after day, it's a sure sign your team is swamped and you need to look at either your staffing or your workflow. You can easily see this on the Backlog tab of the prebuilt Zendesk Support dashboard.

• Average handle time (AHT)

  AHT is the average time an agent is actively working on a ticket. This includes talking, researching, and any wrap-up work they do before closing it. It’s helpful for planning, but watch out. If you push your team too hard to lower their AHT, you might end up with rushed, sloppy answers and annoyed customers. You can find this metric in Zendesk Explore and slice it by agent or ticket type.

How to improve team efficiency

Here’s the thing about those metrics: Zendesk is great at showing you the numbers, but it can’t fix what’s causing them. A high ticket volume isn't just a number; it's your agents answering the same simple questions over and over, which is a recipe for burnout. A high AHT often means your team is wasting time digging for answers in different documents, wikis, and old tickets.

This is where you need a better system, not just a better report. Instead of just watching ticket volume rise, you could use a tool like eesel AI to automatically answer all those repetitive questions before an agent ever sees them. Its AI Triage product can also sort, tag, and route new tickets automatically, saving a few minutes on every single request. Those minutes add up.

Eesel AI’s AI Triage automatically sorts, tags, and routes new tickets to streamline support workflows.

This isn't just about moving faster, it's about getting rid of the busywork. By connecting to knowledge sources outside of Zendesk, like your team’s Confluence pages or Google Docs, an AI copilot can find the right information in seconds. This lets agents solve problems with confidence, which brings down AHT without hurting the quality of your support.

Gauging speed and resolution quality

Once you know what your team's workload looks like, the next step is to measure how quickly and effectively they’re actually solving problems. These KPIs are a direct reflection of your internal processes, your training, and how easy it is for your agents to find the information they need.

Core quality metrics

• First response time (FRT)

  This is how long a customer waits between sending a ticket and getting the first reply from a real person. FRT is all about that first impression. A quick response shows customers you’re paying attention and that their problem matters. It builds trust right away, which is why most Zendesk SLAs are focused on hitting FRT goals.

• Full resolution time

  This one’s pretty simple: it’s the total time a ticket stays open, from creation to "solved." Think of it as the total amount of time your customer is dealing with a problem. A shorter resolution time means they get back to their day faster, which is what good support is all about.

• First contact resolution (FCR)

  FCR is the percentage of tickets that get solved in a single interaction. No back-and-forth emails, no follow-ups, just one and done. A high FCR is basically the holy grail of support. It means less work for the customer and less work for your team, showing that your agents are well-equipped and your systems are running smoothly.

How to boost resolution metrics

Hitting your Zendesk SLA for first response time is one thing, but getting a consistently high FCR is a whole other level. It means every agent needs to have the right answer ready to go, every time. The problem is, that information is almost never sitting neatly in your Zendesk knowledge base. It’s usually scattered across internal wikis, old Slack threads, and the brains of your most senior agents.

A modern AI tool gets right to the root of this problem. An AI agent can provide an instant, helpful reply any time of day, making your FRT nearly zero for a big chunk of your tickets. The AI Agent from eesel AI can even be set up to handle common requests on its own, like order status updates or password resets, closing out tickets without any human touch at all.

The eesel AI Agent provides instant, helpful replies to common customer inquiries, improving FRT.

To help with FCR, the AI Copilot from eesel AI can draft accurate, on-brand replies for your human agents by learning from all of your company's knowledge. It looks at thousands of your past Zendesk tickets, macros, and external docs to get the full picture. This brings all your scattered knowledge into one place and gives every agent the power to solve issues on the first try.

Eesel AI's AI Copilot drafts accurate, on-brand replies for human agents by learning from all company knowledge.

Understanding the customer experience

This last group of KPIs measures what really matters at the end of the day: how your customers feel about the support they got. These metrics are your direct line to customer feedback and are essential for keeping people happy and loyal.

Voice of the customer: Key metrics

• Customer satisfaction (CSAT)

  CSAT is a simple pulse check on how happy a customer was with a specific interaction. In Zendesk, it's usually that "Good, I'm satisfied" or "Bad, I'm unsatisfied" rating they can give after a ticket is solved. It’s the most direct feedback you’ll get on an agent’s performance and the quality of the fix.

• Customer effort score (CES)

  Instead of asking if they were happy, CES asks customers how easy it was to get their problem solved. It turns out that making things easy for customers is a better way to earn their loyalty than trying to "delight" them. When you make it painless for a customer to get help, they’ll remember that positive, smooth experience.

From reactive feedback to proactive improvements

The main issue with CSAT and CES is that they tell you what already happened. By the time you get that "Bad" rating, the damage is done. If you only rely on Zendesk's built-in surveys, you're always playing catch-up, trying to fix problems after they've already occurred.

The best way to get better customer scores is to get ahead of the problems. When your replies are fast (low FRT) and your answers are correct the first time (high FCR), good CSAT and CES scores tend to take care of themselves.

This is where you need to trust your tools. Many AI solutions are an all-or-nothing bet, but eesel AI does things differently. It lets you simulate its performance on thousands of your past tickets before you ever turn it on for live customers. You can see exactly how the AI would have replied, get a solid prediction of your automation rate, and find any gaps in your knowledge base, all without any risk. This allows you to roll out an AI that you already know will make the customer experience better from day one.

Beyond tracking: A modern strategy

Zendesk Explore is a fantastic tool for reporting on what’s already happened. It’s great at pointing out where the fires are, but it can’t put them out for you. A modern support strategy requires tools that don't just show you the numbers but actively help you improve them.

AI assistants are the missing piece. They work with your human agents to handle the repetitive stuff, give them instant access to all company knowledge, and make sure every customer gets a consistent, quality answer. This has a direct, positive effect on every single KPI we've talked about.

KPI	The Native Zendesk Approach	The Zendesk + eesel AI Approach
First Response Time	Track SLA breaches in Explore.	Instant, 24/7 responses from an AI Agent.
First Contact Resolution	Agents search the Zendesk KB.	AI Copilot drafts answers from all unified knowledge.
Ticket Volume	Hire more people or risk burnout.	AI Agent deflects and resolves up to 70% of tickets.
Implementation	Complicated trigger/automation setup.	A simple, self-serve setup in minutes.

Stop just tracking and start improving your Zendesk KPIs

The best support teams don't just stare at their top Zendesk KPIs for support teams; they build systems to make them better. By focusing on a balanced mix of metrics for efficiency, quality, and the customer experience, you get a full, actionable picture of how your team is really doing.

While Zendesk gives you the rearview mirror, real progress comes from using smart automation that cuts down on agent workload and delivers fast, correct answers. It's about shifting from a reactive support model to a proactive one.

Ready to see how AI can give your Zendesk KPIs a lift? eesel AI plugs right into your helpdesk to automate resolutions, help your agents, and make customers happier. You can be live in minutes, not months. Try eesel AI for free today.