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Zoho Desk

First Response Time (FRT)

First Response Time (FRT) in Zoho Desk measures how quickly an agent sends the first reply to a new ticket, as defined by the SLA policy.

First Response Time (FRT) in Zoho Desk is the maximum time allowed between a ticket being created and the first agent reply sent to the customer. It is a core component of SLA policy and a key metric for measuring support responsiveness.

How FRT Is Measured in Zoho Desk

The FRT timer starts when a ticket is created and stops when an agent sends the first public reply. If the timer expires before a reply is sent, the FRT SLA is breached and escalation rules can trigger to alert supervisors.

FRT and Business Hours

FRT calculations respect the business hours configured in the department. If a ticket arrives at 11 PM and the team works 9 AM to 6 PM, the FRT timer only counts time during business hours, preventing overnight breaches for non-24/7 teams.

Improving FRT with Automation

Assignment rules and round-robin distribution reduce FRT by ensuring tickets reach the right agent immediately. Canned responses and reply suggestions from Zia also help agents send faster, accurate first replies.

Example: A B2B software company commits to a 2-hour FRT for all Enterprise plan tickets. Zoho Desk’s SLA timer tracks this in real time. When a ticket approaches 1.5 hours without a reply, the system alerts the team lead, who reassigns the ticket to an available agent.
What is First Response Time (FRT) in Zoho Desk?

FRT is the time between ticket creation and the first agent reply. It is a key SLA metric. If FRT is breached, escalation rules alert supervisors so corrective action can be taken.

Does FRT count non-business hours in Zoho Desk?

No, by default FRT only counts time within configured business hours. A ticket arriving after hours won’t show an FRT breach overnight, as long as business hours are correctly set in the department.

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