First Call Resolution

Definition

First Call Resolution (FCR) is the share of tickets resolved by the first technician who handles them, without escalation, reassignment, or a second contact from the client. The formula is tickets resolved at first touch divided by total tickets closed in the period. In practice, pull it from the ticketing system as tickets closed with one assignee and no escalation flag.

Why it matters to an MSP

FCR is a labor-cost and client-satisfaction number in one. Every ticket that bounces from tier 1 to tier 2 costs the first technician's time, and a more expensive technician's time – a reassigned ticket typically consumes two to three times the labor of one resolved at first touch. Typical MSP figures run 60–75% across all tickets, with mature desks above 75% and a well-defined tier-1 scope near 80%. Below 60% usually means tier 1 is under-trained or lacks documented runbooks, technicians lack permissions to fix common issues, or tickets are routed to whoever is free rather than a first-line group.

The trap is treating FCR as a number to maximize. A technician measured on FCR alone will hold a ticket they should have escalated, spending 90 minutes on a problem a senior would close in ten, and the client's outage runs longer. Escalation discipline – time-boxed rules such as "escalate after 30 minutes stuck" – deliberately pushes FCR down in exchange for faster resolution and correctly used senior time. Measure both: FCR shows whether tier 1 is equipped; time-to-resolve and escalation rate show whether people escalate when they should.

Report FCR in QBRs with that context: "75% fixed on first contact" is good news provided the other 25% moved fast. See ticket management process for the routing and escalation rules that make FCR meaningful.

Related terms: Escalation, Ticketing System, SLO