Customer Effort Score (CES) is a customer-reported metric that captures how much effort it took to resolve a need, usually collected immediately after an interaction with a question like “How easy was it to get your issue resolved?” Responses are scored on a numeric scale and tracked over time by queue, issue type, channel, or team.
Operationally, CES helps identify friction in the service journey that drives repeat contacts, transfers, long handle times, and escalations. When CES worsens, it often points to process gaps (unclear policies, too many steps), knowledge issues (agents can’t find answers quickly), or system constraints (authentication, tool latency) that make customers work harder than necessary.
CES is most useful when paired with interaction data to pinpoint what created effort and to verify whether changes reduce it. Teams commonly use it to prioritize fixes that simplify resolution, improve first-contact resolution, and reduce avoidable demand.
