Qualities of a Good Call Center Agent

To be able to get a good call center job, prospective contact center agents need to have the right qualities. Here are tips on the qualities and skills agents should have:

Call centers remain central to the success of businesses because they are the nerve center of customer care, an essential requirement for maintaining existing customers while attracting new ones. A study by Ernan Roman Direct Marketing, a customer relations and marketing firm, on the impact of call center services on business fortunes indicated that damage to businesses resulting from poor contact center experiences among consumers can be devastating.

The study published in issue no.14 of the company’s marketing bulletin and carried on its website revealed that poor service from a company's customer service facility negatively affects customers' willingness to buy from the company, their perception about the company and the possibility of recommending the company to others.

As a result of the central role of call centers in the activities of businesses, employers always look for agents with the requisite skills and qualities capable of turning a center into a dynamic sales point, customer care center and a facility for business growth. The following are some of the unique but interrelated qualities of good agents that top companies look for.


Good Customer Care Skills

Call agents are supposed to be people who possess the requisite customer care skills necessary for meeting the objective of maximising sales and productivity through excellent customer relations. Having an outgoing and friendly personality is an asset in the field of customer relations contact centers. A good agent must have a people-oriented attitude that enables him or her to handle customers as though they are the most important people in their (the agents) lives.
Agents need to be always mindful of the fact that no matter how difficult existing customers may be, it is easier to maintain them than attracting new ones. Good agents are those who are able to use their unique customer relations qualities to turn every inbound or outbound call into an opportunity for having another customer. Adequate knowledge of phone etiquette is crucial for excellent customer care. A good agent therefore needs to be a master of phone manners.


Understanding Individual Differences of Customers

Different customers behave differently. Good agents are those capable of demonstrating their understanding of the diversity in customer behaviour. Operators have to appreciate the uniqueness of each customer. Some consumers can be difficult to handle, some could be furious over a previous transaction they are not satisfied with, while others could even be abusive while on the phone with an agent. But good call center operators are those who will always appreciate the fact that business success (and the survival of their job, for that matter) depends on consumer satisfaction and will thus do their best to satisfy the consumer.


Good Communication and Listening Skills

Contact center jobs mainly involve communicating with consumers. Effective communication skills is therefore an essential attribute that agents seeking to work with good call centers should possess. A good communicator is also a good listener. Professional agents are those who are good communicators and listeners. Findings of a study by US-based Beta Research Corporation and published on its website of March 14, 2007 underscored the need for effective communication skills on the part of consumer center operators.
The study, titled: “Customer Satisfaction as it Relates to Call Center experience,” revealed that most customers prefer to speak to live agents who communicate with them effectively rather than with an automated system. Effective communication skills is therefore required of every good customer relations person.


Language Abilities of Agents

Telephone communication between agents and customers involves the use of language. Contact center agents should therefore have good command over the particular language or languages used for transacting business in the geographical areas companies are located. Due to the globalisation of business transaction as well as the practice of call center outsourcing, multilingual agents are usually preferred.
As much as possible, agents should strive to learn a second or third major language to boost their chances of working with global or multinational customer care centers. English remains the dominant language for business transactions but being fluent in an additional major language such as French and/or Spanish becomes a great asset.


Computer Literacy

Computer literary is an important requirement for working with modern customer service facilities. Most centers now use web-based software like predictive dialers. Operators would have to be computer-savvy, particularly in Word processing, and use the internet to be able to work efficiently.
The qualities of a good agent therefore include: customer care skills, understanding customer differences, good communication skills, language proficiency and computer literacy.