7 Basic Skills That a Call Center Agent Should Have

Some may think that working in a call center or a customer service center is simple. Some people consider that to get a job as a call center agent, it is only necessary to pick up the phone and answer the calls of the users; but, in fact, specific skills are required in order to offer a quality service and an optimal customer experience.

According to Toky, being a good agent requires more than good communication skills, speaking several languages or adapting to a work routine. In fact, contact center agents accept the responsibility that during the time they are talking to a client, they represent their company and are the only ones responsible for giving that customer the attention they need, solving their doubts and problems and, beyond that, being able to make this telephone contact a satisfactory experience.

7 Basic Skills that a Customer Service Agent Should Have

1.- Learning skills: An agent must have more than the ability to learn to use your phone system, CRM, procedures or scripts, among others. It is also important that you learn the best way to answer customer questions. Knowing your product and service correctly can make a difference. Although it may have databases, documentation or even with the help of supervisors, customers feel better served when the same agent is able to solve all their queries, since they are convinced that they are talking to the right person.

2.- Patience and tolerance: Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why many people renounce to a position as agent in a call center, since not all are qualified to attend calmly to a client who is not satisfied and who Sometimes it can be rude. Therefore, it is important that agents learn to stay calm and have the skills and resources necessary to serve difficult customers. It is also in this type of situations in which the agents stand out, since they themselves are capable of solving the problem and offering the best solution to the client.

3.- Organization and responsibility: It is very important that the agents are very organized, take notes when necessary, record the information of each contact with their clients and, in general, create an adequate work routine and adapted to the needs of the company. In this way, the agents will optimally perform their work and improve their relationship with the rest of the call center team, as they will avoid uncomfortable situations for their colleagues such as finding incorrect information in the CRM or in the call center or data center software outdated. In addition, the organization will also help those agents who, for different reasons, should telecommute.

4.- Creativity: Not all the situations that an agent can face will respond to the same procedure or protocol already established in the call center. This is where the agents have to take advantage of the acquired knowledge, the good relations with the team and the emotional intelligence to find the best solution for the client. It is important that users feel safe when they believe they have found the right person, someone who understands their situation, listens to them and who dedicates their effort to assist them properly.

5.- Kindness: Agents should say more than a “Good morning” and understand that on the other side of the line there is a person who wants to talk to a human being and not someone with a script already learned. In this sense, kindness is transmitted through the so-called “telephone smile” which, in addition, allows the agent to maintain a better attitude throughout the telephone call and offer a quality service. On the other hand, this kindness can also be a valuable resource to improve the conditions of customers who have a problem with your product or service.

6.- Empathy: Sometimes, customers call an angry call center because they have a problem that needs an adequate solution. It is important that the agents put themselves in the place of the clients to identify their real needs and thus establish an adequate communication. The agents must remember that they are in their work place to offer a service to the client and, therefore, they have to help find a solution to the problems or queries of the users.

7.- Communication skills: Proper pronunciation and grammar are important, but so is an adequate use of vocabulary according to the type of client that calls the contact center. Learning how to communicate with clients correctly and talking about a specific product or service in a completely understandable way for users is part of the learning process as an agent of a call center.

In conclusion, there are many skills that agents will acquire with experience, but these seven basic skills are a good start for those who want to be good representatives of your brand and / or your company. Being a good agent in a contact center is more than having excellent communication skills and learning how call center software works. It is also about offering highly satisfactory customer experiences.