Call Center Agent — Job Description
Call center agents (also known as “contact center agents”) are frequently hired as hourly employees or contractors. A typical contact center agent works a shift of between four and eight hours (with breaks and lunch as appropriate) and during that time handles inbound or outbound sales or customer service calls, chats or other interactions. The agent generally works in a cubical or at home (if the position is a remote call center agent job).
How Many Call Center Agent Jobs are There?
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are about 350,000 customer service representative jobs in the United States. The estimated median annual salary is about $34,710. The Bureau estimates that there are more customer service representative jobs than child care or security guard jobs (and customer service representatives make more than those many other jobs that don’t require a college degree!). These estimates aren’t just focused on call center agent positions (they seem to include jobs for customer service agents that work in retail locations as well).
Further, these numbers don’t include any estimates of sales agents who work in contact centers. There are a large number of sales contact center agent jobs in the U.S. as well. Often, these sales agent jobs pay more than customer service agent jobs because sales call center agents often get paid a commission in addition to a base hourly wage.
You can read more about the Bureau’s research about these jobs here.
Types of Call Center Jobs
There are a number of types of call center jobs and a number of different types of employers that hire call center agents. Examples of different types of call center jobs include:
- Call center agents. Call center agents (otherwise referred to as contact center agents) are the people who interact with customers. These agents may talk to customers on the phone on inbound or outbound phone calls. Call center agents who work in more modern call centers (often referred to as omnichannel call centers) may also interact with customers over email, Webchat, SMS messaging, or other communication channels (such as Facebook Messenger, WeChat, etc.). Call center agents may work as a customer service agent (where the agent helps customers with questions, such as questions about unemployment insurance in an unemployment insurance call center, or questions about a product or service in a retail call center) or as a sales call center agent (where the agent tries to sell customers on a product or service). Some agents work at the contact center (usually in a cubical), while other agents are work from home agents or remote call center agents.
- Call center team leads. Often, groups of call center agents are broken into different “teams” and those teams may have a team lead that is responsible for monitoring, coaching and otherwise helping the contact center agents on the team. Team leads are generally paid slightly more than agents. Team leads generally still act as call center agents and continue to interact with customers while also handling the added responsibilities of managing the team.
- Call center supervisors. Some contact centers also have supervisors that manage larger groups of agents. A contact center supervisor generally spends most of his or her time managing and supervising the work of call center agents (and generally does not act as an agent except in escalated situations). A call center supervisor makes more than a call center agent and usually is required to have developed some managerial skills. Call center supervisors also frequently must prepare reports for call center management to show how their team is performing. Call center supervisors should be good at handling escalated situations and also be good at managing people.
- Call center managers. Frequently, contact centers have one or more managers. For example, a contact center that operates 24/7 may have a different manager for each shift of the day. The contact center manager typically has risen through the hierarchy and has experience as an agent, a team lead and a supervisor. Call center managers are good at managing people, handling escalated issues, and analyzing reports and performance statistics. Call center managers make significantly more than a call center agent or supervisor. Often, a college degree (or some specialized education) may be required for these positions.
- Call center quality assurance (QA). Many contact centers have a team of QA agents that review calls and customer interactions to make sure that other call center employees are doing a good job. For example, in a sales contact center, it may be important that each call center agent explain the terms and conditions of a sale to each customer. A QA agent may review calls to make sure that every agent reads or explains the terms properly. The QA agent may fill out a scorecard for each call to indicate how well (or how poorly) each agent performed. Many of these QA agent responsibilities are being taken over by modern call center technologies such as automated quality assurance tools.
- Call center information technology (IT). Most call centers have heavy information technology needs. Some call centers have hundreds or even thousands of call center agents, and it is a complex job to make sure that every agent has the right equipment. This can be complex when some agents are working in the call center while other agents are work from home agents or remote call center agents. Further, call center IT professionals are also needed to make sure that the call center software is configured properly.
What Experience do I Need to Get a Job as a Call Center Agent?
Many entry level contact center agent positions require no specific experience. Often, a high school diploma is required. Also, many call centers do not hire felons (or at least recent felony convictions), so make sure to ask early in the process if this applies to you. The most successful agents are people who like to interact with others. You don’t necessarily need to be an extrovert, but it is important that you are comfortable interacting with other people. Also, unless the contact center is a chat or omnichannel center and you won’t be taking phone calls, it is usually important that you speak clearly. Many contact centers provide agent scripting so it may also be important for you to be able to read well.
Finally, as more and more contact centers allow remote workers (or work from home agents), it may be important that you have a good home internet connection. Some work from home call centers will provide you with equipment, but most require you to have your own computer, headset, and keyboard. Again, check on these requirements early in your interviewing process.