Top 4 Qualities of a Great Call Center Agent

Call center agents have a lot of responsibilities in their hands. No matter what account they handle, they must strive to satisfy their customers while reaching quotas. Needless to say, this job isn’t something that everyone can do.

Recruiting the right call center agent is just as important as choosing the right call center company for your business outsourcing needs. You, the business owner, must be involved in choosing the right persons that will handle the calls for your business. There are thousands of candidates out there, but you need to consider their skills, personality, flexibility, and dedication.

Choosing the right call center agent may be difficult if you don’t know what to look for. Today, let’s take a look at the top 4 qualities of a great call center agent.

Quality #1: The ability to work under pressure

Over the years, the stress levels in a call center office have undergone a significant decline. However, a great call center agent must remain calm and graceful under pressure. Being discomposed can only exacerbate the situation.

When working as a call center agent, there is no way to avoid irate customers. These people may  yell, or even curse on the line, but the agent should know how to remain professional no matter how hot the situation gets.

Quality #2: They need to be versatile

Handling dozens of calls a day requires call center agents to communicate with people with different personalities. Interacting with such number of customers requires a high level of flexibility. When you hire a versatile call center agent, you’re giving your business a valuable asset because these agents can roll with the punches without taking them personally.

Moreover, some call centers require their agents to change shifts on a regular basis. When an agent is flexible, he or she will be able to work even on a challenging schedule.

Quality #3: A great communicator

Now, this one may seem obvious, but a great call center agent needs to have exceptional communication skills. Talking and interacting with your customers make up about 90% of their job. Because of this, you must hire agents with a solid grasp around the English language. Their mastery of the language should be top-notch.

However, talking isn’t the only skill that they must possess. Great call center agents need to be good at active listening. Understanding the needs of your customers is just as important as knowing what to say.

Quality #4: Exceptional efficiency

Great agents should know how to handle tasks quickly without the compromising the quality of their work. As much as possible, you should only hire agents with this characteristic. Why? When your team is made up of efficient workers, they can handle more calls in a shorter amount of time. This means that you will need to hire fewer workers, thus, reducing the amount of money you have to spend on labor costs.

The success of your outsourced call center campaign depends highly on the quality of call center agents that you hire. Partnering with the right company ensures that you only recruit the best persons for the job.