The work and professional skills of contact center agents and managers greatly influence the attitude of customers toward the company, so it is extremely important to approach the selection of specialists for these positions responsibly.

If the agent must be polite, and competent in the goods or services offered by the company, as well as instill trust in the interlocutor, then the manager must be prepared for the fact that it will be necessary to manage all organizational processes of the project and be responsible for them.

Requirements and work standards for contact center agents

Before figuring out exactly what skills are needed for a specialist, you need to clearly understand what the agent has to do on the project. The functional duties of a contact center agent directly depend on the direction of the company’s activity.

Among the key tasks in the position, the following points can be distinguished:

  1. accept an incoming call/message from the client;
  2. help solve the client’s problem or, if necessary, redirect him to the appropriate department;
  3. if the department to which the request is forwarded does not have direct contact with clients, provide a written response on your own;
  4. monitor your workload and plan execution (process 8 contacts per hour).

The quality of the work of the contact center is determined by the following basic parameters: potential employees (agents) must know PC and be able to quickly make decisions in non-standard situations. In some cases, knowledge of foreign languages and fast typing may be additional requirements.

Requirements for a contact center agent:

  • A pleasant voice and good diction (pronunciation) — clients understand and respond when the specialist speaks to them clearly and clearly, and when there is no need to ask to repeat something or question what was said.
  • Literacy, knowledge of the language, and communication etiquette — the agent must formulate thoughts competently, and be attentive to the interlocutor.
  • Sociability — such an agent understands how to find an approach to each client.
  • The ability to control emotions, and stress resistance — the applicant must, under any difficult situation and conditions, not show negative emotions towards the client, but be interested in resolving possible conflicts.
  • Intelligence is the ability to quickly find a way out of unforeseen situations and offer several options for solving problems.

Importantly! Applicants who already have experience working in a contact center will be the most valuable for this position. They get involved in the process faster and solve non-standard situations more easily. When newcomers start working in a contact center, the following factors should be taken into account: a longer training process and possible staff turnover at the initial stage.

Certification of employees

For partners and their clients to be satisfied with the service of our services, we carefully monitor the quality of the agents’ work. Therefore, we regularly organize the certification of employees.

Certification is mandatory for all agents, which takes place in the presence of a team leader. Agents receive a notification by mail with information and links to the tests they must complete.

The periodicity of certification and its structure depends on the seniority and experience of employees:

Junior specialist — attestation is held once a month. The agent passes mandatory tests on knowledge of the assessment form, company standards, and product testing.

Specialist — attestation is carried out once every 2 months. The agent undergoes mandatory product testing, and knowledge of standards if necessary.

Senior specialist/mentor — certification is divided into 2 stages:

1 time in 2 months — mandatory tests on knowledge of the product and updates;

1 time in 2 months — attestation of holding meetings with your subordinate;

  • If necessary, knowledge testing of evaluation forms, company standards, and grammar testing is conducted.
  • If the agent does not agree with the assessment, he writes to his immediate supervisor, duplicating the letter to his mentor.
  • You cannot take two or more tests at the same time (you cannot start another without completing one test).
  • With a large number of product/information updates or frequent errors, agents may receive requests for additional testing.
  • Testing must be completed within the specified time frame. If the agent does not pass it, the test is not counted.
  • Testing will affect the bonus in case of system failure or unsatisfactory results.

After passing the test, the agent receives a message with the results by mail.

Requirements and work standards for the project manager of the contact center

A Project Manager (PM) is a specialist in project management, that is, a person who is endowed with strategic thinking can form goals, and is responsible for the execution time, budget, and scope of work. Sometimes a project manager has to make difficult decisions and communicate them to people, smooth out sharp corners, and resolve conflicting moments. Therefore, a PM is a leader who can lead subordinates using his authority, high professionalism, and positive emotions.

In addition to basic knowledge of contact center operations, the project manager must be well-versed in the Galician language (or any other), in particular for working with foreign clients.

The following soft skills are particularly important in this work: empathy, communication skills, self-organization skills, purposefulness, the ability to be resistant to conflicts and resolve them, as well as respect for people — primarily for the team.

And also — the desire to immerse oneself as much as possible in the environment of project management. RM should read a lot of specialized literature, take courses, attend conferences, and communicate with other people from this field. Management is a discipline in which there are no right answers because working with people is always unpredictable.

If you need to form a team and choose qualified agents or managers, or if you have questions or would like to receive advice, contact us. Our manager will reply to discuss the details and help you.