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contact center agent (call center agent)

By Michaela Goss

What is a contact center agent (call center agent)?

A contact center agent is a person who handles incoming or outgoing customer communications for an organization. A contact center agent might handle account inquiries, customer complaints or support issues.

An agent who manages both incoming and outgoing customer calls is also referred to as a blended agent. Other names for a contact center agent include call center agent or representative, customer service representative, telephone sales or service representative, attendant, associate, operator, account executive or team member.

What are the requirements and responsibilities of a contact center agent?

People who work in a contact center are still most commonly referred to as call center agents, although the terms are used interchangeably. An agent's job involves various responsibilities that ultimately lead to greater customer satisfaction.

Some agent duties include the following:

• Manage inbound and/or outbound calls and communications.
• Follow various communication scripts when speaking to a customer.
• Handle customer engagement.
• Identify customer needs, answer questions and solve problems.
• Upsell products and services when possible.
• Build sustainable customer relationships.
• Organize all conversation records.
• Build product knowledge.
• Improve performance and hit goals.

What are important skills for a contact center agent?

To provide the best customer experience (CX) at a call center or contact center, an agent needs specialized skills.

All agents should possess the following qualities:

• Knowledgeable. Agents need knowledge of the organization's inner workings and products it represents.
• Detail-oriented. Agents must listen carefully to customers and pick up on small details to provide accurate responses.
• Organized. Agents should take quick notes, access customer relationship management (CRM) systems and track recorded conversations while speaking to customers.
• Flexible. Agents must adapt to unique customer queries and situations.
• Friendly/empathetic. Customer service representatives should understand situations from a customer's perspective and have a positive attitude toward people, even when dealing with difficult problems.
• Calm under pressure. Agents may have to handle hundreds of customer interactions daily. They should be able to maintain composure in stressful situations.
• Effective communicator. Agents need great verbal and written communication skills to interact with customers effectively.
• Efficient. Agents should respond to customers promptly and proactively anticipate customer needs.

• Creative. Agents must apply professional yet sometimes unorthodox solutions to customer problems to quickly and effectively resolve issues and improve customer satisfaction.

What is the average salary of a contact center agent?

The average salary for contact center and call center agents in the U.S. is $39,912, according to June 2024 data from Glassdoor. However, like most jobs, agent salaries vary by location.

Examples of average agent salaries in different U.S. cities are the following:

• Austin, Texas: $38,093.
• New York: $45,336.
• Boston: $42,842.
• San Francisco: $46,696.

These amounts don't include additional income, such as bonuses or commissions, that employers may offer. These salaries may also differ depending on an agent's skill level or prior experience.

Contact center agent training and certifications

Contact center agent training can reduce turnover, increase profits and improve both customer and employee experiences. Agents typically receive training when they begin their jobs and professional development and refresher courses throughout their employment.

Whether remote or in-person, agent training typically involves dedicated time to learn the technology and specific business processes, followed by a period of monitoring where the manager evaluates the agent's performance on calls or other communications and offers advice to improve.

Agents may also find customer service certifications useful to help improve CX and hone or develop skills, although contact centers rarely require agents to have contact center-specific certifications.

Available contact center and customer service certifications include the following:

• Certified Customer Service Manager from the Customer Service Institute of America.
• Certified Customer Service Professional from the National Customer Service Association.
• Customer Service Management Certificate from the American Public Power Association.
• Call Center Associate Certified from the Management and Strategy Institute.