Call center agent job description – Consider these 5 qualities when hiring

What do you pay attention to when hiring call center agent talent for customer service and sales? Read our tips on how to draft perfect job descriptions.

Agents are the backbone of every call center. Regardless of the level of organisation, processes and planning, it is ultimately the agents that make or break your operation. In this blog, we’ll discuss the qualities you should focus on when recruiting call center agents. You can use the material to support you in drafting job ads and evaluating candidates.

Recently the “Great Resignation” has sparked a global discussion about the role of work in people’s lives. Employees, call center agents included, are actively evaluating their prospects about pay, work-life balance and meaning. The environment has become challenging for recruiters.

Effectively communicating what your business can offer to potential agents can make a real difference in attracting the best candidates.

Why are call center agents equally crucial for customer service and sales?

Customer service

In customer service, your agents are essential in ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Customers usually contact customer service when they have a problem with your product or service. They can be frustrated and ready to switch their service provider depending on the outcome of the interaction. Agents can be the decisive factor between customers renewing or cancelling their subscriptions.

Customers who receive top customer service are also more likely to become brand evangelists. In many cases, customer service might be the only human interaction the customers have with a brand. Make it count.

Sales

Closing deals is the most important aspect of an outbound call center agent’s job. Agents both execute and provide feedback on the sales strategies that yield the best results.

Sales representatives are also often the first contact that a brand has with potential customers. Agents are thus vital in presenting the company and the product in a positive light.

Top 5 qualities for a call center agent in customer service and sales

Customer service

Customer service agents respond to messages and calls from customers in the channel of the customers’ choosing. The job includes troubleshooting and routing cases to other agents, handling orders and subscriptions, responding to complaints and updating customer information into a CRM.

To do well in a customer service agent’s job, the person should have:

• Communication skills: The ability to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing is a necessity.
• Patience, positivity and empathy: Customers often call when they are frustrated and want to be heard. Staying calm and de-escalating situations in a positive and empathetic manner should come naturally to an agent.
• Adaptability: Even though there are scripts to follow, customer service often requires thinking outside the box. When the opportunity arises, your agents should be able to upsell or offer the customers new services that might benefit them.
• Accountability: Metrics play a huge role in modern call centers. Your agents should be comfortable with monitoring and coaching.
• Understanding of products and services: Troubleshooting requires profound knowledge of the products and services the company offers. It’s frustrating for the customers to explain their problems to a call center representative who doesn’t really know the product they represent. It usually helps when an agent is interested in the field they do customer service in.

Sales

Sales call center agents contact existing or potential customers and sell products or services to them.

Using carefully crafted call scripts, the sales representatives should identify the needs of the potential customers and convince them of the benefits of a product or service.

To do well in a sales agent’s job, the person should have:

• Passion for exceeding goals: Sales agents should be passionate about closing deals and exceeding targets. Call centers often gamify their sales campaigns, which should motivate your agents.
• Verbal communication skills and empathy: Sales representatives usually call potential customers. They should be able to express themselves clearly verbally and also be empathetic to gain the trust of the potential customers.
• Precision and organisational skills: Sales scripts can be monotonous when you use them daily, but they’re used because they work. Following best practices, being punctual and filling in customer information diligently are key elements in successful sales campaigns and building a quality customer database.
• Resourcefulness: Telesales is a hard business. Even though scripts are the starting point, making a sale often requires creativity and innovative ways to fulfil customer needs.
• Understanding of products and services: A good sales agent knows what they’re selling. Even though there can be several active campaigns simultaneously, your agents should have the necessary focus on detail to answer the customers’ questions about the service or product.

Where should you post call center agent job ads?

To maximise the visibility of your call center agent job ad, consider both international and local job sites. You can find international candidates for remote call center jobs in global services, such as Indeed, Monster or Workable. You should also try to find local talent through regional channels that are popular in the area you are hiring for.

These days also social media is a huge channel for recruitment. LinkedIn and other job-related platforms are definitely worth including in your recruitment process. Post a job template in your official social media channels that your employees can share on their own accounts. For a more visual approach, you could try Instagram stories or TikTok to attract younger talent.

Every call center has its own demands and strengths

The qualities listed in this blog are good guidelines and approximations that support you in drafting effective call center agent job ads. You are, however, the expert of your own call center and know the special skills required in your business environment. You should always emphasise the qualities that work for you.

It’s also good to keep in mind that today’s recruitment is not all about your needs. To attract the best talent, you need to offer candidates something else besides a job. The work culture you create in your call center might be one of the most important factors that govern what kind of people want to work for you. If you get the balance between your demands and what you can offer right, you also start to attract the right kind of candidates.