What makes a successful contact center? The right management and the right tools are key ingredients—but it’s the agents whose performance is critical for delivering a great customer experience.
Managers need to know what to look for in a contact center agent, choosing people with the ability to handle difficult customers and resolve issues swiftly. And they also need to know how to get the best from those agents.
Let’s take a look at the skills and duties of a contact center agent, the challenges of the job, and some top ways to support them with good training and management.
What is a contact center agent?
A contact center agent is a professional who handles customer interactions on behalf of an organization. Working in a physical or virtual contact center, agents manage inquiries and complaints and provide support and information.
Contact center agents, also known as call center agents or customer service representatives, may handle incoming or outgoing communications. Some agents may manage both, in which case they are called blended agents.
Contact center agent responsibilities
So, what’s in the contact center agent job description? Let’s take a look at some of the main responsibilities—all of which contribute to the key aim of keeping customers satisfied.
Inbound contact center agent duties include:
- Providing information: One of the main roles is to provide answers to customer queries. For example, customers might get in touch to confirm their account balance, check store opening hours, or ask questions about the company’s products and warranties.
- Assisting customers: Agents are responsible for helping customers with simple tasks or problems. They can process orders and payments, resolve billing and payment issues, and manage cancellations, refunds, and returns.
- Handling complaints: Inbound agents listen carefully to customers’ grievances and work to find solutions before the situation gets any worse. They will sometimes escalate the issue to a senior colleague if the resolution is beyond their own skill set or authority.
- Troubleshooting: Support agents with technical skills can troubleshoot IT issues step-by-step or talk customers through setting up product features. They may also need to place outbound calls to follow up with customers and update them on progress.
- Upselling: Inbound agents, even those who usually handle support rather than sales, are able to recognize opportunities for upselling or cross-selling to customers.
Outbound agents are involved with:
- Sales and marketing: This includes lead generation activities such as cold calling, follow-ups, and handover to the sales team. Agents may also sell to existing clients, and send out marketing promotions.
- Market research: Agents contact existing or potential customers to gather insights about their preferences and opinions, and identify market trends.
- Feedback collection: Outbound agents collect feedback during interactions or via surveys, and pass it on to managers or other departments. This enables the business to identify common issues and trends, uncover reasons why customers leave, and make improvements.
- Customer admin: This includes making and confirming appointments (such as meetings with sales reps, hospitality reservations, or healthcare appointments), and reminding customers about these or about upcoming payments and renewals.
- Debt collection: Agents will contact customers to collect payments or to discuss payment options.
- Distributing information: Outbound agents may send out details of product updates or recalls, changes to business hours, or emergency alerts on behalf of the government.
- Canvassing: Outbound contact centers are used during political campaigns for canvassing, opinion polls, and requesting campaign donations.
- Charitable collections: Agents may call existing or potential customers on behalf of a charity to share information and ask for donations or volunteers.
Across inbound, outbound, and blended settings, the key roles of contact center agents also include logging and organizing customer data such as contact details, communication preferences, purchase history, and records of interactions. Modern systems log this data automatically through integration with the CRM.
Contact center agents may also liaise with other departments or teams in the organization, and get involved in training new hires.
Contact center agent challenges
The role of a contact center agent isn’t always an easy one. Here are some of the most common challenges faced by agents:
High call volume
In a busy inbound contact center, or at busy times of year, high call volumes present problems for agents. They’re handling not just calls but interactions on a range of communications channels, and queries are coming in faster than the agents can deal with them.
This pressure can get overwhelming for agents, and they’ll also face the stress of handling customers who are frustrated at the slow response time.
Difficult customers
Customers might be annoyed at being kept waiting or passed around between different agents and departments. Or, they may be upset by the problem they’ve experienced with a product or service. For outbound agents and reps, difficult customers continuously raise objections to a sale or object to being cold-called. In all cases, such customers may take their frustration out on the agent and reps.
Challenging targets
Contact center agents and reps are expected to meet targets or quotas—whether it’s the number of queries resolved in the first interaction or the number of leads generated in a given period. If these targets are unrealistic, or if the agents and reps don’t have the necessary resources to meet them, they could quickly become demoralized.
Lack of knowledge
If agents don’t have the answers, they’ll have to leave the customer waiting while they search for information or consult someone else. They may have to hand the call or message thread over to a colleague. Customers will be frustrated by the delay, and the agent is unlikely to resolve the issue in the first interaction.
Lack of advanced tools
No matter how hard an agent works, and no matter how skilled they are at communication, they can’t provide full customer satisfaction without the right tools. Unless the contact center has automated systems such as chatbots, auto-dialers, and smart call routing—plus integrations between tools—efficiency and productivity will suffer.
Disconnected channels
Following on from the previous point, lack of integration between communications channels causes problems for agents. They need to be able to move seamlessly between channels without losing the conversational thread or making customers repeat information.
Many of these challenges can be overcome with the right management and training, and the right technology. Stay tuned for more on that later.
Contact center agent skills and qualities to look for
Contact center agents and reps need a particular set of skills to successfully carry out their duties and meet the challenges mentioned above. Here are some of the things contact center managers should look for when hiring agents:
Communication skills
Good communication is one of the most important skills for a contact center agent. They need to be able to communicate via various methods (verbal and written), adapting the style for each channel and for each customer’s personality. If they’re multilingual, that’s an extra bonus.
Skilled agents always sound polite and professional. They use confident language rather than negative statements, and know how to turn difficult conversations around. They are persuasive but not pushy, and can communicate the value of the company’s offering.
Attention to detail
Look for agents who pay attention to the details of customer queries and concerns. With a deep understanding of the customer’s needs, they will be able to resolve the issue more efficiently. This involves listening carefully so that the customer doesn’t have to repeat anything, and picking up on tone to gauge their mood. Detailed knowledge of the company’s products is also a must.
Ability to multi-task and work under pressure
Contact center agents need the ability to make notes and search for information while they’re conversing with customers. They should respond to all queries promptly across all channels, even when there’s a high volume. Plus, they have to keep their composure in stressful situations.
If you’re managing remote contact center agents, you’ll need people who are self-disciplined enough to work without supervision.
Empathy and active listening
Good agents demonstrate empathy toward customers, validating their concerns and assuring them that the company cares and will find a solution. They can view situations from the customer’s perspective, and show that they’re listening by using phrases like “I see” and “I understand”. Active listening skills include asking follow-up questions and summarizing what the customer has said.
Problem-solving
The responsibilities of a contact center agent include coming up with swift and effective resolutions to customer problems. As well as troubleshooting common issues, they’ll need creativity to fix more unusual problems. They should be able to use their initiative, but also know when to escalate an inquiry. Another valuable trait is the ability to proactively anticipate customer needs.
Resilience
This is one of the crucial qualities of contact center agents, since it enables them to handle tricky situations without becoming upset or demoralized. Customers may be angry and blame the agent, and sometimes it’s just not possible to resolve the issue right away. Agents need to learn from negative interactions and be ready to move on. In a sales role, resilience includes handling objections.
Contact center agent certifications and qualifications
While it’s vital that agents and reps possess these key skills, contact centers don’t necessarily require specific qualifications or certifications. However, there are some professional accreditations that prove to managers that a candidate does have those skills. Here are a few:
- Certified Call Center Agent (CCCA) — International Customer Service Association (ICSA)
- Certified Contact Center Professional (CCCP) — ICSA or International Customer Management Institute (ICMI)
- Certified Customer Service Manager — Customer Service Institute of America
- Certified Customer Service Professional — National Customer Service Association
- Call Center Associate Certified — Management and Strategy Institute
- Certified Contact Center Manager (ICCM) — ICMI
- Customer Service Management Certificate — American Public Power Association.
Contact center agent training can make good agents great
Whatever the skills and qualifications of a contact center agent, hiring them is only the start. You’ll still need to train them, not only to ensure company-specific knowledge but also to support their ongoing skill development. Here are some tips and best practices to help you get it right:
Vary your training methods
It’s a good idea to use a range of training methods and materials, so that you can accommodate agents’ different learning styles. These include:
- Classroom learning: This involves traditional training sessions, either run by managers or by an external trainer, but they can still be interactive. You could play recordings of real interactions and discuss what went right and wrong, and divide agents into pairs to role-play conversations.
- Online learning: With this method, agents can learn at their own pace and top up their learning when needed. Coursera and Udemy offer specific online training courses for contact center agents. Some centers ask new hires to undertake pre-induction learning to get them up to speed.
- On-the-job learning: Let agents learn while they work by shadowing more experienced colleagues. You could set up a buddy system where new hires are paired with senior agents, or assign a personal mentor to each new agent.
- Gamification: Make the learning process more engaging by gamifying it with fun quizzes, leaderboards, and incentives for top performers.
Leverage technology
You’ll need to train new agents to use the specific tools and processes in place at your contact center. For example, accessing the CRM system or switching from a chat to a video call mid-conversation. You can also use software to enhance your training provision, with real-time agent coaching for in-conversation support, and AI analytics to pinpoint agents who need more help.
Give and receive feedback
It’s important to give constructive feedback to agents, not just pointing out where they went wrong but showing them actionable ways to improve. Encourage them to self-evaluate by replaying their own conversations and scoring them.
Be prepared to receive feedback, too—foster a culture of open communication where agents feel comfortable asking questions and sharing experiences. Ask them for their honest opinions on your training methods.
Make it an ongoing process
As well as initial onboarding and training, it’s good practice to provide ongoing “refresher” training to keep agents up to date with the latest technologies, company policies, and industry trends.
How to manage contact center agents effectively
Managing contact center agents effectively is vital for the smooth running of your center. We’ve put together some best practices to help you manage and support your agents:
Give them the right tools
As we mentioned earlier, contact center agents and reps can’t do their best work unless they’re backed by the right tools. You can make their lives easier—and help them to keep customers happy—by implementing software for maximum efficiency.
For instance, you can avoid misdialed numbers by using auto-dialers, while AI transcription eliminates the need for manual note-taking. Smart call routing ensures customers are matched with appropriately-skilled agents, and real-time agent assist tools reduce handle time.
Let AI assist you
An AI contact center solution doesn’t only benefit your agents—it’s a boon for managers, too. It means you can easily monitor performance across multiple contact centers, checking metrics on a live dashboard and identifying agents who need extra coaching.
And you don’t have to wait until a conversation is over before you intervene. With RingCentral, you’ll get live AI alerts about negative sentiment, prompting you to view the full transcript and decide whether to whisper instructions or take over the call.
Set the right schedule
Effective staff scheduling is a critical part of contact center management. You’ll need to use analytics (both historical and real-time) to forecast your busiest times. For example, you can expect more inquiries after a new product launch or a marketing campaign, or there may be seasonal peaks.
If you schedule agents according to accurate data, they won’t be overwhelmed with an influx of calls or sitting around waiting for the phone to ring.
Support remote agents
It’s easy to monitor and support agents when you see them in-person every day, but managing remote staff can be a little harder. You’ll have to trust them without being tempted to micromanage, but check in with them regularly to ensure they’re in the loop and have everything they need.
This is where a cloud-based CCaaS solution is ideal, as everyone can access it and stay in touch from anywhere. It’s easy for managers to monitor agents and deliver real-time support.
Recognize excellent performance
It’s important to identify agents who are struggling, but it’s equally important to recognize your top performers. 60 percent of US employees want their employer to increase their investment in reward and recognition, so make sure you praise and reward their efforts.
This might include shout-outs on your company channels, running an employee of the month program with incentives, and asking high-performing agents to help train new hires.
Look for signs of burnout
Agent attrition has long been an issue for contact centers, with 69 percent of customer service decision makers describing it as a major or moderate challenge. As a manager, you need to do everything possible to ensure a positive workplace experience for your agents.
This includes identifying those at risk of burnout and putting strategies in place to avoid it. Make sure agents take regular breaks, and encourage them to talk to you in confidence if they’re feeling overwhelmed or dealing with a particularly difficult customer.
Contact center agent performance metrics to track
Managers need to know how to measure contact center agent performance, both for individuals and for the center as a whole. By monitoring specific contact center metrics, you can spot problems and opportunities and address them promptly. Here are a few key metrics to track:
- Average handle time (AHT)
- Average speed of answer (ASA)
- First-contact resolution (FCR)
- Call abandonment rate
- CSAT (customer satisfaction score) and NPS (net promoter score)
- Conversion rate
- Number of leads generated
- Post-call work time
- Service level
- Agent turnover rate.
Support your contact center agents with a CCaaS solution
The role of a contact center agent requires great communication, patience, resilience, and the ability to multi-task. For agents to do their jobs without feeling stressed, they need the right resources and robust support from managers.
The best way to provide that support and get the best out of your agents is to invest in a CCaaS solution like RingCentral RingCX. Advanced features like automation and AI assistance allow you to create a less stressful environment for agents.
The platform is built for omnichannel communication, and boasts software integrations and real-time analytics to assist with effective scheduling and monitoring performance. It supports you and your agents so that you can deliver excellent customer service.
Get in touch with an expert to learn how RingCentral RingCX offers a great experience for agents and customers.
Contact center agent FAQs
How do I choose the right contact center agents?
When you’re hiring contact center agents, make sure they’re great communicators across all channels. They must be able to demonstrate empathy and active listening, be skilled at muti-tasking and problem-solving, and be resilient in the face of challenges. Nice-to-have skills include previous experience, technical knowledge, certifications, and multilingual ability.
What’s the average salary of a contact center agent?
This varies widely based on the country, the organization or industry, and the seniority of the role, as well as on skills requirements. Salaries will be higher for specialized roles such as technical support.
The average annual salary for a contact center agent in the US is $39,919 (that’s $19 per hour). Entry-level agents (1-3 years of experience) can expect to earn $30,661 on average, while those at senior level (8+ years of experience) can earn an average of $47,474. The average yearly bonus is $695.
What’s the main difference between inbound and outbound contact center agents?
Inbound contact center agents handle incoming communications, such as customer inquiries and complaints. They answer questions, help customers with simple tasks, and troubleshoot problems.
Outbound agents deal with outgoing communications. Their role may include sales and marketing activities, gathering customer research and feedback, booking appointments, and collecting payments.
Some agents may handle both inbound and outbound comms in a blended contact center.
Originally published Feb 20, 2025, updated Mar 05, 2025
